Kappa Alpha Psi, a college fraternity, now comprised of functioning undergraduate and alumni chapters on major campuses and in cities throughout the country and the world.
Black-sponsored Greek letter organizations on the Indiana University campus might well have begun in 1903, but there were too few registrants to assure a continuing organization. In that year, a club was formed called Alpha Kappa Nu with the purpose of strengthening the voice of Blacks at the university. The club disappeared after a short time. There is no record of any similar organization at Indiana until ten astute African-American college students, on the night of January 5, 1911, sowed the seed of a fraternal tree whose fruit is available to, and now enjoyed by, college men everywhere, regardless of their color, religion or national origin.
The Fraternity was chartered and incorporated originally under the laws of the State of Indiana as Kappa Alpha Nu on April 15, 1911. There is no evidence as to why the greek letters KappaAlpha Nu were chosen, but the name became an ethnic slur among racist factions. Founder Elder Diggs, while observing a young initiate compete in a track meet, overheard fans referring to the member as a “Kappa Alpha Nigger,” and a campaign to rename the Fraternity ensued. The name was changed to Kappa Alpha Psi on a resolution offered and adopted at the Grand Chapter in December 1914. This change became effective April 15, 1915, on a proclamation by the then Grand Polemarch, Elder Watson Diggs. Thus, the name acquired a distinctive Greek letter symbol and Kappa Alpha Psi thereby became a Greek letter fraternity in every sense on the designation. It is the beautiful realization of a vision shared commonly by the late revered Founders.
Founders History
