The story of Kappa Alpha Psi is to a large extent the story of black students everywhere, whether organized or not, who attended predominantly white colleges or universities in America prior to World War II.

Early in this century, African-American students were actively dissuaded from attending college. Formidable obstacles were erected to prevent the few who were enrolled from assimilating into co-curricular campus life. The accomplishments of these first Black students are all the more noteworthy, because typically they worked their way through college.
Their determination in the face of seemingly insurmountable social and economic odds is a source of inspiration to less than full-privileged students at white institutions of higher learning throughout America. To understand this is to understand the birth of college fraternities among Blacks. This ostracism characterized Indiana University in 1911, thus causing Elder W. Diggs, Byron K. Armstrong, and eight other black students to form Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, which remains the only Greek letter organization with its Alpha Chapter on the University's campus.

Kappa Alpha Psi was founded on the campus of Indiana University on January 5, 1911. The Fraternity's fundamental purpose is Achievement. Our Ten Illustrious Founders gave birth to a great concept, the idea that if we are going to be brothers, let us be brothers on the best terms that we know. The founders sought a formula that would immediately raise the sights of black collegians and stimulate them to accomplishments higher than they might have imagined.

Fashioning Achievement as its purpose, Kappa Alpha Psi began uniting college men of culture, patriotism and honor in a bond of fraternity.



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