Name/Title
1971 Houston ConclaveEntry/Object ID
17Description
The 57th Grand Chapter Meeting - The Houston (TX) Alumni and the Beta Upsilon (TSU) Chapters were hosts from December 26-30, 1971. Brother C. B. Davis was the general convention chairman.
This meeting marked the 60th anniversary of the Fraternity and attracted over 2,100 brothers, including a large delegation from Germany, as well as the following dignitaries:
Founder Byron Kenneth Armstrong
Founder Edward Giles Irvin
Past Grand Polemarch Ernest H. Davenport
Past Grand Polemarch Thomas Bradley
Past Grand Polemarch Richard Millspaugh
Past Grand Polemarch C. Rodger Wilson
Past Grand Polemarch W. Henry Greene
Past Grand Polemarch Earl B. Dickerson
Laurel Wreath Wearer Allison B. Henderson
Laurel Wreath Wearer Donald Hollowell
Elder Watson Diggs Awardee I. W. E. Taylor
Elder Watson Diggs Awardee C. Felton Gayles
Elder Watson Diggs Awardee Ulysses Plummer
The attendance shattered the previous record set at the 54th Grand Chapter meeting in St Louis and included four 60-year members, 28 members with at least 50 years of service, and 27 chapters in existence for at least 50 years.
The national president of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, which was meeting in Houston at the same time, sent a “high level” delegation to greet the Fraternity hierarchy. In a statement to the press, Grand Polemarch Carter said –
“A fortuitous development of national conclaves in the same city at the same time of Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi created an acute awareness of the tremendous potential for social betterment for black people that lies in the strength and power of these two organizations representing, between them, nearly 100,000 of the ablest and best trained men in the country. The capacity for improving the social, economic, political and educational lot of black and other minority people in America is practically without limits.”
The Public Meeting, attended by over 600, saw a demonstration of the activities of the Kappa League and heard a brilliant address by Brother Samuel D. Proctor –
“As soon as our survival of slavery was accomplished, we found ourselves with hardly any choice but to become participants in a rapidly expanding urbanized, technological society that has a built in reward system, an inhibition to criticism, severe penalties for those whose participation is lukewarm, and highly visible rewards for the faithful. I want to live long enough to see every black boy today who raps about the system in a position to pick up one of the pieces of the system, and turn it from an instrument of greed and oppression to an instrument of compassion and justice.”
The delegates adopted a number of resolutions, including a resolution that read –
“The struggle for civil rights and black liberation is still a very pressing need, and the Urban League, NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus, the National Caucus on Black Aging and others, are putting forth maximum effort to this end. Be it resolved that this 57th Grand Chapter meeting of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity goes on record in supporting these goals.”
To commemorate its sixth decade, the delegates approved 12 scholarships for male freshmen to attend Indiana University.
Speaking to the largest Closed Banquet in the 60 year history of the Fraternity, Willie Davis, a 1954 Gamma Psi initiate and a former NFL professional football player remarked–
“It is time to get in the game. The game, in this particular case, is a better quality of life for all people and not for the chosen few. The target is a larger share of the economic resources of the country. The aim has to be the big casino. Think, plan and work for bigger successes in our lives.”
Source: The History of Washington DC Alumni Chapter (1950-1974)Photograph Details
Type of Photograph
DigitalCreated By
rtcrockett@msn.comCreate Date
November 9, 2025Updated By
rtcrockett@msn.comUpdate Date
January 30, 2026