The Neighborhood News Online

Greek Letter Fraternities have deep roots in our community.

Three of the top Greek letter fraternities have and/or had a strong physical presence in our community; Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi.

A fraternity is an organized society of men associated together in an environment of companionship and brotherhood; dedicated to the intellectual, physical, and social development of its members.

The three fraternity organizations established their frat houses on Crenshaw Boulevard between Washington and Venice Boulevards. starting back in the 1950’s. The fraternity houses were far away from the college and university campuses because they were black and therefore not allowed nor recognized on the major campuses. This ban from the college campuses created a cultural stronghold of community involvement for the fraternities. For a short time in the early 1980’s, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity was allowed to take over a house on the campus of USC when a white fraternity was suspended...until the suspension ended.

The Alpha’s, Kappa’s and Omega’s became icons of the community through their philanthropic projects, sponsoring of major social events such as debutant balls, and they worked together to form an annual inter-fraternal basketball tournament played at Loyola High School in the 1970’s.

On Saturday, September 29 at the Angelus Rosedale Cemetery, the West Adams Heritage Association (WAHA) presents the annual Living History Tour. Tour the grounds as Marilyn Monroe’s grandmother, and Buster Keaton’s cameraman come to life and join Jazz Age Performers-- Vaudeville Flappers, singers, dancers, magicians, and even a celebrity chef -- on this unique outdoor stage.

Did you know that the Angelus Rosedale Cemetery, located at Washington and Normandie is one of the city’s oldest, most historically significant cemeteries? Founded in 1884, it is now home to many generations of Los Angeles’s citizens, representing every race, faith, and creed. Each year, WAHA tells some of their life stories while touring the historic grounds amid elaborately-carved monuments of L.A.’s first lawn cemetery. You will meet some of Los Angeles’s most interesting early performers and entertainment industry personages (presented by costumed actors at graveside) portray the lives of a Civil War-era escape artist, a headlining dancer who lost her life in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, a mezzo soprano who fought for civil rights, and a Chinese-American dancer/actor/MC, among other quirky characters.

This year’s tour commemorates not only Los Angeles’s longtime role as the center of this country’s entertainment industry, but also the roles several of these personages played in the larger history of civil rights. In addition, the tour memorializes the 150th anniversary of the Civil War (1861-1865).

This year’s portrayals will include:

Della Hogan Monroe, Marilyn Monroe’s colorful grandmother

Victor Dol, L.A.’s first chef trained in Paris, who opened a restaurant in 1876 that soon earned the nickname “Delmonico’s of the West”

Rita Carewe, a Jazz Age starlet and “BabyWAMPAS”(Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers) winner who appeared in films with Delores del Rio, Edward Everett Horton, and Mary Pickford

Ray Charles was born in Albany, Georgia on September 23 and passed away in Beverly Hills, CA on June 10, 2004.

His 80th birthday celebration, which would have been on September 23, 2010, was marked with the indelible release of undiscovered masters titled “Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters”.

Around the end of 1979 I had the distinct honor of being hired to work for Ray Charles Enterprises. Although my employment there was brief, every day that I walked through the doors at 2107 W. Washington Blvd., the building that Ray Charles had built in 1964 in the historic area of Los Angeles called Harvard Heights (formerly known as Sugar Hill), I felt I was a part of living history.  As a sidebar, I received a great deal of attention because my last name is Charles – people seemed to have either forgotten or they didn’t know that Ray’s last name was Robinson and he shortened to Ray Charles; Charles being his middle name.

West Adams was home to some of the earliest gay rights activists in the country. The Michael J. Connell Carriage House on 23rd near Hoover has been a part of the fabric of West Adams from the very beginning days of the gay right’s movement dating back to the late 1940’s. Today this University Park community is also home to ONE Archive, the largest collection of memorabilia on the subject of the gay rights movement from that early era up to today.

Fredric Frisbee, a long-time resident of West Adams, lived for many years at the Carriage house and was one of the early pioneers of what became known as the “Mattachine Foundation” The term “Mattachine” has its roots in the Societe Mattachine, a French medieval masque group that traveled from village to village, using ballads and dramas to point out social injustice.

Jim Childs (whose 2004 nomination of the Carriage House resulted in the designation of  Historic Cultural Monument # 779) had numerous conversations with his neighbor Mr. Frisbee, about the many early meetings that were held there. It was at his home that the leaders made a unanimous decision to meld all of the various gay rights groups into “ONE, Incorporated.” A line from a poem by Thomas Carlyle inspired the name: “A mystic bond of brother hood makes all men one.”