Leading Figures in the History of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

Highlighting 21 members of this illustrious historically Black fraternity

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., was founded in 1911 at Howard University to cultivate and nurture a generation of leaders who would work toward racial uplift and influence American society. In an unprecedented two volumes, Judson Jeffries brings together original works on 21 of the fraternity’s accomplished and influential members. Written by a diverse group of scholars, these profiles highlight the national importance of these figures in their chosen fields of endeavor as well as the enormous impact of this great fraternity.

Volume 2 discusses Brigadier General Charles Young; artist and activist Charlotte “Lottie” Wilson, affectionately considered the fraternity’s lone female member; modern civil rights activists T.R.M. Howard, Bayard Rustin, Lawrence Guyot, Jesse L. Jackson, and Emory O. Jackson; and scholars Lewis V. Baldwin, Asa Grant Hilliard III, and Benjamin E. Mays. Jeffries concludes by celebrating the recent rise in scholarship that draws attention to the fraternities and sororities that have connected other Black trailblazers such as these.

Including both widely recognized and little-known individuals and featuring people who were on the front lines of the struggle for racial equality and those whose work took place behind the scenes, these volumes show the contributions of Black leaders in the areas of science, civil rights, athletics, the arts, the military, politics, education, and more. Leading Figures in the History of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. is a testament to the significance of Black Greek-letter organizations, whose members have made history through lives of struggle, accomplishment, triumph, and uplift.