WASHINGTON D.C., July 26, 2006 – Congressman Chaka Fattah today was honored by Alpha Phi Alpha, his fraternity, at a special ceremony during the 2006 Centennial Convention of the nation’s oldest African American college fraternity.

Congressman Fattah was one of eight members of the House of Representatives who are brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha. They were honored at a Capitol Reception in connection with the fraternity’s 100th anniversary. 

“Alpha Phi Alpha is important not just because it is the first and the oldest,” Fattah said. “From its founding in 1906, Alpha has been at the forefront of efforts to encourage and assist young African American men to go to college, stay in college, graduate and take on leadership roles in our nation.” 

Congressman Fattah, addressing the U.S. House on Tuesday, said he and other Alpha Phi Alpha members in Congress were continuing to advance the goals of scholarship and college retention for young African Americans. House Concurrent Resolution 384, which recognized and honored Alpha Phi Alpha as “the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans,” was approved 422-0. 

The Congressman received a master’s degree of governmental administration from the University of Pennsylvania Fels School of State and Local Government in 1986 and joined Alpha’s Zeta Omicron Lambda chapter.

The fraternity was founded by seven young men at Cornell University on December 4, 1906. It has “played a fundamental role in the positive development of the character and education of more than 175,000 men,” according to the Resolution.

The Alpha members honored today are Congressmen Fattah, Emanuel Cleaver (MO), Danny Davis (IL), Al Green (TX), Gregory Meeks (NY), Charles Rangel (NY), David Scott (GA) and Robert Scott (VA).  The Centennial Convention, with former U.S. Senator Edward Brooke (R-Mass) as honorary chairman, continues in Washington D.C. through Sunday July 30.