History of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.
THE
BIRTH OF OMEGA
On
Friday evening, November 17, 1911, three Howard University
undergraduate students, with the assistance of their faculty
adviser, gave birth to the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. This
event occurred in the office of biology Professor Ernest E.
Just, the faculty adviser, in the Science Hall (now known as
Thirkield Hall). The three liberal arts students were
Edgar A. Love, Oscar J. Cooper and Frank Coleman. From the
initials of the Greek phrase meaning "friendship is essential to the
soul," the name Omega Psi Phi was derived. The phrase was selected
as the motto. Manhood, scholarship, perseverance and uplift were
adopted as cardinal principles. A decision was made regarding the
design for the pin and emblem, and thus ended the first meeting of
the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity .
The
next meeting was conducted on November 23, 1911. Edgar Love became
the first Grand Basileus (National President). Cooper and Coleman
were selected Grandkeeper of the Records (National Secretary) and
Grandkeeper of Seals (National Treasurer), respectively. Eleven
Howard University undergraduate men were selected as charter
members.
Alpha Chapter was organized with fourteen charter
members on December 15, 1911. Love, Cooper and Coleman were
elected the chapter's first Basileus, Keeper of Records, and Keeper
of Seals, respectively. On March 8, 1912, the previously submitted
fraternity constitution was rejected by the Howard University
Faculty Council. The Faculty Council proposed to accept the
fraternity as a local but not a national organization. The
fraternity refused acceptance as a strictly local
organization.
Oscar Cooper became the fraternity's second Grand
Basileus in 1912. Cooper authorized the investigation of a
proposed second chapter at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania.
Edgar Love was elected as the third Grand Basileus in 1912
and served until 1915. In 1914, Howard University withdrew
its opposition, and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity was
incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia on
October 28, 1914. Beta Chapter at Lincoln University was
chartered in February, 1914. George E. Hall, the fourth Grand
Basileus, had been initiated at Alpha Chapter in 1914. Grand
Basileus Hall authorized the establishment of Gamma Chapter
in Boston, Massachusetts. However, the chapter was eventually
established during the administration of the fifth Grand Basileus,
James C. McMorries. During the administration of the sixth Grand
Basileus, Clarence F. Holmes, the fraternity's first official hymn,
"Omega Men Draw Nigh", was written by Otto Bohannon. Raymond G.
Robinson, the seventh Grand Basileus, established Delta
Chapter in Nashville, Tennessee in 1919. Robinson left office in
1920 with a total of ten chapters in operation. Stanley Douglas
served as Editor of the first Oracle published in the spring
of 1919. Harold K. Thomas, the eighth Grand Basileus, was elected at
the 1920 Nashville Grand Conclave. It was at this Conclave that
Carter G. Woodson inspired the establishment of National Achievement
Week to promote the study of Negro life and history. The 1921
Atlanta Grand Conclave brought to an end the first decade of the
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, THE GREATEST FRATERNITY EVER!.
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