Martin Luther King Was an “Alpha Phi Alpha Man,” and So Were Many Others
BET.com celebrates notable men in the fraternity.
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Martin Luther King Jr. - Almost 60 years ago in 1952, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., an organization dedicated to developing leaders, promoting brotherhood, encouraging academic excellence and service, and promoting advocacy for minority communities. In a documentary airing Aug. 28, in commemoration of the unveiling of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C., BET Networks will tell the story of the civil rights leader’s life as an “Alpha Man.”Similar to King, over the years, many of America’s African-American movers and shakers have held the same title as men of the group, and in the following pages BET.com recognizes some of the fraternity’s most notable members. * Deceased
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W.E.B. Dubois* - Writer, historian, civil rights activist
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Thurgood Marshall* - Civil rights activist, Supreme Court justice(Photo credit: National Archives/MCT /Landov)
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Frederick Douglass* - Anti-slavery activist(Photo Credit: Narrative Of Ferderick Douglass)
Photo By Narrative Of Ferderick Douglass
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Paul Robeson* - Activist, scholar, singer, professional football player(Photo: Landov)
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Cornel West - Author, professor, activist
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Winston Scott - United States Navy captain and former NASA astronaut(Photo: Nasa)
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Kwame Kilpatrick - Former mayor of Detroit
Photo By Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
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Marc Morial - President and CEO of the National Urban League
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Charles Rangel - Congressman, New York (15th District)
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Donny Hathaway* - Musician(Photo by GAB Archive/Redferns)
Photo By Photo by GAB Archive/Redferns
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Keenan Ivory Wayans - Comedian, producer, actor
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Jesse Owens* - Participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, and won four gold medals in track. (Photo: Landov)
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Stuart Scott - ESPN anchorman
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Roland W. Burris - Former U.S. senator for Illinois
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Dick Gregory - Former Comedian, Activist
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Art Shell - Second-ever African-American head coach in the NFL. He served as head coach and a Hall of Fame offensive tackle for the Oakland Raiders.(Photo: Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: Getty Images
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The Honorable Andrew Young - Former mayor of Atlanta and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
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Robert C. Scott - Congressman, Virginia (3rd District)(Photo: Landov)
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John H Johnson* - Founder and publisher of Ebony & Jet magazines(Photo: www.blackenterprise.com)
Photo By Photo: www.blackenterprise.com
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The Honorable Rev. Emmanuel Cleaver II - Former mayor, Kansas City(Photo: Landov)
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Duke Ellington* - Jazz musician
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Delano Lewis - Former ambassador to South Africa (Photo: www.delanolewis.com)
Photo By Photo: www.delanolewis.com
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The Honorable Willie Brown - Former mayor, San Francisco(Photo: Getty Images)
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Quinn Buckner - Former NBA player for the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, and Indiana Pacers. He also served as head coach for a short period of time for the Dallas Mavericks. (Photo: Getty Images)
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The Honorable Edward William Brooke - First African-American to be elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate. He served as a Republican senator for Massachusetts.
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Charles Haley - Former NFL superstar for the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys (Photo: Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: Getty Images
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Gene Upshaw* - Former president of the NFL Player's Union
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Harry E. Johnson, Sr. - President & CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.(Photo: www.harryejohnson.net)
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Garrett Morgan* - Inventor of the traffic signal(Photo: Wikipedia Commons)
Photo By Photo: Wikipedia Commons
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Frederick Patterson* - Founder, UNCF(Photo: www.encyclopediaofalabama.org)
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Earnest "Dutch" Morial* - First Black mayor of New Orleans(Photo: Wikipedia Commons)
Photo By Photo: Wikipedia Commons
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Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.* - Civil rights activist(Photo:Wikipedia Commons)
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The Honorable David Dinkins - Former mayor, New York City
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Hill Harper - Film, stage and television actor, activist, lawyer, and author (Photo: Michael Underwood/PictureGroup)
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