Alpha Rho Chapter Alumni Association Celebrates Historic Rediscovery And Return Of Original 1924 Charter Document

The discovery places Alpha Rho Chapter in an ultra-exclusive fraternity circle that lists only 8 known undergraduate chapters that retain their original, signed charter document before 1945. Alpha Rho is now enshrined as the third oldest member with this elite designation.

APCAA Staff

ATLANTA, GA — Friday, July 11, 2025 — The Alpha Rho Chapter Alumni Association (APCAA) proudly announces the extraordinary rediscovery and return of the original charter document that officially established the Alpha Rho Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. at Morehouse College. Originally signed and issued on January 5, 1924, the document designates Alpha Rho as the 38th chapter of the nation’s first intercollegiate fraternity founded by African American men.

Long thought to be lost to history and now showing signs of decades of some neglect, the charter was recently uncovered among the estate holdings of the late Brother Charles Raven Whatley Sr. (APID No. 137), who served as recording secretary of the chapter in the late 1930s. Bro. Whatley, a dedicated Alpha man, pledged Alpha Rho alongside seven other Sphinxmen during the Fall 1938 pledge period. Whatley's grandson, Morehouse College alumnus Courtney Showell, made the discovery in June 2025.

“This isn’t just a piece of parchment — it’s a living bridge to the founding spirit of Alpha Rho Chapter and its legacy at Morehouse College,” said Bro. BMaynard Scarborough (Fall 1980), President and Founder of the Alpha Rho Chapter Alumni Association. “To have this sacred document returned to the chapter after more than a century reaffirms our sacred duty to preserve, protect, and honor our rich fraternal heritage.”

Captions, l-r above: July 9 2025, now in restoration/preservation.

The discovery places Alpha Rho Chapter in an ultra-exclusive fraternity circle that lists only eight known undergraduate chapters that retain their original, signed charter document before 1945. Alpha Rho is now enshrined as the third oldest member with this elite designation, with two other undergraduate chapters beforehand:

• Epsilon Chapter (#5) – University of Michigan (est. 1909)

• Phi Chapter (#20) – Ohio University (est. 1919)

  
  

The historic document will now reside under the stewardship of APCAA as part of the Alpha Rho Collection at the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library where it will be preserved as the centerpiece of Alpha Rho's centennial legacy efforts leading up to its 100th anniversary in 2024. Library archivists and will ensure the charter’s preservation, display, and educational integration for current and future generations of Alpha men.

Captions, l-r above: Undergraduate Advisor Bro. Henry M. Goodgame (APID No. 827), who first accepted the charter return from Mr. Showell, and APCAA President & Founder Bro. BMaynard Scarborough (APID No. 815) are shown with the prized Alpha Rho Chapter Charter on Wednesday, July 9, 2025 — two days after its return to the campus seat at Morehouse College; original framed charter for Phi Chapter at Ohio University; original framed charter for Epsilon Chapter at University of Michigan; 1930s-era surrogate charter for Alpha Chapter at Cornell University.

The Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., was established at the University of Michigan in April 1909, making it the fifth chapter of the fraternity. The Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan houses collections related to the Epsilon Chapter, including the original charter from 1909 and photographs depicting the Alpha Phi Alpha house and its members from the early 20th century. 

The original charter for the Phi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha at Ohio University survives as a framed document and is dated May 17, 1919. It also bears the signatures of then-President S. S. Booker and Secretary Norman L. McGhee. The charter also names the Ohio University students who founded the chapter: Harry R. Jefferson, Leo G. Robinson, William C. Matney, Arthur Matney, James Wade, Hobart W. Dandridge, J. Elbert Petress, Frederick Lacey, and Jesse Carter. The charter is housed in the Ohio University Library's Digital Archives as part of the Alpha Phi Alpha, Phi Chapter Collection.

In a November 8, 1927 letter to Oliver B. Cassell of Ithaca College (#1/Alpha Chapter), Charles H. Wesley, Alpha Phi Alpha National Historian and author of The History of Alpha Phi Alpha, asks “Do you know whether the original charter to Alpha is anywhere in Ithaca? I would like a Photostat of it? I hope that I am not asking too much of you, but without these little aids our history will be incomplete.” While it is universally unclear whether the original charter survives in 2025, a facsimile was created in the 1930s to serve as a surrogate. (fr Cornell University Library).

Captions, l-r above: An except from the fraternity's history book referencing the approval of the charter petition; Alpha Rho Chapter brothers pictured at the 1939 Valentine's Day formal dance; Bro. Charles Raven Whatley Sr.; alumni members from the Whatley-Showell-Tillman family dynasty profiled during the college's 150th anniversary.

In 2023, APCAA President & Founder Bro. BMaynard Scarborough spearheaded a groundbreaking initiative: the founding of the Alpha Rho Chapter Alumni Association (APCAA) Archive Collection at the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library, a pioneering project that established Alpha Rho as the sole chapter-administered historical collection among all 686 active Alpha Phi Alpha chapters worldwide.

The permanent research-level collection is curated by APCAA, and features original artifacts from distinguished Alpha Phi Alpha alumni, including: Atlanta, Georgia Mayor Bro. Maynard H. Jackson (Spring 1956), Morehouse College Presidents Bros. Dr. John Hope, Dr. Hugh M. Gloster (Fall 1930) and Bro. Wiley A. Perdue (Fall 1954), Morehouse College Dean of Students Bro. William M. Nix (Fall 1936), Legendary Georgia State Legislator Bro. Horace T. Ward (Spring 1948), Rev. Bro. Henry J.C. Bowden (charter, 1924), Board Chairman Emeritus Bro. Willie “Flash” Davis (Fall 1954), and Bro. Charlie J. Moreland (Fall 1948).

Featured items span from jeweled fraternity pins, certificates, signage, collateral material, ceremonial paddles to vintage Morehouse College yearbooks, with special acquisitions like a rare 1923 Torch yearbook (first year of publication), and an 88-year‑old paddle from Bro. Albert  Miles Davis (Fall 1936).

Alpha Rho Chapter is also distinguished by the fact that all 13 charter members were previously initiated into the fraternity via Eta Lambda Chapter while they were still undergraduate students at Morehouse College. This makes Alpha Rho the only undergraduate chapter in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to be solely chartered by undergraduate members from the same institution.

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