The World Policy Council of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity is a nonprofit and nonpartisanthink tank established in 1996 at Howard University to expand the fraternity's involvement in politics and social and current policy to encompass important global and world issues. They describe their mission as to "address issues of concern to our brotherhood, our communities, our Nation, and the world."
Alpha Phi Alpha is an American intercollegiate organization that is the first established by African Americans. Founded on December 4, 1906 on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, the fraternity utilizes motifs and artifacts from Ancient Egypt to represent the organization and preserves its archives at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.[1][2]
The leadership of Alpha Phi Alpha recognized early on the need to correct the educational, economic, political, and social injustices faced by African-Americans and the world community and began its continuing commitment of providing scholarships for needy students and initiating various other charitable and service projects.[3]
The leadership by the fraternity was about to expand when at its 1995 General Convention, Senator Edward Brooke spoke on the need for Alpha Phi Alpha to broaden its view to encompass international concerns. Brooke said "our intellectual power is so great that it ought to be shared ... that we should be giving our thoughts and our opinions on domestic and international issues. General President Milton C. Davis established the World Policy Council (WPC) in 1996 as the analytical body of the fraternity to reflect, engage in dialogue and project what ought to happen in actions that are in-line with the values of Alpha Phi Alpha.[6] The mission of The Alpha Phi Alpha World Policy Council as stated on the fraternity's website
is to address issues of concern to our brotherhood, our communities, our nation, and the world. The Council has been charged with applying sustained and profound intellectual energy to understanding and alternative means of bringing about the resolution of problems at the community, national and international levels; expanding fraternal and public knowledge of such problems; and engaging public discussion about them. The Council, in fulfilling its mission, is non-partisan, gives consideration to domestic and international issues, seeks the counsel of experts in relevant fields, provides perspectives on specific problems and, where practicable, recommends possible solutions which may impact favorably African Americans, the community, the nation, and the world.[7]
The Council was created with seven board members to research and outline the fraternity's position on issues and policies deemed to be of national or international import. Milton appointed Brooke as the Council's first Chairman and he currently serves as Chairman Emeritus.[8] The Council's membership increased to nine when General President Harry E. Johnson's appointed CongressmanRon Dellums and Cornel West. Johnson also extended the World Policy Council's role to include a lecture series on tolerance and a focus on the issue of the HIV infections and AIDS.[9]
Organizing a World Policy Council, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity suddenly made global headlines when the group asked Nigeria to release political prisoners.
The World Policy Council has studied and issued white papers on the Politics of Nigeria, War on Terrorism, and global warming.[6][11] The Council garnered international attention in 1999 when it issued a clarion call to Nigeria to release political prisoners and become a force for good on the African continent.[10] The fifth paper was published in 2006 to coincide with the Centenary of Alpha Phi Alpha and among its five topics examined the impact of Black Greek letter organizations in American culture and Hurricane Katrina, the costliest and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States.[12][13]
The Council distributes the white papers to the White House, Congresses, key national leaders, fraternity chapters, and those whose decisions shape the future. A letter is sent to the office of the President of the United States providing an informed opinion of individuals and constituents on how the President should act to resolve an issue or policy.[6]
Position papers
The WPC presented its first position paper to the fraternity's general membership at the 1996 Alpha Scholarship Forum in New Orleans, Louisiana as part of its inaugural Charles H. Wesley Memorial Scholarship Lecture.[8] The fourth and fifth report were issued in 2002 and 2006 respectively.[14]
A peace movement poster: Israeli and Palestinian flags and the words peace in Arabic and Hebrew. Similar images have been used by several groups proposing a two-state solution to the conflict.
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing dispute between the State of Israel and the Palestinian people. The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is part of the wider Arab–Israeli conflict, which is essentially a dispute between two national identities with claims over the same area of land.[15]
The roots of the conflict can be traced to the late 19th century, when Zionist Jews expressed their desire to create a modern state in the ancient land of the Israelites, which they considered to be their rightful homeland. To further that objective, the World Zionist Organization encouraged immigration and purchase of land, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire.[16]
According to a 2007 poll of adults in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank by the Jerusalem Media & Communication Center, "46.7 per cent of respondents favour a two-state solution for the Arab–Israeli conflict." In second place came support of a binational state with 26.5%.[17]
The Council's position is,
we call equally upon the nation of Israel and upon the Palestinians to give up their deadly ritual of strike and counter-strike at least long enough for people and nations of goodwill to bring about a cessation of hostilities so that the opportunity may be created for establishing the conditions for a just and lasting peace in this part of the world. The stakes are now so high that a resolution of this long-simmering conflict can no longer be left to the two parties alone to resolve. In our opinion, the leadership on both sides seems to have forgotten how to move beyond the grisly routine of vengeance toward a loftier basis for action.[18]
Participants in the Program; United States as donor is in green, red countries have active compacts, blue countries have active threshold compacts, purple countries are in negotiations for either, and pink countries have negotiated threshold agreements and are negotiating for full compacts
The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) is a bilateral development fund created by the Bush administration whose mission is "to reduce global poverty through the promotion of sustainable economic growth" to some of the poorest countries in the world.[19] The MCA is available to fund specific programs targeted at reducing poverty and stimulating economic growth for eligible countries that meet independent and transparent policy indicators.[20][21]
The Congress of the United States has consistently provided less funding than the president has requested for this new compact for development with accountability for both rich and poor countries. For Fiscal Year 2008, less funding will be provided than was hoped for, and only 1.2 billion is currently budgeted, and the MCA CEO commented that it would undercut the programs efforts.[22][23][24]
The Council's position is,
The Western approach to economic development and trade in impoverished areas of the world has undergone radical change over time, the Millennium Challenge Account representing the most recent–and most promising–program in this area. A leading MCA proponent, the Bush Administration has been encouraging democratic developments in Africa and elsewhere with the promise of rewards in the form of increased aid. It is recommended that full funding be provided and that the Administration accelerate the pace of spending in support of MCA.[13]
Extraordinary rendition and irregular rendition are terms used to describe the kidnapping and extrajudicial transfer of a person from one state to another,[26] and the term torture by proxy is used by some critics to describe situations in which the U.S. has purportedly transferred suspected terrorists to countries known to employ harsh interrogation techniques that may rise to the level of torture. It has been alleged that torture has been employed with the knowledge or acquiescence of the United States, although United States Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice stated in an April 2006 radio interview that the United States does not transfer people to places where it is known they will be tortured.[26][27][28]
The Council's position is,
the practice of taking terrorist suspects to countries known for their practices of inhumane treatment and torture as a means of avoiding such treatment under detention in the United States, but at the same time encouraging it overseas, is strongly condemned. It is seen as contrary to civil and human rights, which are fundamental American values. According to many experts, such practices are, in any case, virtually useless and counterproductive Nonetheless, they are seen here as one of many assaults by the Bush Administration on civil and human rights in the name of "the war on terror."[13]
The World House
The World House is the vision of Martin Luther King Jr. in which "a family of different races, religions, ideas, cultures and interests must learn to live together as brothers and sisters or perish together as fools." King first articulated his vision of a World House in his Nobel Peace Prize lecture in 1964 "The World House," in which he identified three major threats to human survival—racism, poverty/materialism, and war. He stressed the urgency of addressing these problems, warning that it might be humanity's last chance to choose between chaos and community. The World House Project has said "The September 11, 2001 attacks by terrorist made Dr. King's predictions seem eerily prescient. His vision and agenda may be the key to our survival during the 21st century."[29]
King's vision of a World House calls upon humanity to:
1) transcend tribe, race, class, nation, and religion to embrace the vision of a World House;
2) eradicate at home and globally the Triple Evils of racism, poverty, and militarism;
3) curb excessive materialism and shift from a "thing"-oriented society to a "people"-oriented society; and
4) resist social injustice and resolve conflicts in the spirit of love embodied in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence.[29]
The Council recommends that Alpha Phi Alpha join crusades in this Centenary that are pursuing King's vision and that,
the United States, indeed, all nations pursue a philosophy advocated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who felt that because of the continued existence of poverty, racism, militarism and other such ills that the world is headed toward chaos. King, a brother in Alpha Phi Alpha, espoused this view in 1968 in a famous book titled "Where Do We Go From Here: Community or Chaos?" We must undergo "a genuine revolution of values" to achieve the goal of what King called "The World House". Under a grant from the Ford Foundation, Brother Bobby Austin and a group of influential citizens organized as Citizen Diplomats and through organizations known as Civic Leagues and the Peoples Assembly are pursuing this ideal through advocacy and the training of others.[13]
Edward Brooke, Chairman emeritus of the World Policy Council, is congratulated by President George W. Bush at the Ceremony for the 2004 Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, The East Room of the White House.
The membership of Alpha Phi Alpha represents the full diversity of policymakers, activists, college presidents, lawyers, businessmen, theologians and other professions among its members. The general president of Alpha Phi Alpha appoints a nonpartisan Board of Directors from this passel of Alpha men to govern the Council. The composition of the Board represents a range of disciplines and approaches to the issues and schema of economic, cultural, political, and policy conditions as they pertain to the social psychology of Black Americans and Africans.
Edward Brooke, a former Senator and Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts served and the first chairman and currently chairman emeritus. Former Ambassador Horace Dawson is the current Chairman.[7]CongressmanCharles B. Rangel, Dean, New York State Congressional Delegation and founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and former Congressman Ron Dellums, president and CEO of HealthCare International. Kenton Keith is a Senior Vice President of Meridian International Center and a former U.S. Ambassador to the State of Qatar. Clathan M. Ross is a Rapporteur and a retired U.S. Foreign Service Information Officer.[13]
Henry Ponder is former President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education and has served as president of Fisk University, Benedict College, and Talladega College, and General President of Alpha Phi Alpha. Bobby William Austin is Vice President for University Relations and Communications at the University of the District of Columbia, President of Austin Institute, former President and CEO of Village Foundation, and former Program Director for the Kellogg National Fellowship Program at W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Cornel West is a current and former professor of religion at Princeton University and Harvard University respectively. Vinton Anderson, the 92nd Bishop of African Methodist Episcopal Church and former president of World Council of Churches.[13]
↑ Gordon Corera "Does UK turn a blind eye to torture?", BBC April 5, 2005 "One member of the [parliamentary foreign affairs] committee described the policy as 'effectively torture by proxy'".
↑ Stone, John R. (2013). "Ben Hill United Methodist Church". In Murphy, Larry G.; Melton, J. Gordon; Ward, Gary L. (eds.). Encyclopedia of African American Religions. Routledge. p.79. ISBN9781135513382.
Edward William Brooke III was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1967 to 1979. A member of the Republican Party, he was the first African American elected to the United States Senate by popular vote. Prior to serving in the Senate, he served as the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1963 until 1967. Edward Brooke was the first African-American since Reconstruction in 1874 to have been elected to the United States Senate and he was the first African-American since 1881 to have held a United States Senate seat. Brooke was also the first African-American U.S. senator to ever be re-elected.
Delta Sigma Phi (ΔΣΦ), commonly known as Delta Sig, is a fraternity established in 1899 at The City College of New York (CCNY). It was the first fraternity to be founded based on religious and ethnic acceptance. It is also one of three fraternities founded at CCNY.
Alpha Phi Omega (ΑΦΩ), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25,000 students, and over 500,000 alumni members. There are also 250 chapters in the Philippines, one in Australia and one in Canada. The 500,000th member was initiated in the Rho Pi chapter of Alpha Phi Omega at the University of California, San Diego.
Ronald Vernie Dellums was an American politician who served as Mayor of Oakland from 2007 to 2011. He had previously served thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 9th congressional district, in office from 1971 to 1998, after which he worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C.
The North American Interfraternity Conference is an association of intercollegiate men's social fraternities that was formally organized in 1910. However, it began at a meeting at the University Club of New York on November 27, 1909. The power of the organization rests in a House of Delegates in which each member fraternity is represented by a single delegate. However, the group's executive and administrative powers are vested in an elected board of directors consisting of nine volunteers from various NIC fraternities. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, the NIC has a small professional staff.
Dartmouth College is host to many fraternities and sororities, and a significant percentage of the undergraduate student body is active in Greek life. In the fall of 2022, 35 percent of male students belong to a fraternity and 36 percent of students belong to a sorority. Greek organizations at Dartmouth provide both social and residential opportunities for students and are the only single-sex residential option on campus. Greek organizations at Dartmouth do not provide dining options, as regular meal service has been banned in Greek houses since 1909.
Phi Delta Theta (ΦΔΘ), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has over 200 active chapters and colonies in over 44 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces and has initiated more than 310,000 men between 1848 and 2024. There are over 180,000 living alumni. Phi Delta Theta chartered house corporations own more than 135 houses valued at over $141 million as of summer 2015. There are nearly 100 recognized alumni clubs across the U.S. and Canada.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (ΑΦΑ) is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved into a fraternity with a founding date of December 4, 1906. It employs an icon from Ancient Egypt, the Great Sphinx of Giza, as its symbol. Its aims or pillars are "Manly Deeds, Scholarship, and Love For All Mankind," and its motto is "First of All, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All." Its archives are preserved at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.
Theta Phi Alpha (ΘΦΑ), commonly known as Theta Phi, is a women's fraternity founded at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor on August 30, 1912. Theta Phi Alpha is one of 26 national sororities recognized in the National Panhellenic Conference. Today, Theta Phi Alpha has 54 active chapters across the United States. Theta Phi has alumnae clubs and associations in almost every major city. The organization is involved in the philanthropies Glenmary Home Missioners and The House that Theta Phi Alpha Built which help the homeless and underprivileged, specifically in the Appalachian Mountain region, and Camp Friendship, a summer camp in northeast Mississippi for children from disadvantaged and low-income homes.
The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a collaborative umbrella council composed of historically African American fraternities and sororities, commonly called the Divine Nine, and also referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The NPHC was formed as a permanent organization on May 10, 1930, on the campus of Howard University, in Washington, D.C., with Matthew W. Bullock as the active Chairman and B. Beatrix Scott as Vice-Chairman. NPHC was incorporated under the laws of the State of Illinois in 1937.
Beta Sigma Psi National Lutheran Fraternity (ΒΣΨ), commonly known as Beta Sig, is a United States social organization for Lutheran college men. Founded at the University of Illinois in 1925, the fraternity has more than 7,500 initiated members. It has twelve chapters, primarily in the mid-west, and over 300 undergraduate members.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is a national memorial located in West Potomac Park next to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It covers four acres (1.6 ha) and includes the Stone of Hope, a granite statue of civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr. carved by sculptor Lei Yixin. The inspiration for the memorial design is a line from King's "I Have a Dream" speech: "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope." The memorial opened to the public on August 22, 2011, after more than two decades of planning, fundraising, and construction.
Harry E. Johnson is a career lawyer, entrepreneur, public servant and partner at the Law Office of Glenn and Johnson in Houston, Texas. He served as City Attorney for Kendelton, Texas from 1996 to 1999, and taught at Texas Southern University in both the Thurgood Marshall School of Law and School of Public Affairs from 1994 to 1999. Johnson is a former National President of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and is the President and CEO of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by the U.S. Congress in 2004. It is an independent agency separate from the State Department and USAID. It provides grants to countries that have been determined to have good economic policies and potential for economic growth. The country qualification process is objective, involving scores provided by third parties in 20 different areas. An eligible country must apply for a grant with a specific project in mind.
Delta Phi Epsilon (ΔΦΕ) or Delta Phi Epsilon Foreign Service Council the largest national American professional foreign service fraternity and sorority. Founded on January 25, 1920, it was the first fraternity dedicated to careers in foreign diplomacy in trade. Its Alpha chapter went on in the first half of the twentieth century to colonize new chapters at many other universities throughout the country, although most chapters went defunct in the latter half of the century. In 1973 Delta Phi Epsilon Foreign Service Sorority was founded, with its Alpha chapter at Georgetown University. As of 2021, there remained ten active collegiate chapters, half of which were created between 2016 and 2018.
Kenton Wesley Keith is a former American career diplomat and ambassador to Qatar from 1992 to 1995. A U.S. Navy veteran, Keith also served as Senior Vice president of programming for the American Academy of Diplomacy. Ambassador Keith has been awarded two presidential service awards and is a Chevalier in the French Order of Arts and Letters.
Milton Carver Davis is an American lawyer who researched and advocated for the pardon of Clarence Norris, the last surviving Scottsboro Boy.
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (ΦΜΑ) is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "who, through a love for music, can assist in the fulfillment of [its] object and ideals either by adopting music as a profession or by working to advance the cause of music in America." Phi Mu Alpha has initiated more than 260,000 members, known as Sinfonians, and the fraternity currently has over 7,000 active collegiate members in 249 collegiate chapters throughout the United States.
The Alpha Phi BetaFraternity is a fraternity based in the University of the Philippines College of Law with no recognized chapters outside University of the Philippines Diliman. The fraternity's membership hails from the College of Law and from pre-law colleges in the campus. 2019 marked the fraternity's 80th Anniversary. It is one of the three fraternities based in the college, the other two being Sigma Rho fraternity and Scintilla Juris.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Wikiproject 
