It is with extreme pride and pleasure to announce the signing of a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF). It is especially gratifying that we are partnering with an organization named in honor of our illustrious Brother U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall on this, his 112th birthday.
The TMCF, which is led by President and Alpha Brother Harry L. Williams, is the nation’s largest organization exclusively representing the Black College Community. TMCF member-schools include the publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominately Black Institutions. (PBIs).
We are grateful for the leadership and vision of Brother Williams as our organizations chart a new path forward together. This MOU is the first with any National Pan-Hellenic Council organization in TMCF’s history. The MOU will help enhance the educational opportunities for students at HBCUs and PBIs. Under the agreement, we will produce co-branded, co-produced and co-marketed value-added webinars and programs that not only support Alpha Brothers, but those TMCF students in the communities we serve. Alpha Brothers will also serve as peer-mentors to TMCF scholarship recipients at institutions where our chapters are located, as well as develop community service projects in support of the fund’s efforts and visibility.
Last week, I presented TMCF with a $25,000 donation on behalf of the Fraternity for scholarship support. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. is true to maintaining scholarship as one of our highest ideals and aims, and I see no better example than partnering with an organization with our Brother’s namesake that recognizes and ensures just that. It is, therefore, incumbent upon us as Alpha men to lead the way in supporting individuals and organizations in our communities by advocating on their behalf.
In the words of Brother Marshall, “None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody – a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns – bent down and helped us pick up our boots.”
Today, we are honored to help the next generation of change-makers pick up their boots.
Onward and Upward Always,
Everett B. Ward, Ph.D.
General President
