WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was founded on December 4, 1906, at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York by seven visionary men: Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelly, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, and Vertner Woodson Tandy; and
WHEREAS, the Beta Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was chartered at Elizabeth City State Teacher’s College on February 21, 1953, by ten brothers: Thomas Caldwell, George Davis, Attrus Fleming, Hugh Freeland, Broadus Jackson, Edward Smith, LeGrand Summersett, DeMint Walker, Robert White, and Sydney Williams; and
WHEREAS, since 1953, the Beta Zeta Chapter has made an undeniable and immeasurable impact on the campus of Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) and its surrounding community through service and leadership in student government, athletics, band, and countless other campus organizations; and
WHEREAS, alumni members of the Beta Zeta Chapter founded the Beta Zeta Alumni Association in 2022 to inspire and promote brotherhood through service, funding, and fellowship to generate, sustain, and reinforce support for the chapter and ECSU; and
WHEREAS, this year, the Beta Zeta Chapter is celebrating 70 years of Manly Deeds, Scholarship, and Love for All Mankind; to commemorate the occasion, a written history of the chapter, Platinum Ice: 70 Years of Brotherhood at ECSU, was published;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim September 29, 2023, as “70th ANNIVERSARY OF ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY, INC. BETA ZETA CHAPTER” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.
