San Diego black fraternity chapter honors members for half-century of service

Aug. 11--SOLANA BEACH -- One by one, they rose from their seats on the stage, some more nimbly than others -- retired doctors and lawyers, former Air Force officers, a contract attorney who worked for NASA in the years leading up to the Apollo missions.

Each is also a member of the San Diego chapter of the black fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, which held its first pinning ceremony Saturday at the Solana Beach Presbyterian Church to honor some 19 men who have served 50 or more years in the historic organization. Present at the ceremony were 13 of the men.

More than just dues-paying members of a 113-year-old fraternity, the men who were recognized -- and their younger brethren -- are notable for the good works they do for their community, which includes guiding African-American youth toward a college education and successful careers.

Among the outreach efforts supported by the San Diego chapter is the Continued Academic Excellence Program, which mentors high school students in partnership with Lincoln High School. Each year at the end of the program, the chapter's foundation awards scholarships to the participants.

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"College days swiftly pass, yet the recollection remains great," said the outgoing Zeta Sigma Lambda chapter president William Gillespie. "This is an awesome occasion for our chapter, our district, our region, our fraternity. Today we recognize men of distinction who have accomplished much. And I've been better for their wise counsel."

Several of the men who were recognized were quick to credit Alpha Phi Alpha for helping shape who they had become, beginning with their college days when they relied on their fraternity brothers to help keep them from straying off course. The lessons of notable members who came before them -- Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall and Andrew Young -- also were an inspiring force, they say.

"I joined the chapter in 1966 at Tuskegee University in the deep South, but I did not graduate there. I left school because I got married and ran out of money," recalled Doc Anthony Anderson, 72, a still-practicing San Diego attorney who later returned to school and joined the Army. "The guys all asked me, 'What can we do to support you so that you can get back on track and graduate and then reach out and lift someone else up?'

"I would later see these guys all the time, and the first question was, 'What are you up to?'" Anderson recalled. "'I'm in the Army,' I'd say, 'flying helicopters. I achieved the rank of captain,' and they said, 'Is that all you're going to do?'

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"Just two weeks ago, some of those same guys were asking me the same questions, and I said, 'I'm a successful attorney,' and they asked, 'What else are you going to do with your life?'"

While times and attitudes have changed since the days when he was a college student, retired San Diego Superior Court

Judge Joe Littlejohn Sr., an honoree Saturday, said there is no less need for the fellowship and mentoring offered by Alpha Phi Alpha

.

"The underserved community will continue. We can't sit back and say we're satisfied that young African-American men will automatically achieve or aspire to achieve unless there are mentors out there pointing them in the right direction," said Littlejohn, who joined the fraternity in 1958. "That need will continue for generations.

"But one of the things that has changed over time is young blacks can now look and see there are more successful black role models than they could have 60 years ago when I was coming along. They can see there are people who look like them doing most everything now."

Frank Russell Jr., a retired life insurance company executive and 59-year member of the fraternity, organized the pinning ceremony, "recognizing that all of us are moving into our more mature years, so we felt that this would be a wonderful event to be celebrated not just today but going forward with their sons, daughters, and wives."

Personally, he is proud, he says, of the mentoring work he has done with young men who now are Alphas themselves.

"I started mentoring them while they were in high school and helped them not only stay in college but also recognize the importance of completing their college education," Russell said. "Being young college men, there are some times where they fell off the wagon, and along with several other brothers, I'd have conversations with them, indicating the importance of staying in school, particularly for a black male."

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