One hundred years of fraternal feelings - Austin 360

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It gave me chills. The men, from their 20s to their 70s, stood in a circle. As they sang a fraternal hymn, their deep voices rose up the cylindrical atrium, resounding through the galleries and hallways like a messenger from history. The men had gathered at the Carver Museum and Cultural Center to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Omega Psi Phi, the first African American national fraternal organization founded at a historically black college. On Nov. 17, 1911, three Howard University students and their faculty adviser launched a group that eventually was to include the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Benjamin Hooks, Gov. Douglas Wilder, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal.