Contact:
Eric Christopher Webb, DDiv., CPLC
Director of Communications/Editor of The Sphinx
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Cell: 443-635-5911
June 16, 2022
For Immediate Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. joined with the four other National Pan-Hellenic Council fraternities for the historic, first-ever, NPHC Fraternity Days on Capitol Hill, which included panel discussions and meetings with Congressional members and other officials, June 13-14.
Among them, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. participated with the Fraternity in panel discussions on voting rights, public safety, economic development, education, and housing on the first day.
“A gathering of this magnitude represents a game-changing opportunity for us to dramatically increase our impact when it comes to mentorship and addressing community needs that have been long tackled, but stubbornly persists due to limits from our individual approaches,” said Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. General President Willis L. Lonzer, III, Ph.D. “We’re going to present a more unified front and increase collaboration, especially towards improving outcomes for young African American males to make greater impact. I believe at the end of the day, our organizations will grow closer together, but most importantly – our community will be stronger.”
Several members of the Congressional Black Caucus and other officials also addressed and met with the fraternities, including: Omega Frater, Majority Whip, and U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC), Delta Soror and U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), also CBC Chairwoman; Delta Soror and U.S. Rep. Val Demings (D-FL); Kappa Frater and U.S. Rep. Hakim Jeffries (D-NY); AKA Soror and U.S. Rep. Terrie Sewell (D-AL); Kappa Frater and U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA); AKA Soror and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX); AKA Soror and U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL); Omega Frater and U.S. Rep. Kwesi Mfume, (D-MD); Kappa Frater and U.S. Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA); Alpha Brother and U.S. Rep. Al Green (D-TX); AKA Soror and U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL); Alpha Brother and U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, (D-Va.); CBC Exec. Director Vince Evans; Alpha Brother and U.S. House of Representatives Sergeant of Arms William J. Walker; as well as Omega Frater and NAACP President Derrick Johnson.
The fraternities are focused on several key legislation, including H.R. 5746 – Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act; H.R. 3863 Fair Representation Act; H.R. 132 – Federal Prison Bureau Nonviolent Offender Relief Act of 2021; S. 79 – EQUAL Act; S. 1109 – Minority Entrepreneurship Grant Program Act of 2021; H.R. 3294 – IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act; H.R. 40 – Commission to Study and Development Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act; H.R. 251 – Reaffirming bilateral and multilateral relations between the United States and African countries and recognizing the importance of diplomatic, security, and trade relations; and S. 1368 – American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2021, according to Brother Carl A. Pickney, the event’s co-organizer, and both the Fraternity’s social action chair, and chairman of the political and civic engagement committee.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Small Business Administration established a Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) with the National Pan-Hellenic Council’s Council of Presidents, comprised of the nine historically Black fraternities and sororities.
“This historic alliance between the SBA and the NPHC—the first of its kind for a government agency—will bring SBA’s valuable small business resources into reach for many small businesses and entrepreneurs, furthering the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to build equity and close historic wealth gaps that have held back America’s Black entrepreneurs, small business owners and their families and communities for generations,” said SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman in an SBA press release. “Over the past 18 months, the SBA has made incredible progress reaching more of Ame4rica’s small businesses, delivering vital resources and support to entrepreneurs who have been historically underinvested in and overlooked—the same people and communities hit hardest by the COVID pandemic. Working alongside partners and allies within the Divine Nine will provide even greater reach for the SBA to better provide the entrepreneurial Black community access to networks, financial literacy, technical training, and capital readiness so they can successfully realize their American Dreams of business ownership, create jobs, and advance our economy.”
According to the SBA release, the partnership will focus on increasing financial literacy within traditionally underserved, disadvantaged communities, expanding the Agency’s outreach, and introducing Black entrepreneurs to the SBA’s suite of tools and resources to start and grow their businesses including access to capital, government contracting opportunities and counseling.
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About Alpha Phi Alpha
The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., headquartered in Baltimore, MD, was founded on December 4, 1906, at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. The Fraternity has long stood at the forefront of the African-American community’s fight for civil rights through Alpha men such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Adam Clayton Powell, Thurgood Marshall, Paul Robeson, Andrew Young, Edward Brooke and Cornel West. The fraternity, through its more than 720 college and alumni chapters and general-organization members, serves communities in the United States, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. Visit and follow on Twitter @apa1906network.