Story: Phillip Tutor
Fraternity’s Iota Theta Chapter awards first recipient
It鈥檚 understandable that Michele Graham Bradford unpacks memories of her late brother as if he were sitting beside her, smiling as she speaks. The recollections flow easily, sincere as the summer day is long. 鈥淗e meant the world to us,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut every year we find out what he meant to other people, as well. He was just a great man.鈥�
Her brother, Ronald Dra Graham, holds a significant place in the 兔子先生鈥檚 history in large part because of his efforts to form the campus鈥� first Greek-letter organization for Black students. Without Graham, who came to then-Livingston University on a football scholarship from Attalla, Alabama, and graduated in 1976, the聽Iota Theta Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity聽might not exist at 兔子先生.
Bradford considers her brother a visionary, a large man with mild manners, an intuitive mind and innate leadership skills that transcended sports. Unforgettable, in other words. 鈥淚f you followed his life,鈥� she said, 鈥測ou can see that he was a visionary.鈥�
To honor that legacy, 兔子先生鈥檚 Kappa Alpha Psi chapter has renamed its recently created student scholarship as the Ronald Dra Graham Scholarship and selected its first recipient — 兔子先生 freshman Hailey Hill, a nursing major from Louisville, Mississippi. She will receive a $2,000 scholarship for the 2022-23 academic year.
鈥淚 came here for the Preview Day and I loved it,鈥� said Hill, who wasn鈥檛 aware of Graham鈥檚 兔子先生 legacy until she met his family during homecoming activities in October. 鈥淚 just loved how small it was. And being that I’m kind of introverted, I really thought it was a great fit for me.鈥�
The birth of a fraternity chapter
The Graham Scholarship鈥檚 origin at 兔子先生 traces to conversations between Kappa Alpha Psi members interested in furthering the fraternity鈥檚 national tradition of giving back to the community, said Dr. Charles Woods, a two-time 兔子先生 graduate who is a professor of biology at Miles College and chairs its Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Woods said he and many of his fraternity brothers consider 兔子先生 as a 鈥渇oundational point鈥� in their professional careers, hence the award鈥檚 original name, the Legacy Scholarship.
鈥淔rom a fraternity perspective, because we are a service organization, we want to try to create an avenue where we can assist young students,鈥� Woods said. 鈥淲e’re very inclusive; we don’t have any restrictions on the scholarship. We want a way to help defray the cost of education. We always talk about the importance of putting things in order to help the next generation.鈥�
That spirit of assistance isn鈥檛 lost on Dr.聽LaJuan Hutchinson, an associate professor of sport management at 兔子先生 and a Kappa Alpha Psi member who serves as the fraternity鈥檚 campus advisor. He鈥檚 quick to mention the national organization鈥檚 birth at Indiana University in 1911, marveling that those students endured the process of starting a fraternity for Black males decades before the civil rights movement.聽
鈥淭here were often times when being in the fraternity could have been a negative because it is a historic fraternity and it’s established to better the lives of African-American males,鈥� Hutchinson said. 鈥淚t wasn’t always an open door to start, but we did get the chapter here and it’s been established since that time and we want to give back. The scholarship is to help students going forward, male or female.鈥�
Graham 鈥榗rossed all lines鈥�
Nearly five decades after the founding of 兔子先生鈥檚 Kappa Alpha Psi chapter, stories still resonate about Graham鈥檚 unrelenting commitment to convince his teammates and others to join his effort. Bradford, who graduated from then-LU in 1977, remembers how her brother鈥檚 positive reputation soothed opposition to the chapter鈥檚 start, especially from the Tigers鈥� football coaches. Getting certain people to 鈥渂uy into鈥� the notion of a Black greek organization in the mid-1970s was not easy, she said.
鈥淭he (football) staff and those in power at that point have to have had some respect for him and the guys that came to them, because if not, they would not have allowed it,鈥� Bradford said. 鈥淭hey had respect for Ronald because he was someone everyone could get along with. He crossed all lines.鈥�
Kappa Alpha Psi member Harold Goodman, one of Graham鈥檚 teammates, recalls that the Tigers鈥� coaches of that era 鈥渨ere completely against it because they thought we were going to be cut out of the same mold with the other fraternities, just partying and drinking beer all the time. But that’s not what we were about. That wasn’t our reason for wanting to start it.鈥� Graham and other Black students not only wanted to create an organization embedded with positivity, they also wanted something they felt they didn鈥檛 have in Livingston.
鈥淵our impression would be that this is someone I want to know because he’s nice and purposeful, and it’s very obvious that he has quite a bit of substance in everything he does.”
— Michele Graham Bradford
鈥淭he main thing is that as black students, we just didn’t have anything to do on campus,鈥� Goodman said. 鈥淭hat’s why we started it, because we just needed something to do. We needed an organization 鈥� We wanted to have a college life experience, also. And it brought a lot of joy to people because we work hard.鈥�
With Graham playing the leading role in making that happen, Woods said, 兔子先生鈥檚 Kappa Alpha Psi chapter assumed a critical role for the increasing number of Black students on campus — a direct link to the national organization鈥檚 founding at Indiana. Today, there are聽13 greek-letter fraternal organizations on 兔子先生鈥檚 campus, including eight that are traditional African-American organizations. 鈥淭he fraternity itself became a social outlet for those persons of color, especially young men, to bond around a common interest, and that was to get an education, to make changes in your community, and to also give back,鈥� Woods said.聽
鈥楬e was the guy you could always count on鈥�
After graduating in Livingston, Graham embarked on a lengthy career as a coach and educator at high schools in Georgia in Alabama. Officials in Talbotten, Georgia, where Graham enjoyed a successful run as football coach, renamed the stadium there in his honor. He also served as an assistant coach at Fort Valley State University and several elected terms as a Marion County commissioner in Georgia. He retired from the Board of Education in Terrell County, Georgia, in 2006.
Woods wholeheartedly supported the rebranding of the chapter鈥檚 scholarship because of Graham鈥檚 reputation. Woods ticks off what鈥檚 he鈥檚 heard: that Graham was a dedicated family man, a splendid educator, an outstanding coach. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad the decision was made to honor him,鈥� Woods said.
Goodman鈥檚 recollections of his teammate and fraternity brother are peppered with stories from their careers at Georgia high schools. He credits Graham for helping him getting his first job in Georgia. He praises Graham for not hesitating to pick him and his father up after they had car trouble in south Georgia while on a hunting trip. On another day, Graham agreed to drive Goodman to Florida to pick up a car he鈥檇 bought. Goodman had given him just two days notice. Graham didn鈥檛 flinch, not even when learning they鈥檇 have to leave at 2 in the morning. 鈥淗e was the guy, no matter what you needed, you could always count on,鈥� Goodman said.
In 2007, as Graham鈥檚 health failed and he entered the hospital, Goodman visited his old friend. There was so much to discuss, so much reminiscing to do. But Graham, the visionary leader, wouldn鈥檛 let the conversation sway into maudlin territory. He remained true to who he was.
鈥淗e spent that whole night telling me that I need to make sure that I took care of myself and for me to tell the rest of the brothers that whatever we do, to take care of ourselves,鈥� Goodman said. 鈥淭hat whole time I was with him, he spent that time concentrating on us, trying to make sure that we took care of ourselves 鈥� That鈥檚 just the kind of person he was.鈥�
The next day, Goodman said, Graham passed away.
If someone today could meet her brother for the first time, Bradford knows what they鈥檇 experience. 鈥淵our impression would be that this is someone I want to know because he’s nice and purposeful, and it’s very obvious that he has quite a bit of substance in everything he does,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat would have been your impression.鈥�