Whereas Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., was founded on
January 5, 1911, on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana,
by Elder Watson Diggs, John Milton Lee, Byron K. Armstrong, Guy Levis Grant,
Ezra D. Alexander, Henry T. Asher, Marcus P. Blakemore, Paul W. Caine, Edward
G. Irvin, and George W. Edmonds;
Whereas the founders of Kappa Alpha Psi were God-fearing,
high achieving, serious minded young men who possessed the imagination,
ambition, courage, and determination to defy custom and cultural challenges in
pursuit of college educations and careers during a period in United States
history where such opportunities were not broadly available for
African-Americans;
Whereas Kappa Alpha Psi has since its founding stressed
high ideals and the importance of achievement in every field of human endeavor
by instilling into African-American youth the noble accomplishment of providing
greater service to others and training its members to become a positive
influence on their communities and the society at large;
Whereas since its founding, Kappa Alpha Psi has matured to
an organization of over 150,000 college-trained men, with undergraduate
chapters located on more than 360 college and university campuses and alumni
chapters in more than 340 cities in the United States and 5 foreign
countries;
Whereas Kappa Alpha Psi hosts a biennial Undergraduate
Leadership Institute, a comprehensive training and skills enhancement program
for the fraternity's top student leaders to aspire them to become positive role
models and aspire to serve for the good of society;
Whereas Kappa Alpha Psi has maintained a partnership with
Habitat for Humanity and assists in building a home for a local family in
conjunction with each of its biennial national conventions;
Whereas Kappa Alpha Psi has a partnership with
Memphis-based St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and has with the help of
the local community and churches been able to raise more than $1,000,000 for
the continuation of St. Jude’s mission and has designated the hospital as the
primary benefactor of its national fundraising efforts;
Whereas Kappa Alpha Psi sponsors Kappas on Capitol Hill, a
four-day conference for its members in the Washington, DC, designed to increase
member awareness of the political process through workshops, seminars, and
lectures, as well as inform its members on the importance of the political
process in bettering society;
Whereas Kappa Alpha Psi has emphasized financial literacy
in its community-based outreach, implementing two major programs, Credit Abuse
Resistance Education (CARE) and Greeks Learning to Avoid Debt (GLAD), in
partnership with the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, the National
Foundation for Credit Counseling, and the National Pan-Hellenic Council;
Whereas Kappa Alpha Psi, through its Kappa League and
National Guide Right programs, has provided thousands of at-risk youth in
communities throughout the United States with role models and mentors that
encourage them to make positive contributions to, and to take leadership roles
in, their communities;
Whereas since 1990, Kappa Alpha Psi's Kappa Scholarship
Fund has provided scholarship grants to over 10,000 high school graduates to
assist in furthering their education and has encouraged its undergraduate and
alumni chapters to support similar endeavors to broaden the ability of
economically disadvantaged youth to aspire to obtain a college
education;
Whereas Kappa Alpha Psi's oldest formal program, its
Holiday Food Drive, provides food, clothing, and toys to thousands of low
income citizens in many metropolitan and rural communities throughout the
United States;
Whereas Kappa Alpha Psi's national theme of One
Kappa, Creating Inspiration: A Call to Service
has mobilized Kappa men
across the Nation who are leaders in business, education, government, the
humanities, arts and entertainment, science, and medicine to become better
servant leaders for their respective families and communities, the United
States, and the fraternity at large;
Whereas Kappa Alpha Psi has ongoing partnerships with the
United Negro College Fund (UNCF), National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP), and the National Urban League (NUL);
Whereas Kappa Alpha Psi provides support to the National
Education Association (NEA), National Association of State Boards of Education
(NASBE), Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA), North-American
Interfraternity Conference (NIC), and the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC);
and
Whereas Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., will hold its
Centennial Celebration at its 80th Grand Chapter Meeting in Indianapolis,
Indiana, July 5, 2011, through July 10, 2011: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of Representatives
congratulates Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., on 100 years of serving local
communities and enriching the lives of collegiate men throughout the United
States.