Austin Scott: “let me just commend Mr. Watt as chairman of our Congressional Black Caucus for providing leadership in this important…”

“let me just commend Mr. Watt as chairman of our Congressional Black Caucus for providing leadership in this important celebration and observance of the great and extraordinary contributions that African Americans have made and continue to make in America and throughout the world. No race of people has come through the ordeal and the circumstances of slavery, of Jim Crowism, of racism, of de facto segregation, and in spite of all these obstacles made extraordinary contributions in every field of endeavor: business, medicine, the arts, sports, politics, business. Today we are here to highlight especially the role of fraternities in our community. Nowhere is that more particular than within the African American community, for the African American fraternities were brought about not as a result or a need for social edification or for frivolity; but those fraternities that came about in the African American community came about because of great need at a time of extraordinary struggle and circumstance within the African American community. Such was the case with all of our fraternities and certainly with the fraternity that I am a member of, which is the first fraternity and the oldest fraternity, the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. I would like to spend just a few moments talking about this fraternity because this was the first fraternity, and its development exemplifies all fraternities and the importance of their contribution.…”