ABOUT
ZETA IOTA
LAMBDA
CHARTER MEMBERS & HISTORY
Zeta Iota Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., was founded on June 7, 1955 in Trenton, NJ by thirteen distinguished college-trained men:
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William Clark
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Thomas Faucette
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Gaylord Howell
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Collins Lewis
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Herman Marrow
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Bryan Moore (Founding Chapter President)
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William Reid
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Thomas Sanders
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Rev. C.H. Shelton
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Jimmy Smith, Jr.
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Maynard Stephens
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William Strother
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Dr. Paul T. Williams
An October 1962 Sphinx Magazine article speaks of the pride shared by not only the chapter as a whole but also the individual members of Zeta Iota Lambda, as being “a beacon in the capital city for the Garden State and the Eastern Region.” From the onset, our diverse membership included lawyers, doctors, businessmen, government employees — in both high and legislative branches; three PhD’s employed in the Trenton School System, representation on the faculty of Princeton University, and dedicated brothers of note at the Army Installations of Camp Kilmer in Piscataway, McGuire and Fort Dix military bases. Bro. Major Thomas Leigh was promoted to Lt. Colonel-U.S. Army Corp, and Bro. Karl Gordon was promoted from the rank of Captain to Major in the U.S. Army Medical Corp. The military bases are mentioned because, in 1955, Kappa Iota Lambda Chapter in Burlington would not receive its charter for nearly another 20 years.
A March 1972 Sphinx Magazine article speaks about our Annual State Founders’ Day Celebration held in Trenton in 1971, and our guest speaker was Bro. Harold R. Sims, Acting Director of the National Urban League, (during the tenure of Bro. Whitney Young, Jr.). Earlier that year, the chapter took a busload of area high school students to Delaware State College (Dover) for a “Day of Awareness”, part of Alpha’s “Go To High School, Go To College” National Program. Bro. Everett Mills, former Vice-Principal at Ewing High School and a Delaware State alum, was the trip coordinator. The late Dr. Hubert Byron, a dentist by profession and former Mayor of Wrightstown near FortDix, also served as President of the Chamber of Commerce. To mention just a few of our members of note back then: Tommy Thomas, Woodrow Hayward, George Phillips, Dr. Cyril Evans, Ralph Sims, John Purdy, Clarence Rainer, Herman Kimbrough, the late Rev. Earl Tolbert & Dr. Thomas Cooper.
IOTA IOTA
Zeta Iota Lambda has responsibility for oversight and support of Iota Iota Chapter, based at The College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State College). It has initiated many young African-American male students over the years, including initiates from Princeton and Rider Universities.
