Tau Upsilon

The history of Alpha Omega is inextricably tied to the history of Tau Upsilon, formerly the second graduate chapter in Washington, D.C. The revival of the Mardi Gras as a chapter fundraiser. The “Tau” in the name of the Housing Authority, Alpha Tau Alpha. The location of the Washington, D.C., fraternity house on Harvard Street. All of these things were strongly influenced by a chapter that Alpha Omega opposed and with which it had an estranged relationship for many years, then later entered into business with and ultimately merged with, creating a single, stronger graduate chapter in Washington, D.C. number of explanations have been offered for what caused the breach among brothers in Washington, D.C., that led a group of men to separate from Alpha Omega and petition the Grand Conclave for their own charter.

One of the reasons was the “questionable business deals” which Alpha Omega entered into in hosting the 31st Grand Conclave in Washington in 1945, according to a report on Alpha Omega prepared as part of a report on the Third District. The report, however, did not spell out the types of questionable business deals that led to the break. Henry Wesley (initiated in Alpha Chapter at Howard University in 1938) cited the questionable business practices and some other concerns that contributed to the break: Alpha Omega in the 1940s had a problem common in so many graduate chapters—the brothers who had been in the chapter for many years objected to sharing power with newer members of the chapter for many reasons. They were both older and wiser than their younger brothers, both chronologically and in fraternity years; they were established lawyers and doctors, principals, and college officials who would not take advice from Post Office workers, policemen, teachers, or men still in the early stages of their careers.

The Renegades

The problems became so acute that a group of men in Alpha Omega broke off to form their own chapter. Alpha Omega dubbed the group “The Renegades,” according to Brother Wesley. “Barney Coleman, who lived in my neighborhood, told me that a group of brothers were going to get together for a meeting,” Brother Wesley said.

Alonzo Grigsby (initiated in 1950 in Theta Psi) said that Brother Coleman also invited him to a meeting aimed at “rejuvenating Omega” in Washington, which Grigsby described as “really down.” Grigsby, a charter member of Tau Upsilon, said that most of the members agreed that their mission was to “keep that chapter [active] until such time as everything was restarted in the city, and once that happened, [Tau Upsilon would] fade away.” The first meetings were at a place called Fisherman’s Lodge on Logan Circle. “We kept fishing around as to what we could do and decided on trying to get a chapter. We petitioned Grant Reynolds, the Grand Basileus at that time, who did not want to give us a chapter at that time because there was already a chapter in Washington. Our membership kept growing, and we met as if we were a chapter. We finally petitioned and got a chapter in Virginia.” One of the meetings was at Harold Jewell’s house on Constitution Avenue in Southeast, according to Brother Wesley. “We had a whole lot of brothers come out to that meeting: Matt Shaw, Ted Shell. I’ve forgotten some of the guys’ names. You’d be surprised who was with us. Alpha Omega was those high-levels guys mostly, while we were mostly younger men just getting started.”

Brother Wesley continued, “We had tried coming to Alpha Omega’s meetings, but those guys never let us younger guys say anything. So that’s why we started meeting on the side. We met on Constitution Avenue and called ourselves the Lamplighters…And you’d be surprised at the guys who were with us.” The Lamplighters decided that their best shot was to set up their own chapter, a second graduate chapter in Washington, D.C. The Grand Conclave, in responding to their request, approved a second chapter in the region, but chartered it in northern Virginia, rather than Washington, as the Lamplighters had requested, and named it Tau Upsilon.

Tau Upsilon as Second Graduate Chapter

In 1952, the Supreme Council, meeting in Washington, approved moving Tau Upsilon’s charter to the District of Columbia, despite opposition from Alpha Omega. In a brief dated March 9, 1952, opposing the “establishment of a new graduate chapter in the District of Columbia,” Alpha Omega said the Supreme Council had overstepped its bounds by approving a second chapter in the city on February 23, 1952. The Supreme Council violated the fraternity’s provisions, Alpha Omega wrote, because it approved a second chapter in Washington even though “Alpha Omega already had pre-empted the entire area of the District of Columbia and the metropolitan area of Washington.” Alpha Omega said also that the members of Tau Upsilon, whose charter was for North Virginia, were “unfinancial” in Washington, D.C., so they had no standing to petition for having their chapter in the city.

“The petitioners for the new charter are themselves without standing to petition the Supreme Council, and the Supreme Council is powerless to grant them any relief because all of the petitioners are unfinancial,” said the petition, signed by Alpha Omega Basileus Hiram F. Jones, Keeper of Records and Seal Winston Turner, and three attorneys who were members of the chapter: Thurman L. Dodson, Barrington D. Parker, and E. Lewis Ferrell. “The irony of this situation,” said the petition, “is that a regularly constituted active chapter of the fraternity has to be placed on the defensive and forced to expend money and divert their energies from the more productive channels by the action of the Supreme Council at the instance of a group of non-financial men who should not have been heard in the first instance by the Supreme Council.”

Alpha Omega said also that precedent was on its side because former Supreme Councils had denied requests from brothers in both Detroit and Los Angeles to establish second graduate chapters in those cities. “The former Supreme Councils have been jealous in respecting the prerogatives and the territorial jurisdictional integrity of the chapters. This, to us, seems the wiser course because once such a policy as is here attempted gets a foothold in the fraternity, no one can forecast the disruptive influence such a course will have upon our brotherhood.” Tau Upsilon, in seeking to move its charter, had cited the example of New York City, where the fraternity allowed five chapters. Alpha Omega wrote, however, that even though New York has been cited as a precedent for more than one chapter in a city, “a calm, dispassionate, and objective analysis will demonstrate the fallacy of this view. In New York, they have geographical, political, and economic subdivisions which are entirely absent in the rather restricted area of the District of Columbia. The five boroughs in New York are for many purposes really five cities. The District of Columbia is compact under one government with no integral subdivisions as New York boasts of.” In a response, Grand Counselor Herbert E. Tucker Jr. wrote the Supreme Council in support of Alpha Omega’s petition, urging it to reconsider its decision. “The framers of the [fraternity’s] Constitution could never have intended that provision should be made for any group of nine or 10 men to break away from one chapter and form another within the same jurisdiction of the former. The evil of such a practice and the ultimate harm to the fraternity is quite apparent. To establish merely for the purpose of satisfying the whim of a certain few rather than for the purpose of establishing one for the betterment of Omega is a practice that no Supreme Council should take the prerogative to further. Discretion of his sort could be greatly abused and Omega thereby weakened.”

The Grand Counselor added, “What is there to prevent a favorable Supreme Council or a favorable individual member of the Supreme Council from furthering a program establishing five chapters in a city where there are 50 men only upon the premises that each group of 10 says that it is dissatisfied for any reason with the others? Such a program, I repeat, is doomed to failure.” On the issue raised by Tau Upsilon of five chapters in New York City, Tucker wrote, “The situation there (New York) has been abused so that there appears to be concurrent jurisdiction, but when the charter was granted, I am certain the records will disclose this fact, it was granted for a section not identical with the section allotted to any other chapter. For this reason, New York should not be used as setting a precedent.” Former Grand Basileus J. Alston Atkins also weighed in with an opinion on the matter. In an April 7, 1952, letter to H. Carl Moultrie I, National Executive Secretary, Atkins criticized Alpha Omega’s conclusion that it could “pre-empt” all of Washington, D.C., saying such an action would strip the Supreme Council of its power to “determine the jurisdiction of each chapter.” “Even if the Supreme Council had fixed the jurisdiction of Alpha Omega to cover the whole of the District of Columbia, which I doubt it has ever done, still it seems to me that unquestioned power would still remain in the Supreme Council to change that jurisdiction when it found the facts to warrant the change,” he wrote. “If the facts are as I understand them to be, namely that there are hundreds of Omega men in the District whom Alpha Omega has been unable to bring within its fold, then I think the Supreme Council would be perfectly within the proprieties as clearly within its power to establish one or more chapters to try to reach these unreached men. But on the level both of the Council’s power to establish new chapters and to fix the jurisdiction of each chapter, that power seems to me to be entirely beyond question, as positively stated in the law itself. Otherwise, to take an extreme case, after Nu Alpha was set up, it could claim that it could fix and keep its jurisdiction over the whole of eastern North Carolina and the Supreme Council would be powerless to intervene. This would be preposterous.” The Supreme Council stuck to its decision, thereby allowing Tau Upsilon to be chartered in Washington.

Learning to Coexist

The story of Tau Upsilon, however, did not end there. The chapter grew in size, to the point that its membership reached about 70 brothers at its highest point. And once the Supreme Council had ruled on the jurisdiction issue—and then stuck to its decision—Alpha Omega and Tau Upsilon began the ritual of learning to co-exist and thrive in Washington and give brothers a choice on a chapter.

Edward Clement (initiated in Alpha Chapter in 1952) said after he graduated from college and completed a stint in the military, he decided to affiliate with Tau Upsilon instead of Alpha Omega because “it had more younger brothers, and they were doing more things” in terms of offering activities in Washington. And, as a young teacher in the metropolitan Washington area, Tau Upsilon made him feel welcome, while Alpha Omega did not.

By the early 1950s, both Alpha Omega and Tau Upsilon were hearty chapters. They had learned over the years about how to have separate, thriving programs but also about how to work together on several things, such as the mandated national programs, and on other projects, such as, for instance, the April 30-May 2, 1954, Third District Meeting, that they hosted along with Alpha Chapter. In fact, an April 30, 1953, letter from Alpha Omega to then-Third District Representative James D. Gill spoke of the joint efforts of Alpha Omega and Tau Upsilon. “Alpha Omega Chapter cooperatively shares graduate Omega activities and responsibilities with Tau Upsilon in Washington, D.C.” Other letters and correspondence, including a letter from Paul L.D. Elmore, dated July 8, 1957, point to the chapters working together. Elmore, this letter said, was chairman of the “Joint Activity Committee of Alpha Omega and Tau Upsilon Chapters.” The letter was announcing that the chapters would be holding a boatride on July 15 on the S.S. Mt. Vernon, owned by the Wilson Line. The letter also was signed by William D. Martin Sr., basileus of Alpha Omega, and Grant Wright, basileus of Tau Upsilon. The April 30, 1953, letter to the District Representative also mentioned that Tau Upsilon and Alpha Omega would be holding a spring formal on May 8, 1953, where the brothers from Alpha Chapter were invited as guests and would be assisting in the arrangements for the activity. And according to the letter, “Omega men in D.C. have proposed a housing venture to culminate in a subscription dance in the Washington National Guard Armory in the fall with music by one of the country’s leading bands.”

Fraternity House

The “housing venture” turned out to be the fraternity house at 1231 Harvard Street, N.W.—and ultimately a catalyst for bringing the two chapters together. The contract for the house on Harvard Street was signed in early 1955, and the settlement date for the house was March 17 of that year, according to a letter from then-Basileus Harry M. Landers Jr. to the Alpha Omega Chapter members. Separate discussions about a new frat house in Washington, however, had been going on for several years.

For instance, at a special meeting of the chapter held on May 6, 1950, members of Alpha Omega voted unanimously on a resolution saying that “it was to the best interest of the fraternity to launch immediately upon a campaign for the purchase of a fraternity house, provided that the project is developed upon a sound business basis, with the management of the project entirely in the hands of the graduate chapter.” Alpha Omega, at this point the only graduate chapter chartered in Washington, was planning to purchase a fraternity house on its own.

Alpha Omega had owned a fraternity house before in Washington, at 1913 13th Street, N.W., which it bought in 1931, along with Alpha Chapter and Kappa Psi, the Washington, D.C., intermediate chapter. The national organization, using its National House Fund, helped the chapters to purchase this house by loaning them $1,500, with the house as security for the loan. The title to the house was taken in the name of the Washington Corporation, the corporation set up by the chapters to take title to the property.

At some point, however, the Washington Chapters lost this house, so that by the 1940s, Alpha Omega was meeting at places such at Baldwin Hall at Howard University, in brothers’ homes, and even at the National Headquarters at 107 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W. Because they had to move around often for meetings, many of Alpha Omega’s members wanted to buy another house. At the May 1950 special meeting where Alpha Omega voted in favor of a resolution on purchasing a house, the chapter also agreed to set up a nine-member Housing Authority to carry out its plan of action. The authority, according to the prospectus, was to be solely responsible for the organization and for carrying out the house campaign, including investigating possible locations. Additionally, all money collected by the chapter toward the purchase was to be held in a special bank account in the name of the Housing Authority, with any money collected to be returned to chapter members if “plans for the purchase of a house are not consummated on or before January 1, 1951.” Other conditions were that the purchase price was not to exceed $25,000, chapter members were to be asked to contribute at least $25 each toward the purchase, a bronze plaque was to be placed in the hallway or other appropriate location within the fraternity house with the names of brothers giving at least $100, the chapter would consider dedicating the house as a memorial to the late Brother Charles R. Drew, and the house was to have game rooms, reading rooms, and an auditorium and be available for meetings, forums, card parties, and lectures, in addition to its regular club house uses. Finally, the prospectus said, the undergraduate members of Alpha Chapter should be “entitled to and enjoy use of the house, subject to the regulations of the House Management Committee” but “there will be no dormitory facilities.”

The Housing Authority was organized that June to solicit funds for the purchase of a fraternity house, and $1,325 was collected between late June and July 31 for that project, Basileus Everett W. Carter wrote in a chapter letter on November 14. The money was deposited in The Industrial Bank of Washington in a special account, and the chapter set a goal of raising $5,000 by December 20, a goal which the chapter missed. Money trickled into the fund, prompting the chapter to back off from the January 1, 1951, deadline for either making a deal on a house or for returning money. The February 1951 issue of the Alpha Omega News = Letter: The Ques in the News said the Housing Project fund totaled $1,425. As of October 26, 1951, the chapter’s Audit Committee reported having $1,425 on deposit in the Perpetual Building Association and $15 not yet deposited in that account, for a total of $1,440. The Audit Committee was made up of Brothers Cato Adams, Thurman L. Dodson, and H. Carl Moultrie I. And when Alpha Omega adopted a revised set of chapter by-laws on November 24, 1951, Article 4, Section 1 (d) acknowledged the problems in raising funds, saying the Housing Authority “shall prepare its own detailed program, regulations, and policies for purchasing and maintaining a chapter house.”

Alpha Chapter, Tau Upsilon Leads Charge

While Alpha Omega was having a difficult time raising money on its own for a chapter house, Tau Upsilon and Alpha Chapter were moving on plans for a house. At some point in 1954, both of these chapters had saved $2,000 each toward a house, with Alpha Chapter being the first one to have its share of the down payment, and were in the process of looking for a piece of property. They subsequently put a down payment on a house at 1231 Harvard Street, without Alpha Omega’s participation. Asked why Alpha Omega didn’t participate at that time, Brother Wesley said, “They didn’t have any money. We didn’t bother with them. They didn’t want to be bothered with us.” The contract placed on the house by Tau Upsilon and Alpha Chapter was approved, but the chapters realized they needed some additional money to seal the deal. What the chapters did was apply to the national organization for a loan for $5,000, and this was what ultimately brought Alpha Omega into the partnership. Brother Wesley said that during their discussions of the house, Alpha Chapter and Tau Upsilon considered renting rooms and others ways to make enough money to maintain the property. “We needed some more money,” Wesley said, “so we applied to the conclave” which was providing loans up to $5,000 for graduate chapters buying houses.

At the Atlanta fraternity conclave in 1954, Brother Z. Alexander Looby, a former Grand Basileus and the then-head of the National Housing Authority, said, according to Brother Wesley, that the fraternity was willing to loan Alpha and Tau Upsilon Chapters the $5,000 they needed, but only if they could also bring Alpha Omega in on the deal.

Looby subsequently called a meeting in Washington, and all three chapters were present. “Alexander Looby talked them [Alpha Omega] into joining the project,” Wesley said. The national organization loaned the $5,000, signing a deed of trust with Alpha Tau Upsilon, the housing authority, on April 19, 1955. ATA was released from the deed on August 14, 1967, after paying off the loan on July 13, 1967. The deed of trust and the release were both signed by Jesse B. Blayton, the Grand Keeper of Finance, and H. Carl Moutrie I, the National Executive Secretary.

Alpha Omega’s Housing Authority opposed the purchase of 1231 Harvard, saying the asking price for the house was too high, given the location and neighborhood around it. “Practically all the members of the Housing Authority have seen the property and are unanimous in the belief that the property had been overdeveloped for the neighborhood,” the Housing Authority wrote February 19, 1955, in a letter to the chapter. “The Housing Authority feels that the price of twenty-eight thousand dollars ($28,000) or even twenty-seven thousand dollars ($27,000) is entirely out of line considering the location, type, and generally the conditions surrounding the location.” The Housing Authority, instead, favored the chapters’ purchase of a house at 3121 13th Street. N.W., which was listed at $23,000, but which the authority felt could be purchased for $17,500. Moreover, the Housing Authority, which included Dodson, J. Jack Ingram, Baisel Oliver, George L.P. Weaver, Parker, and Medford, said that as of February 19, Alpha Omega had $1,525 in its building association fund for the purchase of a house, and the authority recommended that the chapter increase this to $2,000 so that Alpha Omega would have the same amount on hand as the other chapters for the joint purchase of a property, but not for 1231 Harvard Street. The chapters, however, proceeded with the purchase, a house still held by the Washington Chapters jointly.

The story of Alpha Omega and Tau Upsilon, however, wouldn’t be complete without looking at the tie between the fraternity house and the revival of the Mardi Gras. To pay for the maintenance of the house and—according to one version, to repay money it had to borrow for its share of the down payment—Alpha Omega revived the Mardi Gras, an activity held first in 1923 and intermittently thereafter. In 1958, with P. Frank Bolden as its chairman, the Mardi Gras made a grand return at the D.C. Armory with 4,000 to 5,000 people present to welcome it back, including members of Tau Upsilon who had helped sell tickets. And to manage the house, the chapters set up a corporation, whose name encompassed some part of each chapter owner’s name: Alpha Tau Alpha, for Alpha, Tau Upsilon, and Alpha Omega chapters.

By mid- to late-1959, Alpha Omega and Tau Upsilon had made a de facto merger. The legal merger came at the 1960 conclave in San Antonio, when Ed Clement, a Tau Upsilon delegate to the meeting, retired the charter for Tau Upsilon, leaving a single graduate chapter in Washington.

For the 1961 Grand Conclave, one graduate chapter—Alpha Omega—joined the other Washington chapters in hosting the event, and Brother William D. Martin Sr., a former Basileus of Alpha Omega, was its Grand Marshal. The final twist to the story of Alpha Omega and Tau Upsilon was that the first brother elected Basileus after the chapters’ merger was Ed Clement, a former member of Tau Upsilon, who defeated John Plummer, a brother initiated in and a long-time member of Alpha Omega.