Black Superheroes and Goosebumps
Sigma Chapter Centennial Gala
Keynote Address
Vernon B. Williams, MD, FAAN
Sigma Chapter, Spring 1986
July 9, 2022
To Jeffrey O’Neil Williams. J-Blast. My Pers. Many thanks for that introduction.
To the Centennial Committee. Many, many thanks - not only for the honor of your invitation to speak and share and fellowship tonight, but for all of the many hours of work you put in bringing this entire celebration together.
I’d like to recognize and thank my wife, Brenda Montgomery Williams for everything she has done and continues to do for our family and for others. I want to thank he for being the amazing person that she is. And I’d like to publicly declare my love for my Sweetheart!
I’d like to recognize our founders. At a time when it was challenging for Black men to obtain a formal education at a white institution, it took the superhuman strength of an Elder Watson Diggs, and Byron K. Armstrong; of a John Milton Lee, Henry T. Asher, Marcus P. Blakemore and a Guy L. Grant; a Paul W. Caine and a George W. Edmunds; an Ezra D. Alexander, and an Edward G. Irvin to rise up and make their vision for the fraternity a reality. They are here with us in Ann Arbor tonight!
And I’d like to recognize the Sigma Chapter founding charter members, Brother Rudolph Ashe of Alpha Chapter, Brother George Dorsey of Zeta Chapter, and Brother Hurlong Scott of Epsilon Chapter, for planting the seeds of courage, strength, loyalty, and altruism that have endured all of this time. They too are here with us in Ann Arbor tonight. I’ll get to an explanation how and why in a moment.
And finally, I’d like to skip ahead 100 years and recognize our recent and current undergraduate brothers. Way back in 1914 (the very early days) of our fraternity, the Kappa Alpha Nu Journal included an article by Brother William Prince that stated the following:
“At present the average colored graduate of Northern colleges has little to hold him to his Alma Mater, while if he becomes a member of a live fraternity he may revisit his Alma Mater, confident that he will find there a group of up-to-date college men whose bonds of fellowship embrace not only themselves but alumni whom he may never have met.”
It’s like Brother Prince had the superhuman power of seeing the future. He’s describing Sigma Chapter. And I’d like to recognize the younger Nupes from the 90’s, 2000’s, and more recent initiates of Sigma Chapter who have continued to welcome back and embrace those who preceded you. Every successive era has walked the talk.
Many of you may have recognized the song Black Superhero from the recent “Black Radio III” release by Robert Glasper. The chorus of that song says:
“Every block, every hood, every city every ghetto... need a Black Superhero!”
Again,
“Every block, every hood, every city every ghetto... need a Black Superhero!”
I remember the first time I ever heard the song. Something happened to me. As a result of the combination of lyrics, with the choir, and the melody I experienced a FRISSON: Electrodermal activity (skin conductance) – mediated via the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. (Neuroimaging studies have found that the intensity of FRISSON is positively correlated with the magnitude of brain activity in specific regions of the reward system, including the nucleus accumbens, orbitofrontal cortex, and insular cortex.)
I’m a Neurologist. My practice is focused on Sports and my personal approach is to use the social capital of sport to educate on the power and importance of brain health across the lifespan. I’ve found in my work with elite and professional athletes that the best aren’t necessarily the biggest, or strongest, or fastest. The most successful are those with the best combinations of vision, balance, speed of mental processing, cognitive endurance, and kinesthetic awareness. These things along with sleep efficiency and the ability to manage stress by controlling the sympathetic nervous system are all Neurologic in nature. We can assess and train the brain and nervous system to optimize performance in athletes (and, for that matter, in students, and professionals, and seniors) across the lifespan. The mantra and message I give to my patients every day is that “Your Brain can make you better!” We can assess and train the elements of your Neurologic makeup to optimize your performance.
Back to frisson. Frisson is Neurological in nature, and I recognized it immediately as such. What I mean when I say I experienced frisson when I heard that song is that it gave me goosebumps. And the very first time I heard the song Black Superhero, I immediately got goosebumps because I immediately thought about Kappa Alpha Psi (and specifically, Sigma Chapter.)
- Even though I have a dog named T’Challa (after The Black Panther) I didn’t immediately think of the Black Panther, or Falcon, or Blade, or Luke Cage. My mind didn’t go there. My first thought was The NUPES!
- And while I have tremendous respect for all manner of real-life Black men and women throughout history and present day, who’ve demonstrated extraordinary abilities, moral conviction, great courage, and a mission to serve (traits commonly associated with Superheroes - and I’m sure you can immediately imagine several in your mind’s eye), at least for me, none of them went with that song.
What is it about the Sigma Chapter Nupes that makes me associate Superheroes?
I vividly remember and often think about having been initiated, walking down East University street, and seeing my reflection in a window (with my Snake Chapter Jacket on). That was when I first felt invincible! But it kept happening. During my time on the yard, the Sigma Chapter Nupes repeatedly defied natural laws. We fit more people in the Union Ballroom than was humanly possible. And we traveled to distant lands by car, with 8 or 9 passengers – and with almost no money. There was an aura, a feeling we all experienced that’s difficult to describe. We felt invulnerable, indestructible, unconquerable, indomitable!
But there was and is more reason to acknowledge Sigma Chapter brothers as Superheroes.
Maybe it’s the fact that Superheroes usually have an alter ego. We’re all in the ballroom right now wearing tuxedos and dark suits; being civilized and dignified like regular people. But we all know to never judge a Nupe by his cover. Some of the hardest partying Nupes on the yard are also some of the smartest, most intellectual people I’ve ever met. The swings in tenor and tone, the range of gravity in topics of conversation, and the level of intellectual prowess evidenced in a brief audit of any day of our “Sigma Chapter Old School Chat” text thread is NOT NORMAL!
It could also be that Superheroes wear logos and tend to aggregate in a collective with other like-minded, but extraordinary beings who take it upon themselves and/or are driven by circumstance to do all they can to save the world. The Avengers. Justice League. X-Men. Watchmen….and Snake Chapter!
And then there’s the fact that Superheroes are loyal, compassionate, morally convicted, and possess extraordinary abilities. I remember one of our clan (Brother Marvin Dunham) making a statement that I’ll never forget. I didn’t recognize the gravity of what he said at the time, but now I’m sure of how it contributes to my point. Marv said that he believed after pledging with Diamond 8 and being pledged by Bad Boys, and Naughty 9 and brothers ranging from O.N.E. to Dynasty, T.N.T., Genesis and others meant that they were all a part of him now. He felt his personality - actually the very fiber of his being - was made up (in part) of all of these men. They were now in his D.N.A. He gained knowledge, and strength, and compassion, and conviction, and loyalty (all traits we see in Superheroes) from them. And they from those that preceded them. In fact, beginning 100 years ago in 1922 had to be in him - including but not limited to:
- Denzer Burke, Alex Campbell, and William McCullum in from 1953
- Thomas Goss, Charles More, Raymond Phillips and the others in their 1966 pledge class
- 1967 and the Psychedelic 7 with John Morrison
- 1970 and the Hyperbolic Syllabic 10 Scroller Mystics
- 1976 and Magnum Force
- The Black Disciples
And they had to be in all of us.
But it also means that the SUPERPOWER “DNA” (I’m going to call it DeoxyriboNUPEcleic acid) continues into the more than 25 lines that have been initiated since Diamond 8 and Devastating Duo. In reverse order, Reincarn8te, Sicko Mode, Un4saken, 2 Vicious, Makiavelli, The DeKlaration, The RepubliK, Konglomerate, DiKotomy, Kontinuum, 6 Degrees of Separation, Conspiracy Theory, 9 K.A.R.A.T., Kontroversy, Triumph, 4 the Diamond, Kamikaze, 6 Diamonds in the Rough, Crimson Tide, 5 Deadly Venoms, 2 Wicked, Final 4, Total Kaos, 2 Black 2 Strong, 6 The Hard Way and Forever Strong ALL POSSESS CUMULATIVE SIGMA CHAPTER SUPERHERO CHARACTERISTICS THAT ARE IN OUR DNA!!!
Yes, there are over 125,000 members of Kappa Alpha Psi with 700 Undergraduate and Alumni Chapters, in 12 Provinces as well as representation in Nigeria, South Africa, the West Indies, the United Kingdom, Germany, Korea, Japan, Canada,…but Sigma Chapter!!!
And I, like all of Kappa are proud of Ralph Abernathy, Wilt Chamberlain, Montell Jordan, Benjamin Jealous, Oscar Robertson, Cedric the Entertainer, Arthur Ashe, Mike Tomlin, Gayle Sayers, Donald Byrd, Johnnie Cochran, John Singleton, Tom Bradley, Bill Russell, Reginald Lewis, and Colin Kaepernick….but Sigma Chapter!!!
- Sigma Chapter brothers have overcome illness, setbacks, adversity, racism, discrimination, and hardship.
- Sigma Chapter brothers have Achieved in every field of human endeavor! Sigma chapter brothers were instrumental in the Black Action Movement at University of Michigan– BOTH TIMES!!! Sigma Chapter brothers have achieved in Law, Business, Medicine, Publishing, The Entertainment Industry, The Automobile Industry, Real Estate, Engineering, Politics, Social Work, Athletics, Education, the Restaurant Industry, Urban Redevelopment, Science, Research, The Military - and more.
- Sigma Chapter brothers have lived lives of service to our campus, our community, our cities, our fraternity, and our nation.
I hope I’ve convinced you that the handsome (they don’t call us Pretty Boys for nothing), well dressed, men of Achievement collected in this room are alter egos. For really, we’re honored and fortunate members of a 100-year-old collective of Superheroes. We often say, many are called but few are chosen. If you didn’t recognize it in us before, the secret is out. And Brothers, if you hadn’t recognized it in yourself yet, just think about that feeling you got the first time you saw your reflection in a mirror or window as a Nupe, or wore the pin, or sang the Hymn. And think about that connection. The DNA.
There’s an Outro at the end of the song with words by the former Christian Scott. He says:
“Just the idea of how Black men in this culture and society get framed
And how everything possible is actually designed to actually diminish what your true power is
And so, when you speak about the Super heroness of our communities. Every ghetto, every block, every street corner
Really all of those men are God, they’re just living in a reality that tears them down And makes them feel as though they’re not what they actually are
‘Cause they know it when they look in the mirror.”
Congratulations to Sigma Chapter Brothers. 111 years after Kappa was founded and 100 years after Sigma Chapter was Chartered, we will and should celebrate.
But I stand before you with a call to action! These are trying and difficult times. And we’re needed. Every block, every hood, every city, every ghetto.
Let’s continue the work we were chosen to do, with our collective superpowers. Good evening, Advocators of Phi Nu Pi!