History of the General Organization

IOTA LAMBDA CHAPTER HISTORY

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A Brief History of Iota Lambda Chapter
Indianapolis, Indiana
An edited version of this article appears as a chapter in the Centennial Edition History of the Midwest Region of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.,
published in 2006 by Peal and Ross

As evidenced from the first Greek letter of its name, and from its founding date of April 17, 1922, Iota Lambda is one of the early, surviving alumni chapters of our great Fraternity. According to Br. Charles Harris Wesley, in The History Of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity: A Development in College Life, "the chapter was set up by Brother Fairfax of Ohio University and Brother Powell of Tau Chapter." Charter Members of Iota Lambda were Brothers Clarence Burbridge, Averitte Corley, Sumner Furniss, George Gore, Oley A Johnson, Morris Taylor, John Walker, and Minus Woodruff. Iota Lambda was somewhat unique in that the original Chapter Charter was somewhat unique in authorizing intake of college Brothers at Bloomington, DePauw, and Purdue. Although this point is noted in the Fraternal history book, the original charter documents vanished by the latter part of the 20th century, and the Chapter surrendered this role, in part due to the establishment of nearby college chapters in the intervening years.

As with the charter of Iota Lambda, much of our fraternal and communal history (whether committed to paper or handed down orally) has been lost. In particular, local records and recollections, particularly those bridging the period from the founding of this chapter to the late 1940s were unavailable as of this writing. So the details of this chapter history are necessarily to the best of the collective memory of those Brothers participating in the project of this brief history.

It is worth recalling modern presidents of Iota Lambda Chapter (some of whom served multiple terms) from 1946 to present. Exact dates of terms could not be established, but roughly in chronological order these included Brothers Spurling Clark, Henry Richardson, Rev. James Cummings, Lehman Adams, Theodore Randall, Crammon J. Myers, Joseph Taylor, William Coleman, John Warrick, Robert Lackey, Freeman Martin, Leon Thompkins, Frederick Bullard, Kevin Holloway, Thomas Horner, Robert McGhee, Harry Penquite, Edsel Thruston, John Davis, James Davie, Robert E. Bedford, Alan Presley, Isham J. Bennett, and William Crutchfield.

To return to our necessarily anecdotal history, in 1946, Br. Spurling Clark of Iota Lambda made Gamma Eta chapter in Bloomington. At about that time, Br. Henry Richardson was a major force in Iota Lambda, promoting various activities within the chapter. In 1948, Br. Richardson came to a Kentucky State initiation, where Br. Edsel Thruston, four term Iota Lambda president was made.

During the early 1950s there were approximately 10-11 active Brothers in Iota Lambda, meeting in Brothers' homes. During this era, the modern local celebration of Founders' Day, honoring our Jewels, came into being under Brothers Clinthorn, Cummins and Adams. Additionally, the chapter's Black and Gold Ball, our primary public social event, was initiated and has been celebrated annually with few interruptions to the present.

In 1970, the Chapter began participating in Indiana Black Expo, an event celebrating the Indiana Black Community. It is noteworthy that the Indianapolis celebration is not only among the largest of many such events nationally, but also and unfortunately among the few surviving to this day. The Indianapolis event began under the leadership of four local Black men (not of this Fraternity), Jim Cummins, Sam Jones, Reverend Andrew J. Brown, and Mike Ransom. Indiana Black Expo began at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on the near northeast side of the city, and subsequently moved to its present location at the Indiana Convention Center, occupying most of the facility and the adjoining RCA Dome. This chapter has long sponsored a booth at the annual Expo Summer Celebration to display information about the activities of the General Organization and of the local chapter, to reclaim inactive Brothers, and to inspire non-Alpha men to seek membership. The chapter has received first place honors among all community organizations exhibiting in five of the past seven years.

Indiana Sports Corporation and Indiana Black Expo created the nationally-known, annual Black college football weekend, the Circle City Classic. Part of this weekend is the Circle City Classic Parade, which was initially chaired by Br. Lehman D. Adams. From 1984 through 1989, Iota Lambda Chapter participated in parade, and around 1990, the chapter began its annual sponsorship of a float as part of its parade unit. Colorful floats emblematic of the various parade themes - among the few in the parade actually built by the sponsoring organization - have continued to be presented by Iota Lambda with few interruptions to the present.

With the initiative of Br. Leslie F. House, Junior Alpha Men - a youth mentoring and leadership program supporting our national Go to High School Go to College initiative - began in 1986. The group is made up of junior high school and high school age males. Iota Lambda has annually sponsored a group of Junior Alpha men to the Midwestern Regional Youth Leadership Development and Citizenship Education Institute, beginning with the session held at Ohio Dominion College in 1986 and continuing to the present. In the early 1980s, Br. House also guided the initiation of the local Project Alpha, with Br. Robert E. Bedford serving as the first local program director. This national and local initiative stressing teen sexual responsibility, in partnership with the March of Dimes, continues in its local implementation to the present.

Other aspects of the Go to High School Go to College program were adopted locally under the chapter presidency of Br. Robert McGhee. Modern chapter participation in Boy Scout activities received particular encouragement from the administration of Iota Lambda president James Davie, in the mid-1990s. Continuing community involvements of the Chapter and of individual members would include: volunteering at the annual Mozelle Sanders Thanksgiving Dinner; chapter and collaborative efforts in voter registrations in support of "A Voteless People is a Hopeless People"; participation in events sponsored by the Pan-Hellenic Council; support of youth programs such as 21st Century Scholars and youth outreach initiatives of the Indianapolis Black Alumni Council.

At the state level, Brothers from Iota Lambda have often served as the Indiana District Director in recent years. Since the early 1970s, Iota Lambda Brothers in this role include John Warrick, Robert McGhee Theo Hammiter, Robert E. Bedford, John Davis, Adrian Cushenberry, and Thua Barlay have served along with Brothers from other Indiana alumni chapters in the role of District Director. Others from this chapter have also served in supporting roles in state leadership. Under their leadership, the District of Indiana has been among the leaders in defining, adopting, and refining the modern forms of membership intake. In regional matters, Iota Lambda Chapter has hosted the Midwestern Regional Conventions in 1954, 1964, 1976, 1990, and 2002. The chapter also hosted the Midwestern Regional Youth Leadership Development and Citizenship Education Institute in (mentioned above) in 1989 and again in the early 1990s.

In 1991, Br. Robert E. Bedford, then an administrator and instructor at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI), completed a quest of several years duration. He prevailed in efforts with our General Organization and IUPUI to charter Sigma Phi Chapter at that institution, also serving nearby campuses. The charter members were initiated with the assistance of Brothers from Iota Lambda.

In August of 2002, Iota Lambda entered the information age in earnest, as Br. Edward Squires with Br. Thua Barlay established the chapter's presence on the World Wide Web, currently at http://www.iotalambda.org. The Iota Lambda web pages include public information about the Fraternity and chapter, photo archives, links to regional and national Fraternal resources, and connections to extensive information on African and African American history and culture.

Any attempt to single out a few Brothers for noteworthy service to the Fraternity and beyond unavoidably will result in neglecting many whose deeds were less visible or less easily called to mind. With apologies to those Brothers and recognitions which space could not accommodate or the vagaries of memory have slighted, we offer the following (in alphabetical order) as examples of Iota Lambda Brothers of note:
Br. Dr. Lehman Adams - professor at the Indiana University School of Dentistry; active in civic, political, education, and medical affairs.
Br. Robert E. Bedford - educator; one of the founding contributors to Alpha University.
Br. Dr. T. Garrott Benjamin - Bishop, Light of the World Christian Church; author.
Br. Rod Bohannon - attorney; long time President of the Indianapolis Chapter of the NAACP.
Br. Rozelle Boyd - long time Indianapolis City Councilman and former Dean of the University Division of Indiana University, Bloomington.
Br. Alvin S. Bynum - former head of University Division of IUPUI and member of the Board of Trustees of Marian College; author.
Br. David P. Gulley - first non-African American member of Iota Lambda Chapter.
Br. Grant Hawkins - former chairman of Indianapolis School Board; head of Indianapolis Department of Public Works; and assistant to then-Governor of Indiana, McNutt.
Br. Joseph Isom - first chief to approve all GI Loans in the State of Indiana.
Br. Dr. Frank P. Lloyd - physician who rose to head of Methodist Hospital, responsible for its expansion to largest hospital in the state of Indiana; founded Midwest National Bank in the 1970s as well as radio station WTLC.
Br. Dr. George Rawls - outstanding surgeon; assistant Dean of Indiana University Medical School; philanthropist.
Br. Henry Richardson - fought the Ku Klux Klan in the community during the late 1920s.
Br. Dr. Joseph T. Taylor - first academic dean of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, IUPUI; conducted research supporting the desegregation case of the Marion County Public Schools.
Br. John Preston Ward - sued the City of Indianapolis in school desegregation, case supported by historical materials from Br. Dr. Joseph Taylor.
Br. Clarence Wood - first Black vice president of a major Indianapolis banking institution (former American Fletcher National Bank).

Contributing Brothers: Dr. Lehman Adams, Leslie F. House, Joseph Isom, Robert A. McGhee, Edward C. Squires, Edsel A. Thruston, Robert Wood.