California State Polytechnic University, Pomona - CSPU Fraternities Milam (left) and Roy Bryant sit with their wives, Juanita Milam (second from left) and Carolyn Bryant, in September 1955. Kappa Alpha Psi, a college Fraternity, was born in an environment saturated in racism. A commitment to Pi Kappa Phi that transcends any personal selfishness. "There is way more at stake than simply a history lesson on what happened in 1955," Tell says. H cuRRenT membeRs H Bennie Thompson 1948 united states representative democrat from mississippi 1993 That context was particularly pronounced at predominantly white institutions, including the Indiana university where Kappa Alpha Psi was founded in 1911. It was kind of an icebreaker, Thompson, now a member of the U.S. House, told me more than five decades later. Though those who knew him back then dont remember him speaking about national political ambitions, Jeffries was involved in campus politics and especially focused on uplifting students of color. Kappa Alpha Psi is the 2nd oldest existing collegiate historically Black Greek Letter Fraternity and the 1st intercollegiate Fraternity incorporated as a national body. WebOne of the 5 Objectives of the Fraternity is: To promote the spiritual, social, intellectual and moral welfare of members. Many aspects of the Fraternitys rites are engrained in Christianity ideals and contain excerpts from the Bible. This environment made day-to-day life for Blacks an arduous task and attempts to successfully achieve in school, nearly impossible. Thompsons supporters delineate a clear path from Thompsons upbringing, education, and career as a Black man in Mississippi, a state riven by the domestic terrorism of white supremacists in the decades between Reconstruction and the civil rights movement. That included accounts of the impact of Trumps Dec. 19 tweet, but the panel mostly focused on the conduct of Trump and his associates. Recent reporting by The Washington Post and CBS News revealed a gap in Trumps phone logs on January 6, 2021, of seven hours and 37 minutes. Jeffries has since credited his time in the historically Black fraternity as a defining era of his life. This was a convergence of a mob riot with a white nationalist violent insurrection, and an inside political coup. A spokeswoman for Representative Bennie Thompson, the Democratic chairman of the panel, didnt respond to a request for comment or confirm the authenticity "There was a lot of pushback not only from the white community but from the black community also," says Jaynes-Diming. Who are bound together in a common loyalty Twitter, Parler and Gab didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. WebCongressman Bennie G. Thompson is a firm believer of giving back to those whom afforded him an opportunity to serve. I believe that the ideal chapter is made up of men. Read More: America Loves to Celebrate Firsts Like Hakeem Jeffries. Martin Luther King Jr. was among the luminaries in the civil rights movement who spoke at the colleges Woodworth Chapel. In a previous Web version of this story, we incorrectly said the Mississippi Delta is in the northeast part of the state. The percentage of Blacks on campus was less than 1%. Able assistance provided by each of the remaining Founders furnished necessary sustenance for the embryonic group. Triangle. "And for folks that live here, there's been, over generations I think, a tendency to sweep it all under the rug to the extent possible. The city halls are no longer places our black folks fear to come, Thompson told The New York Times in a 1979 article. Rep. Sanford Bishop of Georgia is a Kappa too, as is Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, who served as chairman of the groundbreaking Jan. 6 committee. In what capacity would you like to participate? The Bryant's Grocery building is in ruins, overtaken by trees and vines. And he was that kind of guy.. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Nor would the new Fraternity seek its members in the manner of other Greek organizations from among the sons of wealthy families or families of social prestige. Committee members including Liz Cheney and Adam Schiff pushed back and said such a decision had not been made yet. The two men attacked the teen after Carolyn Bryant claimed he made an aggressive pass at her. When Rep. The towns white population revolted, and an unsuccessful lawsuit to prevent the three from taking office ultimately died in a federal court of appeals. "We came by to see this part of history about Emmett Till," says Alexis Ortiz. Most folks that I talk to who were members of white fraternities and sororities will talk about it in past tense once they leave college, says Tamara L. Brown, one of the editors of African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision. Thompson defeated the Republican candidate for the seat in a runoff election, mobilizing the districts Black voters. A replica of Bryant's Grocery is part of the Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center Museum in Glendora, Miss. That was a very different and liberating feeling as compared to the neighborhoods of central Brooklyn in the 1980s in the midst of the crack-cocaine epidemic.. The organization was given the temporary name of Alpha Omega, while they further developed the formation of the organization. He calls commemorative sites like signs and monuments the new lunch counters. All of a sudden, there was a part of the campus that just didnt know that we even existed, and then we were like the Beatles on campus, Cordero says. The committee is also expected to hold more public hearings this year, after just one high-profile hearing with Capitol and Metropolitan Police officers last summer. hide caption. Who are the Jan. 6 select committee members : NPR History The story begins in Money, Miss., at Bryant's Grocery, where Till allegedly flirted with a white woman. Primarily, under the efforts and leadership of the calm, methodical, and philosophical Elder W. Diggs and the critical, and scholarly Byron K. Armstrong, the Kappa Alpha Nu Fraternity was founded. Farmer Walker Sturdivant owns the land where Till's body was removed from the river. Charter Line Spring 1979 Rutgers University! ), When Espy was selected by President Bill Clinton to serve as secretary of agriculture in early 1993, Thompson ran in the special election to fill the vacant seat. Thompson is married to London Johnson of Mound Bayou, Mississippi, and has a daughter, BendaLonne, a granddaughter, Jeanna, and a grandson, Thomas. David Cingranelli, a political science professor who became one of Jeffries favorite teachers, remembers that the future Congressman never hid his opinions, despite being one of the few Black students in his course. Our public core values were created to help guide the decisions we make. What do they teach their fraternity members? Mississippi continues to face tremendous challenges as we confront our health care needs. Taking careful attention to detail and to ensure the fraternity was rooted in authenticity, these Founder Diggs took courses in Greek heraldry and mythology and applied their combined knowledge to the development of these articles. Meta spokesman Andy Stone declined to comment on the draft report and referred questions about Trumps reinstatement to the companys previous public statements, which pledged consequences for future violations if Trumps accounts are reinstated. He plans to donate a long-term lease to better protect the site. You know when you are in college, and there are just some people that seem like grown-ups, more than the other students? It remains the only Greek letter organization with its Alpha Chapter on Indiana Universitys campus. Miguel Correa finds parallels to events today. Thompson was born in Bolton in 1948, the son of a mechanic and a schoolteacher. When Thompson and Flowers faced off in 2020, Thompson ended up winning by more than 30%. Bennie G. Thompson on Twitter His 43 years of public service is a testament to his The James "Biff" Carter Legislative Conference (aka "Kappas on Capitol Hill") brings together members of Kappa Alpha Psi to effect meaningful change. by keeping careful watch over their personal conduct; Who uphold faithfully the traditions During the early days of Greek life, these elite fraternities and sororities were known to groom their members on the basics of business and social etiquette. | Follow my Instagram: @benniegthompson . (It was also where he met his wife of more than 50 years, London.). Commission Chairman Once Openly Sympathized With Secession in bearing their share of the financial burden 'Why Don't Y'all Let That Die?' Telling The Emmett Till Story In As members of the Favorite Healthcare Staffing family, if you are also a member of a Divine Nine fraternity or sorority, please post a picture of yourself representing your organization. With assistance from Sarah Frier, Alex Barinka and Emily Birnbaum. These three Founders are credited with guiding the infant Fraternity through the most perilous years of its life. Binghamton was over 80% white at the start of Jeffries freshman year, according to figures provided by the school. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? "What happened to Emmett Till, it's awful, it's sickening, turns my stomach every time I think about it, but it's a part of our history. Trump lawyer cross-examines rape accuser Carroll Bennie Thompson has never won a Super Bowl. I dont do a lot of talking, Thompson told me, because I like encouraging others to be engaged with whatever the process is. That focus on collaboration has served him well for the select committee, which includes two other committee chairs among its high-profile members: Lofgren, the leader of the House Administration Committee, and Representative Adam Schiff, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee. Hes very careful and inclusive as chairman. The event was originally conceived by James T. Carter Jr. (Xi, 1948), a retired teacher from the DC public school system, who became an aide to Congressman Conyers. Jeffries was only a college sophomore at Binghamton University when he was elected president of the schools fledgling chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi. It was Carter's vision to leverage to size and breadth of the fraternity to mobilize legislators, regulators, and activists, and, at the same time, bolster the influence of the Congressional Black Caucus. The Mississippi congressmans long struggle for civil rights is culminating with his role atop the January 6 committee. READ MORE: Rep. Bennie Thompson, leading the public Jan. 6 hearings, has long worked to protect democracy. According to Brown, Black Greek life in the U.S. arose from exclusion and racism in higher education. The panels investigators interviewed technology industry executives and law enforcement and intelligence officials, along with Trump aides and Republican election officials. We will continue to monitor and enforce our policies across the platform.. 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Picking an underclassman like Jeffries to run the chapter fit with the Kappa Alpha Psi mantra of training for leadership, Cordero adds, by letting the youngest brothers in the chapter run the chapter while the older ones can provide mentorship.. Since their inception, each organization has contributed countless hours of community service, donated millions of dollars toward educational scholarships, and have provided leadership to communities around the country. In 2006, he was elected to the New York State Assembly. Power always changes hands, and Republicans are widely expected to retake the House in the midterm elections. A New York Times article detailing Thompsons victory said he was regarded as far more confrontational than Espy, noting that he made no overtures to white voters.. When Rep. Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., testifies before the House Rules Committee on Dec. 14, 2021. Fast forward to today, the Divine Nine is a collective of Black fraternities and sororities that are governed by the National Pan-Hellenic Council. That 814-page report, which was issued in December, concluded Trump was the central cause of the 2021 mob invasion of the Capitol. The committees findings contradict complaints from conservative politicians that social media companies are biased against right-wing users. That pattern is set to repeat this year, with Nancy Pelosi stepping down as House Speaker to make room at the top for Jeffries, while sticking around to help guide the 52-year-old as he manages the caucus. The University of Mississippi fraternity brothers who posed with guns at the bullet-pocked marker were suspended by the Kappa Alpha Order, an organization that ". YOU MAY ALSO LIKE NEW! Bennie was sent to Hins County public school by his parents. We have a saying down here America, welcome to Mississippi. So a lot of what Bennie is dealing with, Im sure like all of us, we were hopeful that we wouldnt see again, Fitzgerald said. Despite the growing hostility of Whites toward Blacks in Indiana, some Black students sought a college education at Indiana University, as it was a tuition-free university of the highest quality. A replica of Bryant's Grocery is part of the Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center Museum in Glendora, Miss. "And it's not just about replacing the sign, but it's what do they teach there? Bennie G. Thompson on Twitter Equality doesnt mean spending the same amount of money on blacks as whites. I am always looking for students who are a little different from everybody else, who are not afraid to speak their mind, Cingranelli says. There was an additional misunderstanding being attributed to the acronym of the Fraternitys Greek letters, KAN. Some confused the abbreviation of the letters to refer to the state of Kansas. Pi Kappa Phi | Cal Poly Pomona As we celebrate Black History Month, its important to acknowledge the remarkable legacy of the Divine Nine. Fox ratings plunge for Tucker Carlsons old time slot "Just like Mississippi, there's the white side of the story and there's the black side and they don't necessarily agree," Thompson says. Developments affecting the committees work continue at a fast pace. Civil rights tour guide Jessie Jaynes-Diming says it was painful to see. It was 1969, one year after the death of Martin Luther King Jr., and in Bolton, Mississippi, white Southerners ugly backlash to the gains of the civil rights movement was a powerful force. Whitten sees no reason to commemorate Till's slaying. "We're here in the cotton gin where they received the fan, the old fan, that they attempted to dispose of the child's body with," says museum founder and Glendora Mayor Johnny Thomas. Subscribe to Stathead Football: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Pro Football Reference Database. For Thompson, one of the honors of his committee chairmanship is in showing that the son of man who never votedwho couldnt vote in the apartheid state of Jim Crow Mississippican lead the investigation uncovering the truths of a dark day in U.S. history. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The Greek Letter was chosen in place of N and the Fraternity acquired a distinctive Greek letter symbol and Kappa Alpha Psi thereby became an indistinguishable Greek-letter Fraternity. Kappas on Capitol Hill | Nupepedia Wikia | Fandom "The basic idea is that you can't shoot an app," Tell says. Some of Till's relatives will be a part of the ceremony. He plans to donate a long-term lease to better protect the site. All five members of Mississippis U.S. congressional delegation other than Thompson are Republicans. Thompson, who grew up in a small Mississippi community in 1971, sympathized with the group known as the Republic of New Africa, participating in a news conference blaming law enforcement for instigating clashes with the group which led to a dead police officer and a wounded FBI agent. Bennie Thompson Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Debbie Elliott/NPR In a video posted last year to his Kappa Alpha Psi chapters Instagram, Jeffries said he was grateful to Cordero for appointing him president of his pledge classwhich preceded his eventual election to lead the whole chapter. It Doesnt Always Make It Easy for Them to Lead. Representative John Katko, the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, said he and Thompson have a terrific partnership, stemming from an understanding of the bipartisan importance of the committees purview. "Emmett was murdered because of racial hatred," says Gordon-Taylor. She added that she wanted to particularly credit him for his decision to elevate GOP Representative Liz Cheney to the role of committee vice chair. Two of these men, Elder Watson Diggs and Byron Kenneth Armstrong, had previously attended Howard University and had come into contact with men belonging to the only national Black Greek-Letter Fraternity currently in existence. The company found its own response to the incitement of violence troubling, according to the report, but no substantive work was done to improve the situation in 2021, including in other high-profile elections such as in Brazil last year. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Monday, May 1, 8:20AM. Trumps Missing Phone Records Have a Familiar Stink of Criminality, A Federal Judge Rips Trump for Plotting a Coup, An Intimate Portrait of a Village Torn Apart by Politics, Inside the Battle Between Big Ag and Lab-Grown Meat, Its Bennie Thompsons Moment to Defend Democracy. Congressman Thompson has diligently fought to reverse discrimination in the higher education system of Mississippi as an original plaintiff in the Ayers Desegregation Case. She says the repeated vandalism just adds more pain. A bullet-riddled sign that once marked where Emmett Till's body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River is now housed at the Till Interpretive Center in Sumner, Miss. "Every day, somebody's dragging up the race card. He was very good at it. Pi Kappa Phi is the only Greek organization which owns its own philanthropy. Instagram/Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting "Whites and blacks came to our meetings and [said] 'Why are you all bringing this up? Weems says. It is the beautiful realization of a vision shared commonly by the late Revered Founders that enabled them to sow 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. In 2012, Jeffries won his seat in Congress. That gives committee members a ticking clock to complete their task. Bennie Thompson was born in a very loving family in Bolton, Mississippi. (WLBT) - Two Congressional committees are looking into what they say is a, On Thursday, Chairman Bennie Thompson and Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney of the House select committee, U.S. Capitol Police said Tuesday they were investigating a letter with "concerning language" that was. Bennie Thompson During this secret ceremony, we learn, in the words of our founders, the principles and ideals upon which our fraternity was built more than a century ago. WebBennie Thompson is a producer, known for 2020 Democratic National Convention (2020), Spies of Mississippi (2014) and Attack on Democracy the January 6th Hearings (2022). The committee was approved almost entirely along party lines, and its members were chosen by Pelosi. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Thompson had three children: BendaLonne, Jeanna, and Thomas. The historic marker was taken down after three white fraternity brothers from the University of Mississippi were pictured holding guns next to the sign. Bennie Thompson was born in New Orleans, LA. At the end of FY2010, the Veterans population in the United States was approximately 22.6 million. The duty to lead and the privilege to serve others in order to better the world around you. Pi Kappa Phis esoteric values are taught to each member As our world constantly changes, we must develop our policy stances to modern advancement to bring our world closer together; our nation increasingly faces the factors affecting and influencing our societys melting pot. But he has one of the strongest spines of anybody in Washington, and he understands that this kind of stuff cannot be given air. Local chapters of Kappa Alpha Psi participate in community outreach activities to feed the homeless, provide scholarships to young people matriculating to college, serve as mentors to young men, participate in blood drives and serve as hosts of seminars for public health awareness to name a few. Let us see you in your colorful paraphernalia. Triangle. The college provided him with the framework to understand the structural racism that underpinned life in Mississippiwhy his side of town had no sidewalks or spaces for recreation, why his schools textbooks were secondhand and out of date. If I have two roads, a paved road with potholes in a white neighborhood and an unpaved one in a black neighborhood, my priority is the unpaved road, Thompson said in a 1985 profile written by Joe Klein for Esquire. The Tallahatchie County courthouse where the trial was held has undergone a multi-million-dollar renovation, and now there's an Interpretive Center on the courthouse square. Bennie Thompson We strive to live each day by our founding principles and consistently work towards the betterment of Pi Kappa Phi, ourselves and the world. Thompsons unpretentious persona may have allowed him to largely escape the wrath of the committees critics. the highest possible standards of scholarship; Who safeguard the reputation of their chapter "The Emmett Till Memorial Commission put up that sign to say the story of Emmett Till is important to us as a community and to us as Americans," Glisson says. Some of the topics discussed at the annual James "Biff" Carter Legislative Conference include immigration policy, criminal justice reform, voting rights, and United States Supreme Court vacancies. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. He was a force to be reckoned with, Joseph Cordero, who was two years ahead of Jeffries and a fellow Nupe, recalls of the man who would go on to be the first Black lawmaker to lead either party in Congress. It would be the only Greek-letter organization founded with the concept of achievement. A memorial first installed in 2008 to mark the spot where 14-year-old Emmett Till was recovered from the Tallahatchie River in 1955 has been repeatedly vandalized shot through with bullet holes. Let me tell you, stepping is not easy, especially when you have to learn to twirl canes, Cordero says. This one day event brings together teenage members of the fraternity's Kappa League from various chapters to learn about careers in government, meet current members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and tour the Capitol. hide caption. Bennie Thompson He is well-known among his colleagues, but not necessarily a nationally recognized figure. You can barely make out a "private property" sign posted out front. This change became effective April 15, 1915. Politics | and activities of their college; Who prepare themselves diligently to shoulder their Once every year, the group meets in the District of Columbia tounderstand current legislation that affects members of our communities, and to develop talking points and plans of action for engaging elected representatives in the House, the Senate, and respective state assemblies, and local city halls.
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