Fraternity to present 8 young men at June 16 beautillion

The Epsilon Rho Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity will hold its beautillion at 7 p.m. Friday in the Metropolitan Room, 109 Green St. in historic downtown.

The theme is “Young Kings With a Purpose.” Eight young men from Cumberland, Hoke and Sampson counties will be presented.

 Tickets are $50, and proceeds will go toward scholarships. Tickets are available on Eventbrite at https://tinyurl.com/2vyshez8.

The following young men will be presented:

• Beau Noah Allen, son of Richard and Karen Allen and a recent graduate of Hoke County High School.
• Beau Jonathan Askew, son of Cherron Taylor and Jonathan Askew and a recent graduate of Seventy-First High School.
• Beau Thomas Askew, son of Thomas and Juaneshia Askew, who recently graduated from Hoke County High School.
• Beau Shamar Curry, son of LaToya Parker and Christopher Curry, a recent graduate of E.E. Smith High School.
• Beau Jelani Gaddy, son of Ronda Bethune and a graduate of E.E. Smith High School.
• Beau James Murphy, son of Sebrena Murphy and a graduate of Lakewood High School in Salemburg.
• Beau Travis Stroud, son of Travis and Jacqueline Stroud and a graduate of E.E. Smith High School.
• Beau Cameron Williams, son of LaRonda Williams-Caldwell and a student at Lakewood High School.

Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans, was founded on Dec. 4, 1906, at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, by seven college men who recognized the need for a strong bond of brotherhood among African descendants in the U.S.

The founders, known as the “Jewels” of the fraternity, were Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, and Vertner Woodson Tandy.

The fraternity initially served as a study and support group for minority students who faced racial prejudice, both in education and socially, at Cornell. The Jewel founders and early leaders of the fraternity succeeded in laying a firm foundation for Alpha Phi Alpha's principles of scholarship, fellowship, good character, and the uplifting of humanity, according to a news release.

Chapters worldwide lead the fraternity’s four national programs:

• Project Alpha: A project designed to provide education, motivation, and skill-building on issues of responsibility, relationships, teen pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases for young men ages 12 to 15.
• Voteless People Is a Hopeless People: A voter education and registration effort. In the 1990s, the focus shifted to include political awareness and empowerment, delivered most frequently through meetings and candidate forums, the news release said.
• Brothers Keeper: A service program developed with the mission of advancing and improving the quality of life for brothers, their spouses, and widows who are retired, are elders, have disabilities or are infirmed. Upon identifying the need, brothers aid those community individuals in need.
• Go to High School, Go to College: Established in 1922, this program concentrates on the importance of completing secondary and collegiate education as a road to advancement. Young men receive information and learn strategies to facilitate success.

The Epsilon Rho Lambda Chapter was chartered in Fayetteville on Jan. 1, 1952, under then-General President Maceo Smith and General Secretary Bennie D. Brown Sr. The founders were Thomas Bacote, James Nelson Bugg, Father Johnson, the Rev. Robert A. Massey Sr., Edgar Allen Toppin, Sr., Clarence Harris Thomas, and Daniel A. Williams. 

Chapter initiatives have included annual scholarships for high school students, weekly volunteer work at the Salvation Army homeless shelter, March of Dimes Walk for Babies Campaign, and feeding the homeless during the holiday season.

For more information about the beautillion or the chapter’s programs, email Jeffery Womble at jmauricewomble@gmail.com.

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