The oldest and largest Black fraternity in the United States, Alpha Phi Alpha, announced Wednesday it will move its biannual conference from its 2025 planned site of Orlando because of the bigoted policies of Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who continues to defend his state’s new requirements that promote pro-slavery policies.
After DeSantis required schools to teach students that Black slaves in America learned valuable life skills that helped them later in life–without acknowledging that generations of slaves never tasted freedom, living their entire lives as property of slave masters–Alpha Phi Alpha started looking for new locations.
“Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. has an unmatched legacy of social justice, advocacy, and leadership for the Black community,” said the fraternity’s General President, Dr. Willis L. Lonzer, III. “In this environment of manufactured division and attacks on the Black community, Alpha Phi Alpha refuses to direct a projected $4.6 million convention economic impact to a place hostile to the communities we serve. Although we are moving our convention from Florida, Alpha Phi Alpha will continue to support the strong advocacy of Alpha Brothers and other advocates fighting against the continued assault on our communities in Florida by Governor Ron DeSantis.”