Charles Cardoza Poindexter

Charles Cardoza Poindexter (March 10, 1880 – June 3, 1913) was a professor at Fisk University.[1] Poindexter was also known for being the precursor, but not a Founder, of the oldest intercollegiate fraternity for blacks in America, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated.

Charles Cardoza Poindexter
Poindexter (circa 1910)
Born	(1880-03-10)March 10, 1880 Pennsboro, West Virginia, U.S.
Died	June 3, 1913(1913-06-03) (aged 33) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Alma mater	Ohio State University
Known for	Precursor of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Cornell University

Early life

Poindexter was born in Pennsboro, West Virginia on March 10, 1880. He attended high school at the WV Colored Institute(future West Virginia State University) graduating in 1896, and returned for a vocational degree. ([2] Poindexter attended Ohio State University from 1899 to 1903 earning a B.Sci in Agriculture.[2] In 1903, he wrote "The Development of the Spikelet and Grain of Corn."[3] Poindexter was said to be a very superior Negro, very light in color.[4] From Ohio State, he attended a graduate program at Cornell University from 1905 to 1907.[2]

Poindexter married Helen Florence Newton on March 31, 1906,[2] and while at Cornell, Poindexter wrote about the student experiences in the school.[5] Poindexter served as secretary to Thomas Forsyth Hunt, who authored How to Choose a Farm: With a Discussion of American Lands,[6] as well as The Cereals of America.[7] He would serve as a Virginia delegate to the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations Convention.[8]

Alpha Phi Alpha

While at Cornell as a graduate student in the College of Agriculture,[9] Poindexter was the organizer of a group of literary students at Cornell University.[10] The group initially consisted of 15 students and included females.[11] The group met every two weeks at 421 North Albany Street, where Poindexter roomed.[11] Poindexter felt the group should serve the cultural and social needs of the black community and not be an elite secret society.[12]

Poindexter never became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.[12] He was stated to have a faculty relationship with the students of the group because he was the secretary of one of the professors.[10] In December 1905, Poindexter organized a meeting of students which included Murray, Ogle, Morgan T. Phillips, Chapman, Kelley, Callis, Tompkins, and Tandy. In October 1906, the name Alpha Phi Alpha was introduced.[10] Poindexter became the first President of Alpha Phi Alpha. Under the leadership of Poindexter the first banquet, initiation procedures, and policies were introduced.[10] A vote again confirmed the name Alpha Phi Alpha with the colors of old gold and black.[12] The initiation of new members took place on October 30, 1906 at a Masonic Hall including Eugene Kinckle Jones, Lemuel Graves and Gordon Jones.[12] James Morton was considered and selected but at the time was not registered at the university.[11] It was felt that Poindexter being a graduate student dominated the meetings of Alpha Phi Alpha.[13] His leadership was significant during the early stages of the organization.[9] In his absence at a meeting the fraternity idea was pushed for a vote by Murray and was seconded by Robert H Ogle.[11]

In December 1906, the resignation of Thompson was accepted. Seven of the original 12 men from the initial meeting would continue on as members of the fraternity.[11] In Dec 1906, Poindexter submitted a letter of resignation, but the letter was held for a month due to the message being unclear.[13] Poindexter would effectively remove himself from the organization after this period.[14] One month later, in January 1907, Poindexter resigned from the fraternity when he took a new job in Hampton, Virginia. This job was as an assistant agriculturist.[15]

Despite Poindexter's role in the formation of Alpha Phi Alpha, it was agreed that his name would not be linked to the early formation of the fraternity by the Jewels of Alpha Phi Alpha.[13] This view was emphatic especially from Nathanial Murray.[16] The term used for Poindexter as agreed by members of the fraternity was Precursor.[17] Euguene Kinkle Jones who joined the group in October 1906 was given the title of a founder in 1952, while James Morton was removed because he was not a member of the school.[16] Murray was emphatic in his belief that Poindexter not be considered a founder despite his role.[16] According to his wife, Poindexter did not oppose the idea of a fraternity.[18]

Poindexter was listed as being a member of the Alpha chapter who is now in the Omega chapter.[10] In the book the talented tenth, a member of Alpha Chapter argued that Poindexter.[10]

Fisk University

At Fisk University, Poindexter served as the Professor of the Agriculture Department and Biology.[19] While there he implemented programs such as the annual spring day celebration.[1] Among his botany students was Alpha Phi Alpha historian Charles H. Wesley.[1] Poindexter died on June 3, 1913 as a result of complications from surgery.[10]

References

1. Rodney T. Cohen (2001). Fisk University. Arcadia Publishing. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-7385-0677-7.
2. The Ohio State University Quarterly. Ohio State University Association. 1912. p. 192.
3. https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/1348/V04N01_003.pdf;jsessionid=76231F008865C470DB2063BE3603C6BD?sequence=1
4. Sally Gregory Kohlstedt (15 May 2010). Teaching Children Science: Hands-On Nature Study in North America, 1890–1930. University of Chicago Press. p. 275. ISBN 978-0-226-44992-0.
5. The Voice of the Negro: (1906–1907). 1969.
6. Thomas Forsyth Hunt (1906). How to Choose a Farm: With a Discussion of American Lands. Macmillan. p. vii.
7. Thomas Forsyth Hunt (1912). The Cereals in America. Orange Judd Company. p. v.
8. Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations Convention (1907). Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the Association of American Agricultural Colleges & Experiment Stations. The Association. p. 2.
9. Tamara L. Brown; Gregory S. Parks; Clarenda M. Phillips (17 February 2012). African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision. University Press of Kentucky. p. 208. ISBN 0-8131-4073-0.
10. Ross, Donald (Spring–Summer 2015). "Thank You, Brother Poindexter?". Sphinx. Vol. 101 no. 1. pp. 28–37 – via Issuu.
11. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. "The SPHINX – Summer August 1956 – Volume 42 – Number 3 195604203". Issuu.
12. Tamara L. Brown; Gregory Parks; Clarenda M. Phillips (2005). African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision. University Press of Kentucky. p. 154. ISBN 0-8131-2344-5.
13. Charles Harris Wesley; James L. Conyers (1997). Charles H. Wesley: The Intellectual Tradition of a Black Historian. Taylor & Francis. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-8153-2754-7.
14. Walter M. Kimbrough (2003). Black Greek 101: The Culture, Customs, and Challenges of Black Fraternities and Sororities. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-8386-3977-1.
15. "Seventh Biennial Report of the Board of Regents of the West Virginia Colored Institute 1905–1906". 1906.
16. Gregory Parks (1 January 2012). Alpha Phi Alpha: A Legacy of Greatness, The Demands of Transcendence. University Press of Kentucky. p. 75. ISBN 0-8131-3457-9.
17. Matthew W. Hughey; Gregory S. Parks (18 February 2011). Black Greek-Letter Organizations 2.0: New Directions in the Study of African American Fraternities and Sororities. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 309. ISBN 978-1-60473-922-0.
18. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. "The SPHINX – Fall 1987 – Volume 73 – Number 3 198707303". Issuu.
19. National Education Association of the United States (1910). Yearbook and List of Active Members. p. 1.