Founding Narrative
by Brother Joseph E. Washington
It was early January 1960, when I arrived from the U.S. in the moderately rebuilt war-torn city of Frankfurt, Germany. I was greeted at the airport not only with an avalanche of freshly laid snow but in accordance with military clearance decorum, two-armed Military Intelligence Police escorted me, a newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant (from West Virginia State) to a secluded Basic Officers Quarters for orientation and briefing in the European Theater. Soon thereafter, with duty assignments and travels to multiple military installations in Spain, France, Italy, Amsterdam, and Berlin, I was appalled by the small number of Black enlisted personnel and officers I encountered during my routine movements throughout Europe. When finally assigned to military housing I was fortunately transferred into a community in which a fellow brother resided. Namely, Brother (Captain) Horace Brissette, a graduate of Virginia State College, and his wife. They lived across the street from my family and naturally, our families became close. When I first introduced the topic of organizing and forming a local chapter in Frankfurt, Germany, Brother Brissette implied the brothers in the immediate area might be unwilling to give up their “free time” to fraternize. After many one-on-one discussions, including pros and cons, we decided to expand our search beyond the Frankfurt area.
In early 1961, the paperwork started. I wrote a letter of inquiry to Brother H. Carl Moultrie, (Esq.), our then National Executive Secretary, in Washington, D.C. Brother Moultrie responded enthusiastically and outlined the prerequisites for forming a graduate chapter in Frankfurt, Germany. I excitedly shared the correspondence with Brother Brissette, who in the meantime had found a third brother in the area, Lieutenant Russell Powell, also from West Virginia State. In collaboration, the three of us began to explore ways to find other graduate Omega brothers in order to meet the membership criteria set forth by the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity National Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
We also recognized the need to be fully sanctioned by the Headquarters, US Army, Europe (HQUSAE) Command, to ensure our legitimacy to function as a fraternity in Europe. I wrote a letter to the Commanding Officer of the European Command requesting permission to organize within the command. Within days my request was returned “denied,” without rationale for its refusal. I immediately responded to the rejection via telephone and was told, “the decision was based on the negative activities of civil unrest back in the United States,” subtly inferring that we could potentially exist as a springboard for subversive behaviors in Europe. I then queried about how similar professional organizing requests had been handled in the past. I was told that there were no such requests on file in Europe. Shocked, annoyed, and bewildered, I surmised our structured organizational integrity and efforts were at stake. Without scrapping our respective interests, the three of us vowed to pursue and jointly pondered our next constructive move.
Realizing timing was of the essence and our original pioneering dream dwindling slowly, I remembered a brief scenario I had encountered in the late summer of 1961. While serving as a volunteer coach for a local teenage American Youth Association (AYA) football team in Frankfurt, I was in the midst of demonstrating various techniques and drills to a player on how to block an opponent, when a 2-star General (Major General Creighton W. Abrams) tapped me on the shoulder with his “swagger stick” and exclaimed, “Give him hell, Lieutenant,” referring to his son’s lackadaisical attitude. Caught off guard (in my military fatigue uniform), I hastily tried to salute the General, but he retorted, “at ease — carry on!” On occasions, the General would drop in on our drill exercises, and I vaguely remembered him saying at one practice, “Lieutenant, call me if you ever need anything.”
Remembering that offer and keenly aware of the routine and astute chain-of-command protocol, I casually and gingerly informed the General of my interest to coordinate a fraternal organization extension in Europe and the dilemma I faced, in spite of the fact the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity was incorporated and approved by the United States Congress in 1914. When asked by the General “what’s the problem,” I cited the fact that local Frankfurt Headquarters USAE Command personnel had denied my initial and formal request to organize in Europe.
The General (Major General Creighton W. Abrams) respectively, unknowingly played a key role in our venture and instructed me to redirect my original request the next day to his First Sergeant and include a note about the 1914 inception and he’d take care of the rest. Within a few days, the much-delayed signal to proceed arrived and, with the Headquarters, United States Army Europe (HQUSAE) Command approval, we were able to move forward.
After this triumphant accomplishment, I then returned to the mission at hand. With a few personal contacts in the Armed Forces Europe news media, such as the Stars and Stripes newspaper and the AFN (Armed Forces Network) radio station, I was able to obtain free advertising for our first fraternity gathering at the Casino Officers and Civilians’ Club in Frankfurt, Germany, in May of 1962. As telephone calls from brothers began to dribble in, some enlisted brothers voiced a reluctance to gather or meet at the Officers club because of their rank. They were assured as brothers, they would be our invited guests and it would not be an infringement or dereliction of duty as a result of their organizational visit to the officers’ club. An appropriate marquee was placed at the front entrance of the club to ensure those reluctant brothers who might come would not develop cold feet and retreat.
Our success was in the making, as we were able to gather nine brothers at our first meeting in Frankfurt, Germany on Sunday, May 20, 1962. At a formal second meeting on Sunday, June 24, 1962 at the same location, twenty brothers were in attendance — a magnificent achievement of 20 PEARLS! From this gathering, routine paperwork and documents were sent back to the States for validation as we had satisfied the Fraternity’s Supreme Council requirements for a graduate chapter assignment. Soon thereafter, we were in receipt of our graduate chapter embossed “Charter” in hand, thus officially designating the Greek letter name of Theta Rho Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, with headquarters and operations in Frankfurt, Germany, in the calendar year 1962. An original photo of chartered brothers was also taken and published in the September 1962 issue of The ORACLE on page 10.
The distinguished and elite brotherhood of purple and gold had carved out an unparalleled niche with this groundbreaking realization. This unique milestone has propelled Theta Rho Chapter and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity to an unprecedented worldwide recognition, becoming the first historically Black Greek-lettered fraternity to officially organize and function in Europe. The Mighty Theta Rho continues to thrive to this day.
Sincerely,
Brother Joseph E. Washington
Initiated — Theta Psi Chapter — 1957
Charter Details
Chartered: Frankfurt, Germany —
Fifteen Chartered Members
- Bro. Ernest W. Armstrong
- Bro. Wilbur L. Beck
- Bro. Gilbert Kleckley
- Bro. Henry L. Gibson
- Bro. Roy L. Goines
- Bro. Johnnie C. Greer
- Bro. Samuel R. Harris
- Bro. Samuel B. Houston
- Bro. Evander L. Humphrey
- Bro. Aaron M. Jones
- Bro. Nathaniel L. Keeling
- Bro. Russell A. Powell
- Bro. Robert L. Smith
- Bro. Dudley L. Tademy
- Bro. Joseph E. Washington
Chapter Growth & Milestones
These men with extraordinary vision led the first chartering of any Greek-lettered Pan-Hellenic organization in Europe. The chapter was inactivated in 1972 and reactivated on April 13, 1973 with nine members. The most famous of these brothers was Major General Matthew Zimmerman, who became the U.S. Army’s first African-American Chief of Chaplains.
On July 29, 1988 in Wuerzburg, Germany, local area brothers formed our sister chapter Phi Gamma Gamma to eliminate the travel and logistics requirements brothers incurred trying to make fraternity meetings. Phi Gamma Gamma was inactivated in the summer of 2000 and reactivated in 2007 with her charter in Kuwait.
In the early 1990s, the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the fall of the Berlin Wall brought about German reunification and a reduction of U.S. Armed Forces in Europe due to the reduced Soviet threat. Downsizing of U.S. Forces in Europe, coupled with Base Realignment and Closures (BRAC), significantly reduced the number of brothers serving in Europe and affected predominately active Omega areas of Nuremberg, Hanau, Wuerzburg, Berlin, and Frankfurt. Today, the hub of Theta Rho now centers around two major cities: Kaiserslautern and Stuttgart.
International Footprint
Theta Rho International Chapter employs an area concept by designating Area Coordinators who serve as members of the Executive Council — disseminating information and coordinating efforts due to our geographical dispersion. Germany is divided into five areas: Bavaria, Kaiserslautern, Stuttgart, and Wiesbaden. The Chapter is truly international with financial brothers in Belgium, Djibouti, Germany, Italy, Liberia, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, as well as those deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait. The chapter leverages technology to remain connected to its Brotherhood across countries.
Service & Impact
The foundation of Theta Rho International Chapter sits firmly on its community service and social action activities, engagements, and initiatives that have touched so many communities around the world. These include donations to Haiti Relief, a Coat Drive for the Salvation Army Homeless Shelter, Clothes Drive for the underprivileged, a partnership with Army Community Service launching their Domestic Violence Campaign, and awarding $13,500 in scholarships, just to name a few.
Theta Rho has expanded its community service initiatives and nationally mandated programs to Liberia and the United Kingdom, demonstrating an extraordinary vision to reach the broader community where its membership resides. This expansion includes Social Action Programs, Scholarships, and Talent Hunt.
The Chapter supports its scholarship program for Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DODDS) students through numerous fundraising events: Mardi Gras, Boat Ride, New Year’s Eve Ball, and more. The Chapter also raises funds through its advertisement campaign to support its Talent Hunt & Scholarship Program.
Historic Firsts
- : Initiated Brother Shane W. Gillings — the first Omega Man to be made in the United Kingdom.
- : Brother W. Joshua Hallam became the first Omega Man to be initiated on UK soil.
Theta Rho continues to shape the annals of Omega history with preparations to establish the first undergraduate chapter in the United Kingdom and the first Greek collegiate chapter in all of Europe.