The Founding of Kappa Alpha Psi: January 5, 1911

On the evening of January 5, 1911, ten visionaries gathered in Bloomington, Indiana, and changed the course of history. At Indiana University — an institution where Black students faced open hostility and isolation — Elder Watson Diggs, John Milton Lee, Byron K. Armstrong, Guy Levis Grant, Ezra D. Alexander, Henry T. Asher, Marcus P. Blakemore, Paul W. Caine, Edward W. Edmonds, and George W. Edmonds founded what would become Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

The founders sought to create an organization that would unite men of culture, patriotism, and honor in fellowship — a brotherhood built on the guiding principle of achievement in every field of human endeavor. In an era when Black students were denied basic dignities, the fraternity became a source of strength, support, and mutual uplift.

From those humble beginnings in a small midwestern college town, Kappa Alpha Psi has grown into a global organization with chapters across the United States and around the world. Its members have led in boardrooms, courtrooms, classrooms, pulpits, laboratories, and playing fields — carrying the crimson and cream with distinction wherever they go.

The Ten Illustrious Founders set a standard that every Nupes since has strived to uphold. As the Tri-Cities Alumni Chapter, we are proud to carry that legacy into Northeast Tennessee — proving, more than a century later, that achievement knows no boundaries.