AUC Woodruff Library Books Alpha Rho For Next Archived Chapter In ATL African-American Culture

Artifacts From Morehouse College's Alpha Rho Chapter — THE GREAT 38 — To Be Housed And Digitally Archived Alongside Luminaries Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Atlanta Mayor Maynard H. Jackson (Spring 1956), Dr. Louis W. Sullivan (Fall 1951) and Dr. Hugh M. Gloster (Fall 1930)

By APCAA Staff

For more than 99 years, the Alpha Rho Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. has developed leaders, promoted brotherhood and academic excellence, while providing service and advocacy for our community during undergrad, and in the greater community afterward. All known artifacts of our storied history which began on Saturday, January 5, 1924 on the campus of Morehouse College will now be assembled for research purposes and preservation at The Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center, Inc.

The partnership to archive items from nearly 100 years of fraternity life was secured in advance of the chapter's Centennial Celebration scheduled for January 5-7, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Archives Research Center’s collections primarily document the African American experience through civil rights, race relations, education, literature, visual and performing arts, religion, politics, and social work. The holdings include books, manuscript collections, digital collections, and materials documenting the Atlanta University Center schools, as well as the African American and African Diasporic experience.

"For more than nine years, members of the APCAA have carefully crafted how THE GREAT 38 will be celebrated during Centennial, and we've designed a scholarship legacy that will impact generations to come," said APCAA President BMaynard Scarborough. "We're extremely mindful that we make our legacy accessible to those same generations that will hopefully build upon what we've accomplished. So, archiving our impact on the world at The Woodruff is just what the Brotherhood ordered."

In addition to the celebratory events planned for AP100, the Chapter has developed a student/parent/mentoring/scholarship program exclusively for high school-aged young men who reside in the neighborhoods surrounding Morehouse College. In 2022, APCAA tapped Brother Robert Percy Williams (Fall 1999) to serve as Chief Scholastic Officer — adjacent to his role as Principal of the M. Agnes Jones Elementary School located a mere two blocks from the Morehouse campus. To date, no other funding organization has earmarked similar financial support to a neighboring college, and installed an active academic leader to direct the program and guide the recipients.