I’m delighted to have this opportunity to bring greetings once again as your President of Kappa Xi Lambda, The Wall Street Alphas. We have been in existence for nearly 50 years, and as we march closer to 2024, we have some amazing opportunities for our community,  our youth, and our Brotherhood.  As we lead up to the 2024 presidential election cycle, we aim to ensure that the voters in our communities have all the tools necessary to make an informed decision.

As we already acknowledge, the 2024 election will be just as crucial as 2020, if not more.  It seems like we’re always at a pivotal political crisis or crossroads. As men of Alpha,  we’ve never wavered in the face of adversity. Instead, we have a proud and rich legacy of taking them head-on.  Being an informed voter makes a huge difference. We, the Wall Street Alphas, believe that any help we can offer to give our community a leg up is well worth it.  The proof is in the work.

We collaborated on October 17th with the Brothers of Alpha Gamma Lambda (Harlem Alphas) and the sisters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority  Inc’s Tau Omega and Pi Kappa Omega chapters called Phirst Pham Politics. We allowed the candidates running for City Council in Manhattan to be heard and get in front of voters.  This effort was spearheaded by Brothers Dilon Gonçalves and Jamel Vanderburg, as well as the Committee on Impact.

On November 14th, we presented A Fireside Chat with the President of the National Urban League, former Mayor of New Orleans, and our dear chapter brother, Brother Marc Morial, moderated by another extraordinary member of the chapter,  Brother Basil Smikle, who among his laundry list of accolades can be found contributing to political discourse on MSNBC, and is the Director of the Public Policy Program at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute Hunter College. They will grapple with the challenges of the electorate and voter engagement.

Not only are we going to help our community with voter enrichment, we’re also going to help our community’s youth by mentoring the young men who need it the most.  These young men are part of our program called Alpha GENTS. Gaining Essential Networking Tools for Success. Led by Director of Educational Activities Brother Jerome Hairston, the GENTS program helps the mentees navigate what it means to be a young man of color in this day and age with all the issues they have to deal with, including, but not limited to, economic conditions, social injustice, mental and reproductive health and so much more ensuring we equip our youths with the tools to be successful for many years to come.

So why is 2024 so important? We talked about the community, and we talked about serving our youths. Well,  none of this is possible without YOU in the Brotherhood. Your engagement is critical as we lead three chapters (2 undergraduate ZH, YY, and KXL) through IMDP; new Brothers to come into the Light.  We need your involvement to ensure these men exemplify all the ideals Alpha has in store for them.  Together, we will Lead the Charge into 50 stronger than ever! Let’s work in the name of Brotherhood.