Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Plants Seeds In HU Community

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, planted a symbolic tree on Howard University's campus in recognition of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s role in environmental justice Thursday August 25.

"This partnership is going to grow and be historically impactful," said Dan Lambe, vice president of programs for the Arbor Day Foundation. The partnership also seeks to "address environmental injustice through the use of trees and tree conservation." Lambe said Dr. King's movement sought to strengthen the community as well as engage the people.

The foundation has created a Tree Campus USA project that involves 116 colleges and universities across the country. Within the program, students can help to bring awareness to going green as well as use the tools to do so. To be qualified, colleges must meet certain criteria such as community engagement, evidence of a tree care plan and a service-learning project "aimed at engaging the student body in sustainable efforts."

In response to students getting active in environmental justice, Dr. Sacoby Wilson, brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and chair of the "Alpha Goes Green Initiative" said, "This will make students look at their communities differently, look at environmental health differently."

Sacoby said that trees play an important role in public health, being that they absorb some of the chemical toxins in the air and describe this partnership as a "collective action."

The event sought to carry on Dr. King's legacy not only through service, but through environmental opportunities that can make African-American communities cleaner and safer.

John Ridgeway, corporate manager at Toyota Financial Services said that college campuses are a great place to initiate going green movements. Ridgeway said the planting of this tree is also a "symbol of education, growth, knowledge and an opportunity to continue to grow today."

Alfonzye Chisholm, director of sustainability at Howard University, said that several renovations ongoing on campus include the insulation of a solar panel on top of Burr Gymnasium as well as the creation of an organic garden.

But a tree is not the only thing that will be rooted on campus. According to Rayford Davis, Deputy Chief operating officer at Howard University, five buildings will be built in the next three to five years in addition to nine buildings undergoing renovations until December.

Sacoby said he hopes programs like these "get students excited and passionate of these issues."

Also in attendance was Viola E. Daniels, a 1959 graduate in sociology of Howard University. After marching with Dr. King during the March on Washington in 1963, and hearing one of his speeches in Burr gym, Daniels says that this initiative is "a step forward indeed." Daniels was on her way to the MLK Library when she heard of this event on the radio and decided to come on campus instead.