Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. marks Founders’ Day each year on December 4, honoring its 1906 founding at Cornell University as the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity for African American men.(Alpha Phi Alpha) What began with seven “Jewels” in Ithaca has grown into a global brotherhood focused on leadership, academic excellence, and service. The fraternity’s aims—Manly Deeds, Scholarship, and Love for All Mankind—call brothers to act with courage, pursue learning, and serve their communities with integrity and compassion.

Across the country, Founders’ Day is observed with a week of worship services, service projects, and social gatherings. These programs translate Alpha’s aims into action: blood drives and mentoring support “manly deeds”; campus and community forums advance “scholarship”; and worship, fellowship, and family-friendly events reflect “love for all mankind.”

In Southeastern Michigan, alumni and collegiate chapters collaborate on a regional Founders’ Week that highlights Alpha’s long history in the state. Epsilon Chapter at the University of Michigan, chartered in 1909, was Alpha’s first chapter in the Midwest and helped carry the fraternity’s ideals to this region.(UMich Personal Web Server) Alumni chapters in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Southfield, and Pontiac now work together to host community-facing programs that speak directly to local needs—health, civic engagement, youth development, and spiritual renewal.

Key in this years observance is Detroit’s Gamma Lambda Chapter, known as the “Detroit Alphas.” Chartered on March 22, 1919, Gamma Lambda is one of Alpha’s oldest alumni chapters and Michigan’s first alumni chapter.(detroitalphas.org) Its members have long been visible in civic life, supporting education, civil rights, and neighborhood uplift. The chapter’s home, the Historic Alpha House at 293 Eliot Street, was built around 1912 and purchased by Gamma Lambda in 1939; it now stands on the National Register of Historic Places as a symbol of African American leadership and community building in Detroit.(Wikipedia)

The 2025 Alpha Phi Alpha Founders’ Weekbrings the fraternity’s guiding principals to life through a full slate of events. The week opens with a community blood drive at Southfield Public Library and an evening “Golden Hour Kick Back” at BLVD Bar and Grill, pairing lifesaving service with accessible fellowship. A regional community engagement forum at Trinity Health Hospital in Pontiac features policy and civic leaders discussing issues that affect Black communities, modeling Alpha’s commitment to informed citizenship and advocacy.

Mid-week, brothers visit Carpenter Elementary School for a “Reading to Students” program, reinforcing the fraternity’s long-standing focus on youth literacy and the belief that education is a pathway to freedom. Later in the week, members and guests gathered at the Historic Alpha House for a reenactment program and a “Brotherhood Smoke” fellowship, using the chapter’s historic home as a living classroom for Alpha’s origin story and a space for reflection on how today’s Brothers can continue that work.

The week culminates with a Founders’ Day Brunch at the Kensington Hotel in Ann Arbor and a Sunday worship service at Hope United Methodist Church, followed by a reception and donations of canned goods and unwrapped toys for families in need. Together, these events show Alpha at its best; Brothers serving, learning, and celebrating in ways that honor the founders while meeting the needs of Southeastern Michigan today.