The 33rd House of Alpha, Alpha Mu chapter, was founded at Northwestern University on October 21, 1922. Though Theta chapter had previously been home to all Chicago area chapters, Brother Homer Cooper and Brother Charles Greer parted with the chapter to form Northwestern’s own. The charter members of Alpha Mu were Bros. Ralph E. Banks, Dunbar D. Beck, Ernest Dyett, Fred’rik D. Jordon, A.D. Price, Samuel B. Taylor, Warren Williams. Since its inception, Alpha Mu has historically had a major impact on Northwestern University’s campus and the surrounding Evanston community. Its mission is “to strengthen weaknesses as well as to further develop the mind and body.” As Brother Brian Smith, one-time president of Alpha Mu stated, “We feel that only men of strong body and mind are capable of working in Alpha Phi Alpha and Alpha Mu chapter.”
In the years immediately after Alpha Mu’s founding the group received little recognition on campus. The first mention of Alpha Mu in Northwestern’s Syllabus (yearbook) was not until 1927, and intermittently thereafter. By the 1940s, with America fully involved in the second World War, fraternity involvement was low. By 1957, the chapter had come in bad standing with the University. Though there were active alumni still in the chapter, as well as students from Lake Forest College, the chapter was derecognized by both the Interfraternity Council and the University.
Though the chapter remained somewhat in secrecy over the next eleven years, it was not until 1968 that Alpha Mu was again recognized by Northwestern. In a year where Northwestern’s black community made great strides with the control of the Office of African American Student Affairs and the creation of For Members Only, it was appropriate that Alpha Mu again began to rise to prominence. Four men, Bros. Andre Bell, Andrew Green, Stanley Hill and Lonnie Radcliffe had the chapter reinstated and extended Alpha Mu’s charter to include both Kendall College and National Louis University. Brother Bell served as President that first year, and would serve as Alpha Mu chapter advisor until 1987.
Throughout the 1970s the growth of the Alpha Mu chapter on Northwestern’s campus continued. The chapter did an amazing amount of programming on campus. In line with the advancement of affirmative action, Alpha Mu hosted Black Career Awareness Day, bringing in some thirty companies to make presentations to the black community and stressing “the importance of early preparation and planning, which is necessary in today’s competitive job market.” There was also a continuing strengthening of the relationships between black greek letter societies. Delta Sigma Theta co-hosted Health Day with Alpha Phi Alpha. That day included a pre-medical conference, a blood drive as well as hypertension tests. The chapter also hosted Law/Business Day and produced a quarterly newsletter known as Alpha Wave.
Moving out of the 1970s Alpha Mu had solidified its reputation on campus. The Annual Scholarship Ball, nearly ten years after its inception, had become a mainstay on the campus. Nationally renowned guest speakers were often being brought in as well. From 1988-1991, Alpha Mu brought Louis Farrakahn, Gwendolyn Brooks and Jim Reynolds to campus for speaking engagements. As Brother Ken Thompson said about Alpha Mu in the black community, the chapter was “having an impact in our world.”
As Alpha Phi Alpha’s centennial approaches, Alpha Mu is continuing some of the the important programming it does in Northwestern’s community. The Alpha ball remains the only free formal hosted by a Northwestern group, and is always highly attended. Here, the chapter also displays some of its community service by presenting two scholarship awards; one to a high school student and one to an undergraduate. These sizable scholarships are heavily sought after each year. Additionally, K.A.O.S. has grown to and remains the largest step show in the entire midwest. Community focus remains a major issue as well.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Candlelight Vigil is still a well attended event with special significance to the campus. For it, Alpha Mu brings in national figures to help teach and inspire attendants about the accomplishments and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 2006, Alpha Mu brought Ms. Roslyn Brock, the first female Vice Chairman of the NAACP’s National Board of Directors, Northwestern Alumn, and esteemed member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Brock continued Alpha Mu’s history of challenging Northwestern’s inadequacies with respect to racial matters. Publicly, she shamed Northwestern President Henry Beinen for not observing Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with cancelled classes. The current Alpha Mu chapter is clearly continuing the legacy of challenge and change that was started years ago. The first Dr. King Commemoration was groundbreaking and it has only grown since then.
Men that have come through Alpha Mu’s ranks have had prominence both in their undergraduate careers as well as professionally. Brother John Brownlee served as ASG President. Bros. Joshua Mitchell and Randall Flagg are the only two black men to be named Homecoming King in Northwestern history and both were proud Alpha Mu members. Brother Bernie Johnson was a renowned war hero who participated in over 108 missions. He had played football for Northwestern during his undergraduate career and went on to a distinguished military career.
Taking into account the rich history of the Alpha Mu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, it is hard to challenge that the chapter is truly awesome, aristocratic and arrogant. Awesome in the sense that the work it does for both the Northwestern and broader community is typically exceptional and having usually been accomplished by no more than fifteen men, exemplifies hard work and perseverance. Aristocratic in the sense that the chapter is approaching 86 years of existence and its great legacy must be observed. And arrogant not because of some unjustified exuberance of confidence, but because of the air of pride and dignity that follows a man who has committed himself to the betterment of others.