KONCLAVE

National History

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• Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, was founded on January 5, 1911, on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. However, to fully understand and appreciate the magnitude of Kappa Alpha Psi and the significance of January 5, 1911, you have to examine it in its historical context. Doing that, one will realize that the Fraternity is more than just a group of college “guys” getting together on a campus and hanging out. Further, one will also find that the history of Kappa Alpha Psi is more than the history of the Fraternity or that of Indiana University; it is a part of the history of America and the world beyond.

• Consider the year 1911: 

• It is only eight years removed from W.E.B. Dubois’ book, "The Souls of Black Folk", in which Dubois stated that the problem of the 20th Century would be the problem of the color line (i.e., racial tension).

• It is less than fifteen years removed from the Supreme Court case, Plessy v. Ferguson, which stipulated the rule “Separate, But Equal,” which in turn allowed for whites to segregate themselves from other racial groups.

• This is during the time of outstanding African-Americans like Dubois, Booker T. Washington, and Ida B. Wells, and just prior to the advent of Marcus Garvey and his Back to Africa Movement.

• It is not even 50 years removed from the Civil War and slavery. Consider the fact that thousands of African-Americans lived who had been slaves!

• During this time, most African-Americans were not only uneducated; most could not read and could remember a time when literacy meant that you could be killed because you were considered a dangerous person, a threat