FOUNDING EDITOR’S NOTE
The history of Alpha is a constant repudiation of the false allegations of Anglo-Saxon intellectual superiority over people of African descent. That history is a beacon of light. Raymond W. Cannon Mu Chapter Organizing Editor and 12th General President of Alpha Phi Alpha Note: This letter was developed from a 1984 interview with Brother Raymond W. Cannon. In this centennial year of The Sphinx we have made many changes to focus and reflect on the mission of our dear fraternity and how Alpha is impacting and relating to the world around us. I hope you enjoy.
When they read that history, they see the achievements of black men. It will be an incentive for young black men to prepare themselves. It will give them hope and it will give them courage, and that is what Alpha Phi Alpha is all about. It was a long effort to get the history of Alpha Phi Alpha. lpha has rededicated itself to activism. Alpha Phi Alpha has lifted ourselves A by our own bootstraps, we’ve achieved, and we have accomplished, we’ve succeeded. The more we help other Greek-letter societies, the more we help ourselves. Just as the old African proverb says, “it takes a village,” Alpha also recognizes that we cannot build our communities alone. We must initiate collaborative efforts with not only other black Greek letter organizations but with like-minded organizations to greatly impact our communities. I never thought that I would be this involved in Alpha Phi Alpha, and it has been a very interesting tour of duty. I call it duty because this organization is among our first activist organizations of the black community. I encourage you to go to a general convention whenever you can and live up to the mission of Alpha Phi Alpha. It’s not the individual or the army as a whole, but the everlasting teamwork of every booming soul; so a good thing to remember but a better thing to do, is you work with a construction game, not the wrecking crew.
When The Sphinx was first published in 1914, a dearth of publications focused on issues and concerns of black America.
4 4 SPHINX THE SPHINX