A few years back, the Madison-area chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the Mu Eta Lambda chapter, created awards for students that honor the life and legacy of local civil rights leader Frank Humphrey, an important member of the NAACP and of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., who passed away on Aug. 1, 2022.
“What we decided to do in the namesake of our late brother Frank Humphrey was to honor his name and his service with these awards,” Ezi Adesi, president of the Mu Eta Lambda Chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., tells Madison365. “We just want to recognize some young men in the area who stood for what we stand for, and will embody what Brother Humphrey embodied, which is leadership and service and academic excellence, of course. This will be year number three of this recognition.”
Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African American men, was founded on December 4, 1906, at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, by seven college men who recognized the need for a strong bond of brotherhood among African Americans in this country. The Mu Eta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was founded in 1976 in Madison and recently marked its 50th anniversary with The Golden Jubilee Masquerade at the brand-new Center for Black Excellence and Culture.
There are three Frank Humphrey Awards for service, leadership, and academic excellence that local students may apply for. The awards recognize and celebrate the outstanding contributions of young leaders who have demonstrated exceptional leadership skills, a commitment to social responsibility, and academic excellence. Applications are due on May 18. For the nomination forms and more information, click here.
“The awards are for Black male youth in the area who are excelling in those areas, and they oftentimes get overlooked with things that are not so positive,” Adesi says. “So we want to make sure that we are doing our due diligence as an organization and a brotherhood to recognize the young Black males who are walking the path.”
The Mu Eta Lambda chapter is also accepting applications for the Dr. John Y. Odom Scholarship, named for the late educator and civil rights activist Dr. John Y. Odom, who founded several local organizations and initiatives, including the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute, a teaching center to promote economic independence among Black youth. Dr. Odom was the president of Odom & Associates and a lifetime member of the NAACP, including a past president of the local branch of the NAACP. He authored the following books: “Saving Black America: An Economic Plan for Civil Rights,” “Vote Every Time,” “No N-r Please: 22 Reasons to Stop Saying the N-Word in Public,” and countless newspaper and magazine articles.
“The Dr. John Odom Mu Eta Lambda Scholarship is for high school seniors who are already enrolled in a higher education institution and will be a freshman in the fall,” Adesi says. “So any student in Dane County is eligible to apply with a 2.5 GPA or higher. In order to apply, students submit an essay and a letter of recommendation, and then they’ll do an interview with our scholarship committee. That scholarship is usually anywhere between $500-$1,000 directly from our chapter.”
For more information on the Dr. John Y. Odom Scholarship, click here. Applications are due by Monday, June 1. 
The awards are a big deal for the young people, both monetarily and to put on their résumés, but also a chance to learn about some of the great trailblazers in Madison who have passed away.
“Yeah, we have been very, very intentional with that. These are individuals we want our young people to look to for inspiration,” Adesi says. “The legacy that they left behind … being leaders, being a servant and being involved in their communities. That is what we believe in.
“We know how tough it is to be a young student and we know that with college, the cost can be a barrier,” he adds. “These scholarships and honors mean a lot not only to the students and their families, but it means a lot for us as an organization, knowing that we’re helping someone who was once in our shoes. Many of us have already walked that path. And so to know that we can help lift up somebody else is just amazing.”
