Baltimore is place where the Delta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was founded and Charm City is where alumni and others have chosen to celebrate the storied organization’s 100th anniversary.
Organizers say hundreds of individuals from across the nation will gather on Saturday, May 18, 2019 at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore to celebrate the chapter’s centennial.
Since its 1919 charter, the century old local alumni chapter of the first intercollegiate Greek letter organization established by African American college men has been at the forefront of civic, social and political engagement in Baltimore, benefiting people of color and all citizens.
“It is fitting and proper to hold this momentous event here,” said Dr. Marco K. Merrick, Immediate Past President and Centennial Steering Committee Member.
“Delta Lambda has a storied and tre- mendous history in this community since its chartering in the early part of the 20th Century,” Merrick said. “We boast of having been the chapter in all of Alpha— more than 150,000 members around the world— to have had more college and university Presidents as members.”
Over the years, the chapter has been comprised of a wealth of leaders in the community, spanning careers in education, government, politics, religion, business, science, music, art and community organizations.
Among the 11 men who founded the chapter were Carl J. Murphy, the founder and CEO of Baltimore’s Afro American Newspaper; William Norman Bishop; Simeon Saunders Booker, a
famous journalist known for his work covering the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till; and Joseph Lincoln Shelton, who started 25th House of Alpha, the fourth oldest Alumni chapter, and what has become the largest alumni chapter in the Eastern Region of Alpha.
“Since its May 23, 1919 charter, Delta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity has been at the forefront of civic, social and political engagement in Baltimore, benefiting people of color and all citizens,” Merrick said.
Delta Lambda is the oldest, and largest alumni chapter in the state, according to Merrick.
Delta Lambda’s venerable membership past and present also includes UMBC President Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski, III; Retired Morgan State University President Dr. Earl Richardson; Baltimore City Councilman Dr. John Bullock; State Del. Keith Haynes; Morgan State University Choir conductor Dr. Eric Conway; Morgan State President Dr. David T. Wilson; State Delegate Charles Sydnor III; Delegate Keith Haynes; and Black Entertainment TV political commentator Jeffrey Johnson.
“Delta Lambda is one of the top three Alumni chapters across the fraternity’s international membership,” Merrick said.
For more information about Delta Lambda and the organization’s Centennial celebration, visit: www.deltalambda.org.