HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) -- An important milestone for the Kappa Omega Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity in Harrisburg.
“We keep telling the members here, old and young. Remember not any of us will ever see hundred years again that we can celebrate,” said Lance D. Freeman, chapter historian.
The Kappa Omega chapter was chartered in January 1923.
“From the look of the history of the men who helped charter it here, they were prominent men in this community,” Lance D. Freeman said.
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They were lawyers, doctors, and even elected officials -- all guided by the same mission.
“We believe in service of our community. We believe in uplifting our community. We believe in our four cardinal principals, which include manhood, scholarship, perseverance, and uplifting,” Freeman said.
These men changed the landscape of the community, working to establish the first African American YMC in the area, and uplifting local youth.
"We can go back to the 80s and 90s. We had partnerships with the Big Brothers, Big Sisters. We had a lot of African-American boys that had no big brother,” Freeman added.
The fraternity's headquarters, converted by its members, served as a former fire station in 1981. Starting with 16 members, now 80 strong, Omega Psi Phi is looking forward to its upcoming centennial celebration.
"This is not something you usually hear about in the African American community that a program or an organization existing so long cannot just be first established but continually doing to the work that it's been designed to do for decades, for 100 years,” he said.
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The centennial celebration is this Saturday, Jan. 28, and is open to the public. Tickets to the centennial event, however, have officially sold out.
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