About

Founded amid the harsh realities of racial exclusion, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. was established on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University by ten visionary Black collegians: Elder Watson Diggs, Byron Kenneth Armstrong, John Milton Lee, Henry Tourner Asher, Marcus Peter Blakemore, Guy Levis Grant, Paul Waymond Caine, George Wesley Edmonds, Ezra Dee Alexander, and Edward Giles Irvin. At a time when Black students faced isolation, discrimination, and exclusion from campus life, the Founders created a fraternity to provide fellowship, purpose, and mutual support. Originally named Kappa Alpha Nu, the organization was incorporated in 1911, becoming the first Black Greek-letter fraternity incorporated as a national body.

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In response to racial hostility and mischaracterization, the fraternity officially changed its name to Kappa Alpha Psi® in 1915, adopting the Greek letter Psi (Ψ) to establish a distinctive and dignified identity. Grounded in Christian ethics and intellectual seriousness, the Founders rejected elitism and social privilege, instead centering the fraternity on achievementas a lifelong pursuit. Their work produced the fraternity’s ritual, constitution, insignia, hymn, and enduring motto: “Achievement in Every Field of Human Endeavor.” This guiding principle positioned the fraternity not merely as a social organization but as a vehicle for leadership, uplift, and disciplined excellence.

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Today, Kappa Alpha Psi® stands as the second-oldest existing historically Black collegiate fraternity, with hundreds of undergraduate and alumni chapters across the United States and abroad. Its objectives include promoting the spiritual, social, intellectual, and moral welfare of its members, while maintaining a steadfast commitment to service, equity, and global citizenship. Faithful to its founding vision, the fraternity continues to cultivate men prepared to lead, serve, and achieve—transforming adversity into purpose and brotherhood into action.