FROM THE GENERAL PRESIDENT
Greetings, Brothers, Every member of Alpha is asked to embrace challenges, combat oppressive acts, be progressive in meeting the challenges of the 21st century and continue the fight on the proverbial ice! We are conditioned to seek ice rinks! The ice rink we seek is in single-family homes, where brothers are lining up to eradicate a list of young boys who need positive black male role models. The ice rink we seek is in Florida with our brother, Phillip Agnew, the executive director of the Dream Defenders, galvanizing our brothers and staging sit-ins to protest the inequality of the “stand your ground� law and other laws that disproportionately affect young men and women of color. The ice rink we seek is in our schools in many of our cities, where legions of Alpha men are tutoring, touring college campuses with students and financially contributing to their education and development for future endeavors and careers.
Mark S. Tillman General President
The ice rink we seek is in our voting booths where we encourage our communities to not feel hopeless and to understand the importance of each and every vote. Educating and informing them on the issues, getting them to the polls and making no excuses. The ice rink we seek is right there in your city, and up the expressway in neighboring cities, in Washington, D.C. where our brothers on Capitol Hill are developing policies for our cities and our country. But we are asked not to rest on our laurels, take backward steps or regress to the point where we are no longer useful. We are asked not to just talk about it, but to be about it. 2014 is the start of another year for Alpha to assert itself on the political stage. Now is the time for us to reinvest in providing advocacy for our communities. We must continue to fight on ice for all of those issues that impact our communities and those who we serve. The war for civil rights is not over and done. Each and every day a new battle for equality and justice is being waged; there is a battle against ignorance, a battle against apathy and a battle against greed. As Alpha men it is our duty to be on the front lines in these battles. This year we will employ The Sphinx in this effort. The timing is perfect with its new look and feel, as we celebrate the magazine’s 100th anniversary. It is our duty to support our brothers who have decided to take on the responsibility and hold offices of public service. Support them financially, support them with your time and talents, support them so that Alpha can continue to fight for and support the communities we serve. If you take a good look around I guarantee you will find a brother who is standing in the middle of an ice rink near you, fighting on the ice and needing the support of his brothers. I implore you to seek out the ice rink and rush to the frontlines.
CENTENNIAL ISSUE
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