Omega Psi Phi
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| nicknames: Omegas, Ques | |||||
| Founded | November 17, 1911 | ||||
| International Headquarters | Decatur, Georgia | ||||
| Official Colors | Royal Purple and Old Gold | ||||
| Official Flower | African Violet | ||||
| Symbol | Lamp, Bulldog | ||||
| Coat of Arms | Missing image Omegashield.gif Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. shield | ||||
| Motto: Friendship is Essential to the Soul (Ωφελεί Ψυχή Φιλαδέλφια) | |||||
| Omega Psi Phi Fraternity website (http://www.omegapsiphifraternity.org/) | |||||
The Omega Psi Phi (ΩΨΦ) Fraternity was founded on Friday, November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The founders of the fraternity were three students: Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper, and Frank Coleman and their first faculty advisor Ernest Everett Just. Omega Psi Phi was the first black fraternal organization founded at Historically Black colleges and universities.
From its inception, the fraternity has worked to build a strong and effective force of men dedicated to principles of manhood, scholarship, perseverance, uplift, and capable of giving expression to the hopes and aspirations of an unfree people in the land of the free. In 1927, the fraternity made National Negro Achievement Week an annual observance, and it continues today as Achievement Week. Since 1945, the fraternity has undertaken a National Social Action Program to meet the needs of African Americans in the areas of health, housing, civil rights, and education. In its continuing support of African-American education, the fraternity gives an annual gift of $50,000 to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., has supported the UNCF since 1955.
The fraternity is a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), composed of nine (9) International Greek letter Sororities and Fraternities.
| Contents |
Famous Omega Men
The Arts
- Bill Cosby - world-renowned comedian, actor, television show producer, and philanthrophist.
- William "Count" Basie - internationally-known pianist, composer, arranger, and band leader
- Sterling Brown - teacher, poet, writer, Professor Emeritus of Literature at Howard University; has a special foundation for folk culture and jazz music
- Carl Rowan - syndicated columnist
- Joe Torry - comedian, actor
- Tom Joyner - syndicated radio personality
- Steve Harvey - comedian and actor
- Langston Hughes - internationally acclaimed poet, progenitor of Black Renaissance in the 1920s
- D.L. Hughley - comedian and actor
Athletics
- Michael Jordan - NBA, Chicago Bulls
- DeHart Hubbart - a University of Michigan sprinter; first Black person to represent the United States in the 1924 Olympic Games
- Ed "Too Tall" Jones - NFL, Dallas Cowboys
- Joe Black - MLB, Brooklyn Dodgers Pitcher
- Charlie Ward - Heisman Trophy winner, NBA New York Knicks
- Steve "Air" McNair - NFL, Tennessee Titans Quarterback
- Hank Aaron - MLB, Atlanta Braves "Home-Run King" who broke Babe Ruth's record
- Shaquille O'Neal - NBA, Los Angeles Lakers, now with the Miami Heat
- Jerry Ball - NFL, Oakland Raiders
- Cedric Maxwell - NBA, Boston Celtics and other teams
- Leroy Walker - U.S. Olympic coach (sprinters) for many years
- John Salley - NBA, won Championships with the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls
- Keith Jackson - NFL, Miami Dolphins
- Mark Duper - NFL, Miami Dolphins
- William Floyd - NFL, Charlotte Panthers
- Earl "The Pearl" Monroe - former NBA Guard
- Errict Rhett - NFL, Baltimore Ravens
Business
- Gillard S. Glover - President, Afro-American Life Insurance Company
- Thurman McKenzie - co-owner of M and M Products (Sta Soft Fro)
- Otis M. Smith - General Counsel, General Motors Corporation
- Nathaniel Bronner - co-owner of Bronner Brothers Beauty Supplies
- Jesse Hill - President, Atlanta Life Insurance Company
- William Kennedy, III - President, North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company
Civil Rights
- Vernon Jordan - UNCF, National Urban League
- Grant Reynolds - played a major role in President Harry Truman's 1948 decision to desegregate the United States Armed Forces
- James Nabrit - Former Dean of Howard University Law School, former president of Howard University, and a leader in the training of several attorneys who played important roles in the Civil Rights Movement
- Wiley Branton - attorney for the Little Rock Nine and former dean of Howard University School of Law
- Roy Wilkins, Sr. - Executive Director of the NAACP
- Benjamin Hooks - Former Executive Director of the NAACP
- Khalid Muhammad
Education
- Benjamin E. Mays - Former President Emeritus of Morehouse College, writer and lecturer
- Herman Dreer - teacher, minister, and writer
Government
- Douglas Wilder - became Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1990 and received the Bronze Star Medal for his heroism in the Korean War
- William Hastie - first Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands
- George L.P. Weaver - former U.S. Secretary of Labor
- Robert C. Weaver - First African-American to presidential cabinet member in 1966, serving as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Lyndon B. Johnson
- Clifford L. Alexander, Jr. - Secretary, United States Department of War
- Jesse Jackson - civil rights leader and activist and candidate for the United States Presidency in 1984 and 1988
Science
- Dr. Ernest Everett Just - internationally known biologist and professor at Howard University
- Dr. Charles Drew - perfected the use of blood plasma in transfusions; professor of surgery at Howard University
- Percy Julian - discovered the use of foam to extinguish fires and a method of synthesizing cortisone
- Dr. Fred Drew Gregory - Astronaut, graduate of the United States Air Force Academy (pilot)
- Charles Bolden - astronaut, graduate of the United States Naval Academy (pilot)
- Dr. Ronald E. McNair - astronaut, graduate of M.I.T., Ph.D. in physics (civilian)
- Lt. Colonel Guion Bluford - as the first African-American in space, boarded the Space Shuttle "Challenger" in 1983 and performed the first spacelab mission on the Orbiter Challenger
External links
- Omega Psi Phi Fraternity website (http://www.omegapsiphifraternity.org/)