Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans, was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York by seven college men who recognized the need for a strong bond of brotherhood among African descendants in this country. Led by Regional Vice President Kelsey L. Rushing, the Southern Region consists of the Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina Districts. The visionary founders of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., known as the “Jewels” of the fraternity, are Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, and Vertner Woodson Tandy.