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“No feeble effort will be effective,
but each chapter must perform its part
of the program with interest and drive.” -L.McGee
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During the ninth Alpha Phi Alpha General Convention, held at Virginia Union University in 1916, General President H.H. Long emphasized the need for the fraternity to stress the importance of education, especially higher institutions of learning. By 1920, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., had ignited a commission that consisted of five alumni brothers who, in turn, launched a movement toward influencing African-Americans around the country to “go to high school and to college.”
Led by Brother Roscoe C. Giles, the commission directed that the first week in June 1920 be set aside for all chapters to implement the "Go-To-High-School, Go-To-College" educational campaign. Aiding the movement, Alpha President L.L. McGee distributed letters urging each chapter to be committed to the movement stating, “In this effort we must not shoot in the air but accomplish results.” Other activities included letters for churches to observe a educational Sunday, along with personal interviews with high school students, and socials and receptions to recognize senior classes of high schools. Scholarships, fellowships, and conferences were offered to prospective college entrants, and eventually the second week in May was assigned for such presentations.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.’s, "Go-to-High-School, Go-to-College" program concentrates on the importance of completing secondary and collegiate education as a road to advancement. It is the premiere program of the Fraternity emphasizing the importance of counseling youth on the importance of post-secondary education while introducing them to promising professions in business, trade, and professional development.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.’s, statistics prove the value of this extra impetus in making the difference in the success of young African-American men, given that school completion is the single best predictor of future economic success. Through the “Go-to-High-School, Go-to-College” educational initiative, young men and women receive information and learn strategies that facilitate success. Alpha men provide youth participants with excellent role models to emulate.
The purpose of the “Go-to-High-School, Go-to-College” initiative was to touch as many high schools and communities as possible by personal contact or through the distribution of educational pamphlets. In 1989, under the guidance of Brother LeRoy Lowery III, the “Go-To-High-School, Go-To-College” movement was formally restructured.
At the 83rd General Convention in San Antonio, Texas, “Go-To-High-School, Go-To-College” was formally voted a national program of the Fraternity and became mandatory for each Chapter to implement. It was suggested by Brother Lowery that the participants of the "Go-To-High-School, Go-To-College" program be male African-American 7th to 12th graders. In addition, the suggested activities of the program were African and African-American history, field trips, entrepreneurship, athletic activities, tutoring, practical life lessons, community service projects, financial affairs, current events, proper student work habits, workplace visits, career orientation, health and hygiene, goal setting and fraternalism.
Through these established relationships, students and their families are provided information on preparing for the rigors of college study, college entrance, financial aid, and available scholarships. Many chapters facilitate these activities through the structure of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity’s Educational Foundation making a difference in our community through further successful implementation of the Fraternity’s national program. Click for Fraternity Implementation Guide.
