Monday, October 13, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Military Appreciation - Col Reginald Hairston
Col Reginald L. Hairston (3-87-BDD), Chief of Human Capital Division at Joint Staff, will be recognized along with other senior military officer alumni during the Delaware versus JMU football game on September 27, 2014 in Harrisonburg, VA. The recognition is scheduled to take place between the 1st and 2nd quarters of the game.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
DNRonline.com Article: Historical Marker Sought for Civil Rights Activist
Historical Marker Sought For Civil Rights Activist
A Virtual Unknown, City Native Had Broad Impact
Posted: September 2, 2014
By BRYAN GILKERSON
City Council has endorsed a request seeking to put a state historical marker in front of the John Wesley United Methodist Church on Sterling Street in honor of the late Edgar Love. (Photo by Jason Lenhart)
HARRISONBURG -- A relatively unknown native son of Harrisonburg may soon have his impact on history recognized by the state.
Edgar Amos Love, born in the city in 1891, was a civil rights activist, U.S. Army chaplain, professor, Methodist bishop and co-founder of Omega Psi Phi, the first international fraternity founded at a historically black college.
Love's father, the Rev. Julius C. Love, traveled to various locations as a minister, so it is not clear how long the family remained in Harrisonburg. Much of his adult life was spent in Baltimore, where he died in 1974.
Several alumni of the James Madison University chapter of the fraternity, Beta Delta Delta, have formed a committee charged with the task of having Love's contribution to history immortalized by a state historical marker to be placed near John Wesley United Methodist Church at the intersection of Sterling and Effinger streets.
Julius Love was a minster at the church and his son was born in the parsonage, although at that time the church was located at the site now occupied by Union Station Restaurant and Bar at 128 W. Market St.
Michael Peterson of New York City, one of the committee members seeking the marker, said the impetus for the effort was actually due to a mistake.
At a 2011 celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the fraternity's founding at Howard University in Washington, D.C., it was discovered that official records had identified Love as being born in Harrisburg, Va. - a location that doesn't exist.
"For over 100 years, there has been a part of our history that has been incorrect," Peterson said by telephone Sunday afternoon.
Other members of the committee include Brian Tyler of Hampton, Lee Parker and Rodney Jefferson, both of Richmond, Andre Wallace of Newport News and Randy Tapley of Charlotte, N.C.
Wallace's wife, Dawnn Wallace, assisted the committee in its research.
According to memoirs published by the United Methodist Church, Love was educated at Morgan College in Baltimore, Howard University and Boston University.
During World War I, he served overseas for 14 months as an Army chaplain, before returning and working as a teacher at Morgan College.
A Washington Post article dated Feb. 15, 1922, notes that Love was elected to serve as the national chaplain for the American Negro Veterans of the World War organization.
He was elected a bishop to the segregated Central Conference of the Baltimore area in the Methodist Church.
It was his social activism as a bishop that the committee members say deserves historical recognition.
"His contributions are not really well known," Dawnn Wallace said. "Individuals in Harrisonburg have no idea of the impact he made."
Love was involved in desegregation efforts and voter registration drives throughout the 1950s, presided over interracial marriages and even held the ear of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Love's efforts also helped the Methodist Church integrate in 1965, according to his 1974 obituary published in The [Baltimore] Sun.
"He was a big part of black history ... and [American] history in general," Dawnn Wallace said.
Harrisonburg City Council unanimously gave its support for the request for a marker at the Aug. 26 meeting, with several council members saying that they were unaware of the significance of Love in the nation's history.
The next step in the historical marker process is to gain approval from the state.
The committee members said that the state Department of Historic Resources would review their application this month and make a determination on the marker in December.
If given approval, the committee plans to unveil the marker on Apr. 18, 2015, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fraternity's charter at James Madison University.
Love's son Jon is expected to be present for the dedication, as well as several JMU African-American organizations and the 40th national president of the fraternity, Tony Knox.
Contact Bryan Gilkerson at 574-6267 or bgilkerson@dnronline.com
A Virtual Unknown, City Native Had Broad Impact
Posted: September 2, 2014
By BRYAN GILKERSON
HARRISONBURG -- A relatively unknown native son of Harrisonburg may soon have his impact on history recognized by the state.
Edgar Amos Love, born in the city in 1891, was a civil rights activist, U.S. Army chaplain, professor, Methodist bishop and co-founder of Omega Psi Phi, the first international fraternity founded at a historically black college.
Love's father, the Rev. Julius C. Love, traveled to various locations as a minister, so it is not clear how long the family remained in Harrisonburg. Much of his adult life was spent in Baltimore, where he died in 1974.
Several alumni of the James Madison University chapter of the fraternity, Beta Delta Delta, have formed a committee charged with the task of having Love's contribution to history immortalized by a state historical marker to be placed near John Wesley United Methodist Church at the intersection of Sterling and Effinger streets.
Julius Love was a minster at the church and his son was born in the parsonage, although at that time the church was located at the site now occupied by Union Station Restaurant and Bar at 128 W. Market St.
Michael Peterson of New York City, one of the committee members seeking the marker, said the impetus for the effort was actually due to a mistake.
At a 2011 celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the fraternity's founding at Howard University in Washington, D.C., it was discovered that official records had identified Love as being born in Harrisburg, Va. - a location that doesn't exist.
"For over 100 years, there has been a part of our history that has been incorrect," Peterson said by telephone Sunday afternoon.
Other members of the committee include Brian Tyler of Hampton, Lee Parker and Rodney Jefferson, both of Richmond, Andre Wallace of Newport News and Randy Tapley of Charlotte, N.C.
Wallace's wife, Dawnn Wallace, assisted the committee in its research.
According to memoirs published by the United Methodist Church, Love was educated at Morgan College in Baltimore, Howard University and Boston University.
During World War I, he served overseas for 14 months as an Army chaplain, before returning and working as a teacher at Morgan College.
A Washington Post article dated Feb. 15, 1922, notes that Love was elected to serve as the national chaplain for the American Negro Veterans of the World War organization.
He was elected a bishop to the segregated Central Conference of the Baltimore area in the Methodist Church.
It was his social activism as a bishop that the committee members say deserves historical recognition.
"His contributions are not really well known," Dawnn Wallace said. "Individuals in Harrisonburg have no idea of the impact he made."
Love was involved in desegregation efforts and voter registration drives throughout the 1950s, presided over interracial marriages and even held the ear of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Love's efforts also helped the Methodist Church integrate in 1965, according to his 1974 obituary published in The [Baltimore] Sun.
"He was a big part of black history ... and [American] history in general," Dawnn Wallace said.
Harrisonburg City Council unanimously gave its support for the request for a marker at the Aug. 26 meeting, with several council members saying that they were unaware of the significance of Love in the nation's history.
The next step in the historical marker process is to gain approval from the state.
The committee members said that the state Department of Historic Resources would review their application this month and make a determination on the marker in December.
If given approval, the committee plans to unveil the marker on Apr. 18, 2015, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fraternity's charter at James Madison University.
Love's son Jon is expected to be present for the dedication, as well as several JMU African-American organizations and the 40th national president of the fraternity, Tony Knox.
Contact Bryan Gilkerson at 574-6267 or bgilkerson@dnronline.com
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Setting the Record Straight - Our Duty to Get it Right
Setting the Record Straight - Our Duty to Get it Right by Brother Jarrett Drake (Oracle: Summer 2011)
"History is a measurement of the past and an assurance of the future. If a man loses or forgets his history, he will become a fugitive of yesterday and tomorrow." This quote represents my philosophical foundation as a research archivist at the Maryland State Archives. By reclaiming 19th century narratives of black history along its Eastern Shore, it is my task to discover and confront conflicts while helping others in Maryland to do the same. But one such search revealed a grave mistake within our Fraternity history regarding one of our Founders, the Most Honorable Bishop Edgar Amos Love. The Dreer History Book, the international website, and most chapter websites have incorrectly listed Love's birthplace as Harrisburg, Virginia. He was actually born in Harrisonburg (See Figures 1 & 2). Harrisburg and Harrisonburg are two completely different towns in Virginia, roughly 130 miles apart.
Figure 1: Edgar A. Love's Army Registration Card for World Ware I listing his actual birthplace as Harrisonburg. Courtesy, Ancestry.com
The error could have happened in any number of ways and for any number of reasons. This article does not seek to assign blame nor point fingers, but simply correct a mistake in the biographical details of one of our Founders and our first Grand Basileus. In addition, I hope this revelation can elucidate two charges for the Brotherhood. First, we should focus on the relevant details of our Fraternity history. And second, we must continually seek evidence to substantiate said details.
Quality supersedes quantity in regards to historical knowledge. What we qualify as relevant versus irrelevant will forever be subjective. That is, it will shift from one brother to the next. But we must make active decisions about what is significant and what is not. Fraternity information must undergo a vetting process of sorts, both to reject mistruths and avoid saturation. "Betty Crocker," as it is known in certain circles, refers to the unproven, mythical "facts" that constitute the extend of some brothers' knowledge. Its domination of our discourse will only serve to fabricate folklore and render our true struggle artificial and obsolete. What's the candy bar of the Frat? I don't know, and it doesn't matter. How many miles did Col. Young walk, as opposed to ride, on his journey to Washington? Again, I don't know, and it doesn't matter. Where was Bishop Edgar Amos Love born? Well that I do know, and that matters.
The second point is an addendum to the first. We must ever strive to retrieve evidence to support our knowledge base. Indeed, there are some things about our Fraternity history - and black history for that matter - which have no record; and by no means do I disqualify the credibility of oral tradition and its central role in passing down our stores at a time when we had no other means or opportunity to do so. Moreover, written records can be manipulated, doctored, or even destroyed. Yet we have access to resources our ancestors didn't. We have public archives, We have integrated libraries. We have electronic databases. Countless Omega Men gave their lives in hopes that their posterity might take scholarship to a new level, not simply replicate it. Locating a document - a letter, a photograph, an Army Registration Card - only assists our efforts to maintain a rich history of Omega. Questioning the source, origin, or validity of another brother's information does not demonstrate a lack of faith. Instead, it shows that preserving our heritage is of utmost priority, and that no brother has the right to tarnish it.
As we celebrate our first century and head into the second, the moment is ripe that we have a precise, substantiated account of relevant facts. These facts in and of themselves do not compromise the entirety of historical knowledge, but function as the sine qua non, Latin meaning "without which there is none." Bro. Walter H Mazyck initiated this legacy, Bro. Herman Dreer continued it, and Bro. Robert L. Gill refined it. Yet our history is never finished. History, out of its nature and necessity, evolves. Not every line of their work is correct, and that's ok. We are because they were. It is our duty to ensure that when our Fraternity enters its third century we will have stood firmly on their shoulders and strengthened our own, with the expectation that future generations of Omega Men will assume the humble responsibility to do so as well.
"History is a measurement of the past and an assurance of the future. If a man loses or forgets his history, he will become a fugitive of yesterday and tomorrow." This quote represents my philosophical foundation as a research archivist at the Maryland State Archives. By reclaiming 19th century narratives of black history along its Eastern Shore, it is my task to discover and confront conflicts while helping others in Maryland to do the same. But one such search revealed a grave mistake within our Fraternity history regarding one of our Founders, the Most Honorable Bishop Edgar Amos Love. The Dreer History Book, the international website, and most chapter websites have incorrectly listed Love's birthplace as Harrisburg, Virginia. He was actually born in Harrisonburg (See Figures 1 & 2). Harrisburg and Harrisonburg are two completely different towns in Virginia, roughly 130 miles apart.
Quality supersedes quantity in regards to historical knowledge. What we qualify as relevant versus irrelevant will forever be subjective. That is, it will shift from one brother to the next. But we must make active decisions about what is significant and what is not. Fraternity information must undergo a vetting process of sorts, both to reject mistruths and avoid saturation. "Betty Crocker," as it is known in certain circles, refers to the unproven, mythical "facts" that constitute the extend of some brothers' knowledge. Its domination of our discourse will only serve to fabricate folklore and render our true struggle artificial and obsolete. What's the candy bar of the Frat? I don't know, and it doesn't matter. How many miles did Col. Young walk, as opposed to ride, on his journey to Washington? Again, I don't know, and it doesn't matter. Where was Bishop Edgar Amos Love born? Well that I do know, and that matters.
The second point is an addendum to the first. We must ever strive to retrieve evidence to support our knowledge base. Indeed, there are some things about our Fraternity history - and black history for that matter - which have no record; and by no means do I disqualify the credibility of oral tradition and its central role in passing down our stores at a time when we had no other means or opportunity to do so. Moreover, written records can be manipulated, doctored, or even destroyed. Yet we have access to resources our ancestors didn't. We have public archives, We have integrated libraries. We have electronic databases. Countless Omega Men gave their lives in hopes that their posterity might take scholarship to a new level, not simply replicate it. Locating a document - a letter, a photograph, an Army Registration Card - only assists our efforts to maintain a rich history of Omega. Questioning the source, origin, or validity of another brother's information does not demonstrate a lack of faith. Instead, it shows that preserving our heritage is of utmost priority, and that no brother has the right to tarnish it.
As we celebrate our first century and head into the second, the moment is ripe that we have a precise, substantiated account of relevant facts. These facts in and of themselves do not compromise the entirety of historical knowledge, but function as the sine qua non, Latin meaning "without which there is none." Bro. Walter H Mazyck initiated this legacy, Bro. Herman Dreer continued it, and Bro. Robert L. Gill refined it. Yet our history is never finished. History, out of its nature and necessity, evolves. Not every line of their work is correct, and that's ok. We are because they were. It is our duty to ensure that when our Fraternity enters its third century we will have stood firmly on their shoulders and strengthened our own, with the expectation that future generations of Omega Men will assume the humble responsibility to do so as well.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Beta Delta Delta Chapter honored by SVBHP
All,
Our research on the life and history of Bishop Edgar A. Love
has connected Beta Delta Delta with the Shenandoah Valley Black History
Project, (SVBHP). The founder, Robin Lyttle, was instrumental in the
successful name change of Cantrell Avenue to Martin Luther King Jr. Way,
in the city of Harrisonburg, VA. She has been a great asset in our
mission to honor Brother Love and we look forward to her continued
support. Please find our recognition on the website of the Shenandoah
Black History Project, "Honoring" section.
Chapter Lineage
Fall 1979 - TRICHOTOMY IN ONE
1. Carlton Brown
2. Gary T. McCollum
3. Randy Tapley
Fall 1980 - SOUL SURVIVORS
1. Craig Patterson
2. Clarence Jones
Spring 1981 - THE COVENANT
1. Brian Tyler
2. Andre Wallace
Spring 1985 - RESURRECTION 8 (CHARTER LINE)
1. Ronald Tatum
2. Robert Jordan
3. Lee Parker
4. Julius Reynolds
5. Rodney Waldren
6. Darryl Coleman
7. Owen Wilson
8. Forrest Parker
Spring 1986 - GENESIS 3
1. Shelton Johnson
2. Nicholas Evans
3. Carl Reddix
Spring 1987 - AFTERSHOCK
1. Lawrence Smith
2. Rodney Jefferson
3. Reginald Hairston
4. Alfred McGeachey
5. John Newman
Fall 1987 - SLAUGHTER'S CREW
1. Alfred Dowe
2. Lawrence Jones
Spring 1989 - BLIND AMBITION
1. Anthony Perdue
2. Michael Peterson
3. Lyndell Bouldin
Spring 1990 - THE APOCALYPSE
1. Marvin Chambers
2. Chris E. Powell, Jr.
3. A. Mallory Brownlee
4. Anthony Jones
5. Kevin Early
Spring 1991 - REVELATION
1. Donald Wright
2. Herman Fleming (Omega Chapter)
3. Jay Woods
Spring 1992 - HOT & COLD SWEAT
1. William Coates
2. Bryan Cox
3. Daegal Richmond
4. Leon Keesee
Spring 1993 - TRIALS & TRIBULATIONS
1. Chris Parrot
2. Lamont Gooding
Spring 1994 - BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY
1. Channing McGuffin
2. Vincent Page
Spring 1995 - A NEW BORN RAGE
1. D'Artagnan Townes
2. David Lee
3. Quincy Waller
4. Charles Grimsley
Fall 1996 - UNDER EXTREME CONDITIONS
1. Michael Ellis
2. David Forbes
3. Michael Howard
Spring 1999 - Y2K
1. Mark Simms
2. George Moore II
3. Francisco Mayo
4. Darrell Kent, Jr.
Spring 2008 - LAZARUS 6
1. Roy McDonald
2. Alton (AJ) Mosley, Jr.
3. Sammy Everett
4. Griff Yancey
5. Donnell Brown
6. Marvin Brown
Spring 2009 - SEVEN POUNDS
1. Jason Green
2. L.C. Baker
3. Jon Brown
4. Jamaris Sanders
5. Darrelle Anderson
6. Gerren Griffin
7. Joseph Roane
Spring 2010 - QUEPRINT 3
1. Demetrius Lancaster
2. Forrest Parker, Jr.
3. Donte Jiggetts
Spring 2011 - FOUR PILLARS OF FAITH
1. Brent Butler
2. Anthony Terry
3. Adrian Cavanaugh
4. Jonathan Oliver
Spring 2013 -THE 6 SONS OF INSURRECTION
1. Sean Lee
2. Lemende Coley
3. Anthony Sutton
4. Xavier Gary
5. Jeffrey Matthews (Omega Chapter)
6. Arscene Jacques
1. Ryan Green-Ellis
2. Alfred Smith
3. John Dixon
4. Gabriel Driver
Spring 2015 - THROUGH THE CRUCIBLE OF TRIALS
1. Avery Coleman
2. Jeffrey Wallace
HONORARY
Mark Wadllington - XI IOTA (1988)
John Gordon - XI IOTA (1988)
Michael Taylor - OMICRON RHO (1980)
Tracy Porter - TAU RHO (1994)
Chad Smith - PI GAMMA (1992)
Justin Ruffin - XI IOTA (2005)
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