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Mitchell was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. by way of Beta Chapter on the campus of Howard University in 1995, and is president of the local alumni San Diego chapter, Zeta Sigma Lambda Chapter. He lives in La Jolla.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. was founded on Dec. 4, 1906, on the campus of Cornell University by seven men. Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle and Vertner Woodson Tandy dared to be pioneers in an uncharted field of student life.

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Alpha Phi Alpha members at the 2020 MLK Parade. The green shirts were handed out to volunteers.

(Courtesy photo)

Our founders, known as the Jewels, went on to become a medical doctor, an educator, an executive secretary of the National Urban League, a civil engineer, an instructor, a secretary attached to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and an architect. These men recognized the need for a strong bond of brotherhood among African Americans. Their success in establishing a fraternity created the framework for the creation of other African American Greek letter organizations.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. develops leaders, promoting brotherhood and academic excellence while providing service and advocacy for our communities. Part of our legacy is our membership. One of our most famous members is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was initiated in 1952 as a graduate student at Boston University working on his doctorate in systematic theology with an interest in philosophy and ethics.

As we celebrate his birthday each January, we are reminded that Dr. Kings journey was not alone his leadership abilities were developed by members of our fraternity, and brotherhood was promoted as he took the first of many steps on his journey to provide service and advocacy to our American community.

Locally, through collaboration with Zeta Sigma Lambda Foundation, we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. in San Diego with an annual parade on Harbor Drive. Each parade has a theme, and is full of dazzling floats, bands, drill teams, colleges, fraternities, sororities, churches and community organizations.

During this parade, we also honor our military and our police and fire departments. The parade has evolved over time and now represents the diverse community here in San Diego. It is something that lends itself to how we celebrate him nationally with his own holiday and memorial.

The MLK memorial in Washington, D.C., was established by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. in 1996. Forty years earlier, Dr. King had been honored by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. with the Alpha Award of Honor for Christian leadership in the cause of first-class citizenship for all mankind.

It is in this spirit that we, the local chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., decided to contribute to protecting our community by postponing the parade until 2023. We are thankful for the continued collaboration with San Diego County and look forward to returning in 2023 to the same route celebrating the diversity of our community.

Our fraternity works to provide service to our community through national and local programs. Our national programs are Project Alpha, Go-To-High-School, Go-To-College and A Voteless People Is A Hopeless People. Our local programs, along with the MLK parade, are the San Diego Multicultural Festival and our Holiday Scholarship Ball. The Multicultural Festival celebrates the diversity reflected throughout San Diego. This event is planned for April 24. This past December, we celebrated the Holiday Scholarship Ball, which assists with our scholarship fundraising.

Project Alpha was developed collaboratively with the March of Dimes to educate African Americans on the consequences of teenage pregnancy from the male perspective. This program assists young men in developing an understanding of their role in preventing untimely pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections through responsible attitudes and behaviors.

Our Go-To-High-School, Go-To-College programs focus on the importance of completing secondary and collegiate education as a road to advancement. We believe school completion is the single best predictor of future economic success. Locally, we partner with middle and high schools to mentor African American young men towards this goal. Through our fundraising efforts, we provide scholarships for college-bound students.

Our A Voteless People Is A Hopeless People program focuses on political awareness, empowerment and the importance of voting. Our local chapters program will consist of a no-touch voter registration drive on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 312 Euclid Avenue in San Diego. We invite members of the community to come out and safely confirm their voting registration in preparation for the coming elections.As we navigate our new normal, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. will reaffirm our commitment to social justice, community advocacy, economic development and mobility, education and health-care equity.

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Opinion: Alpha Phi Alpha develops leaders and promotes brotherhood - The San Diego Union-Tribune