Brothers and District Representatives Norman and Milton Johnson have encouraged this reassessment (Shirtsleeve Conference, workshops, finance seminars, Undergraduate Workshops, and forums) in Omega programming designed to give the maximum rise of the human resource skills we have in Omega on the District level.

When Brother George E. Meares, Past Grand Basileus, was the D.R., the District showed its first sign of its financial growth. Meares was the first D.R. to introduce the system of District dues which were to be paid by the Brothers of each Chapter to help defray the expenses of the District Conference programs and the District Officers. He also visited all of the Chapters and he was accompanied by the late Herschel (Rip) Day. Both brothers supervised all the chapter Initiations and committed the Ritual to memory. Meares and Day also sponsored a very impressive "Model Initiation Ceremony" at the District Conference at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. Meares was responsible for reactivating the Chapter of the University of Pennsylvania in late 1950.

The financial growth of the District was progressive during the administrations of D.R.'s Robert Johnson, Ermon Jones, E.W. Waters, James Avery (current Grand Basileus), James E. Grant, Norman and Milton Johnson. During his tenures D.R., Milton made the statement "The Second District Silver Anniversary Conference recognized that we are living in a SPACE AGE and a very confused society. America is at a crossroad."

If this is true, we hope that this Conference (1965) will help to find some of the answers and the methods by which to help solve these pressing problems, NOW.

Credit for this portion of Our History

Nathaniel Burrell and James Murray
Edward Taylor - Brooklyn, Past and Current DKRS and Historian
Charles Watkins - Pittsburgh
James C. Hardcastle - Delaware
Felmon Motley - Delaware

Yes, we did enter the "Space Age", and two of the African-American Astronautics were Omega Men and their ventures added pride to our growth. The space program was another step for mankind and recognition of racial abilities. The list of Brothers who can be acclaimed as achievers is endless. The list includes: Charles Drew, Benjamin Mays, Benjamin Hooks, William C. Jason, Richard Carey, Jeff Greenup, Theodore Randolph, Myron McGuire, Loftus Carson, Wiliam Hastie, Robert Gill, Lenwood Doger, James Pickney, Harry Denny, Richard Green, Othello Ashe, James S. Avery, Harry Denny, James Usry, Jesse Jackson, just to mention a few of the Brothers.