Alpha & Omega

11 Ways Omega Psi Phi was Supported by Alpha Kappa Alpha

Day 2:

Much more has been documented about the lives of her male family members it's important that we get an inside view of the AKA woman/women that supported some of Omega Psi Phi’s Alpha Charter members.

AKA, Ruth Gilbert

Alpha & Omega

AKA, 1st Initiate

Ruth Gilbert

(Alpha Chapter)

OPP, Charter Member William Gilbert

The Alpha and Omega

Many D9 members use the descriptors for AKA & Omega relationships as PG connection or 20 pearls however another designation for the term is The Alpha & Omega.

It is shied away from as the term can be confused with other biblical , Greek texts or mistaken for ties with the another fraternal group. However, for the accurate recording of history the Alpha and Omega connection it should be be clarified that The Alpha & Omega began very much the way the term Phirst Phamily did, by an actual blood relation.

As Phirst Pham began with first cousins Rosa Vassar and Eugene Kinckle Jones. The Alpha and Omega began with siblings Ruth and William Gilbert.

On Thursday, December 8, 1911, the committee made its report to the Grand Chapter of Omega Psi Phi. Its constitution was adopted and each charter member signed the original document that was submitted to the President. The Grand Chapter worked hard to win faculty approval despite their high standing. The men who signed the constitution were student leaders in academics and extracurricular activities. Instead of wait for faculty approval, they placed small placards in conspicuous places around campus announcing the existence of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and listed the names of its members.

On December 15, 1911, prior to faculty approval, Alpha Chapter, The Mother Pearl, was established at Howard University with fourteen Charter

members. Along with the Founders, these eleven stalwart men selected on November 23rd formed the foundation of The Mother Pearl. One of

those men was William Gilbert.

Excerpt from: http://thepearlofomega.org/historyofthepearl

Enter Ruth Gilbert

While much more has been documented about the lives of her male family members it's important that we get an inside view of the AKA woman/women that supported some of Omega Psi Phi’s Alpha Charter members.

AKA, Ruth Gilbert.

Ruth was the eldest of 10 children conceived by Rev. Dr. Matthew Gilbert Jr. and his wife Agnes. She was also the first of the Gilberts to graduate from Howard Academy when they were sent to DC in 1904. The Gilbert kids were scholars and well liked by everyone who knew them. Their father was a dynamic preacher who commanded large crowds and carried great influence and Ruth adored him.

Ruth at one time even stated to a newspaper that she loved her father so much that even if she got married she would always keep her name because her father is a Gilbert.

There were a few people who would come to disagree with Ruth about his lovability but history definitely denotes that he was most and foremost intelligent, benevolent & definitely charismatic. He pastored churches all over the country, fought civil rights, protested against the human violation of Ota Benga and began schools in the southeast. The schools that are still in existence are Matthew Gilbert Middle school in Jacksonville Fl. and Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, Fl. Wherever he went he made a definite mark in the hearts and the community around them. His children definitely made similar impacts.

Ruth was the eldest of the children but unless you prodded you may never know she had lost six siblings to various deaths before graduating from high school. As a result she took her role as elder sister very seriously and helped to guide her younger brothers.

When Ruth entered Howard in the Fall of 1907 she appeared to be a perfect candidate for entry into a new sorority that began in Miner Hall in November of 1907. A lot of the details were hush hush but the seniors who were a part of the organization were busier than ever now that the college aged girls were moved to the Miner Hall dorms. As a fellow “pk” preacher’s kid, She was good friends with the other pks such as senior Julia Brooks and had worked with Lucy Slowe and Ethel Hedgemon in clubs and school programs. However, due to the nature of the constitution of the organization Ruth couldn’t be selected until her sophomore year.

By February 11, 1909, Ruth Gilbert and her 5 line sisters fully completed all the steps to become members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and finally finished their initiation. As was the sorority custom when welcoming new members a dinner was thrown in their honor. This final act crystalized her and her 5 line sisters, Lena Jenkins, Nellie Pratt, Mabel Gibson, Mary Clifford, and Ella Albert in the history books as the first line of an AA sorority and in the hearts of every Alpha Kappa Alpha Woman. While Ruth was active with her faith and held leadership positions in organizations such, YPSE, Christian Endeavor, class government, and hosting events. She even won the NAPS prize.

In the fall of 1908, her younger brother William Gilbert hit the campus and made sure to keep in step with his sister’s accolades. Like his sister he went after leadership positions and was elected President of the freshman class. By the Spring, Gilbert was so impressed that Just tapped him to be the business manager of his new idea the Howard University Dramatic Club. The first play was a resounding success. He managed the club’s plays until his graduation in 1912, even getting his sister to participate in a few productions.

So in 1911, when he was approached by an existing colony of men to join their budding organization William looked to the Greek member he knew the best, his sister, AKA Ruth Gilbert.

By all accounts the sorority had brought excitement and refinement to the university. Kelly Miller hosted a party in their honor and stated that Alpha Kappa Alpha brought life to the campus and that the sorority’s spirit and enthusiasm was contagious. Dean Lewis Moore praised the organization for promoting school spirit and for being the glue that would maintain alumni interest. However, it was his sister’s charitable works in her ivy pin, excitement, secrecy of the membership and commitment to lifelong sisterhood and service that made the choice an easy one.

William Gilbert became a member of Omega Psi Phi with sixteen young men who stood high in the scholastic record of the university and were members of its debating teams and heads of its several auxiliary organizations.

One of those men was the Future husband & childhood friend of Ruth’s Neophyte AKA, Marion Higgs, Julius Henderson Love II.

He was an older brother of Edgar Love and was an up close witness of how Marion blossomed after her membership. She was being groomed for leadership in AKA, the couple would continue to support each other in all of their civic and academic pursuits until her early demise in 1936.

Gilbert Omega contributions:

While graduating in 1912 he was determined to help with the Alpha chapter house, when they needed $25 for start-up costs. He forgave the loan the same year.
He told them they should use the coal to heat the home & that he would send more when he secured employment.