This Day in Black History: May 15, 1911
Kappa Alpha Psi, a largely Black college fraternity, was chartered in the state of Indiana on this date in 1911 (the name was changed from Kappa Alpha Nu). The chartering with the state came four months after the fraternity was founded on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington.
The fraternity now has more than 150,000 members with 721 undergraduate and alumni chapters in nearly every state of the United States, and international chapters in the United Kingdom, Germany, Korea, Japan, United States Virgin Islands, Nigeria and South Africa.
Kappa Alpha Psi sponsors a number of programs that provide community service, social welfare and academic scholarship through the Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation, and supports the United Negro College Fund and Habitat for Humanity. Kappa Alpha Psi is a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the North-American Interfraternity Conference.
The fraternity is the first predominantly African-American Greek-letter society founded west of the Appalachian Mountains still in existence, and it is known for its “cane stepping” in NPHC organized step shows. Kappa Alpha Psi celebrated its 100th anniversary on Jan. 5, 2011 and is distinguished as the second predominantly African-American collegiate fraternity to do so.
Since its founding, the fraternity has invested a lot of its attention to programs that support and provide mentorship for young men in elementary and secondary school through its Guide Right and Kappa League programs.
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(Photo: Courtesy wikicommons)