FAMOUS OMEGAS

THE ARTS

• William “Count” Basie – Internationally known pianist, composer, arranger, and band leader.
• Langston Hughes – The Black Poet Laureate, excelled as a poet, playwright, novelist, lyricist and humorist.
• Sterling Brown – Teacher, poet, writer, Professor Emeritus of Literature at Howard University, has a special foundation for folk culture and jazz music.
• Carl Rowan – Syndicated columnist.
• Joe Torry – Comedian and actor.
• William H. “Bill” Cosby – Comedian, author, actor, producer.
• Roland Hayes – Internationally known tenor of the 1920s. Hayes sang in five different languages.
• Steve Harvey- Comedian and actor.
• Rickey Smiley- Comedian and actor.
• Tom Joyner- Radio show host.
  
  

ATHLETICS

• Michael Jordan – Outstanding basketball player with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards of the NBA.
• Mike Reid – A former wide receiver from the Atlanta Falcons and an E-Theta Chapter Bruh.
• De Hart Hubbart – A University of Michigan sprinter; was the first Black person to represent the United States in the Olympic Games (1924).
• Ed “Too Tall” Jones – Outstanding player with the Dallas Cowboys football team.
• Joe Black – An all-time great Brooklyn Dodger baseball pitcher. In 1952, he had the lowest earned-run average in the Major Leagues.
• Anthony Smith – Beta Eta Spring 1986, Outstanding football player for the Oakland Raiders.
• Charlie Ward – Heisman Trophy winner and NY Knicks guard.
• Steve “Air” McNair – Outstanding player with the Tennessee Titans.
• Hank Aaron – Home-run King who broke Babe Ruth’s record.
• John Salley – Player with the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers.
• Shaquille O’Neal – Star center with the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat.
• Jerry Ball – Player with the Oakland Raiders.
• Cedric Maxwell – Outstanding professional basketball player with the Boston Celtics and other teams.
• Leroy Walker – A U.S. Olympic coach (sprinters) for many years.
• Terrence Trammell – 2-time (2000, 2004) Olympic silver medalist in 110m hurdles.
• Vince Carter- Star guard for the Toronto Raptors, New Jersey Nets of the NBA.
• Keith Jackson – Outstanding football player with the Miami Dolphins. A Pi Delta brother!
• Mark Duper – Another fantastic Miami Dolphins player.
• William Floyd – Big man on the San Francisco 49ers football team.
• Earl “The Pearl” Monroe- An outstanding NBA player
  
  

BUSINESS

• Earl Graves – Publisher of Black Enterprise magazine
• Gillard S. Glover – President, Afro-American Life Insurance Company
• Thurman McKenzie – Co-owner of M and M Products (Sta Soft Fro)
• Otis M. Smith – General Counsel, General Motors Corporation
• Nathaniel Bronner – Co-owner of Bronner Brothers Beauty Supplies
• Jesse Hill – President of Atlanta Life Insurance Company
• William Kennedy III – President of North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company
  
  

CIVIL RIGHTS

• Rev. Jesse Jackson – Former Director of Operation PUSH; Founder, Rainbow Coalition.
• Grant Reynolds – Played a major role in President Truman’s 1948 decision to desegregate the
• United States Armed Forces.
• James Nabrit – Former Dean of Howard University Law School and former president of Howard
• University. A leader in the training of the early Civil Rights lawyers.
• Wiley Branton – Attorney of the “Little Rock Nine” and former Dean of Howard University School of Law.
• Roy Wilkins – Long-time Executive Director of the NAACP.
• Benjamin Hooks – Succeeded Roy Wilkins as Executive Director of the NAACP, the most effective of all
• civil rights organizations.
• Vernon Jordan – Former Executive Director of the National Urban League.
• Khalid Muhammad- A member of the “Nation of Islam.”
  
  

EDUCATION

• Dr. Carter G. Woodson – The earliest and most outspoken proponent for the study of Black History.
• Benjamin E. Mays – President Emeritus of Morehouse College, writer and lecturer.
• Herman Dreer – Teacher, minister, writer, and author of The History of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.,
• 1911-1961.
  
  

POLITICS

• Lawrence Douglas Wilder – Became Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1990. He also received the Bronze Star for his military heroics in the Korean War.
• William Hastie – First Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• George L.P. Weaver – Former U.S. Secretary of Labor.
• Robert C. Weaver – First African American to serve on the Presidential Cabinet when he became
• Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 1966 under President Franklin Roosevelt.
• Clifford L. Alexander, Jr. – Secretary, Department of the Army.
• Rev. Jesse Jackson – Candidate for the United States Presidency in 1984 and 1988.
• Dr. David Satcher – Formerly, the Director of the CDC and the Present of Meharry Medical College.
  
  

SCIENCE

• Dr. Ernest Everett Just – Internationally known biologist and professor at Howard University.
• Dr. Charles Drew – Perfected the use of blood plasma; Professor of Surgery at Howard University.
• Percy Julian – Discovered the use of foam to extinguish fires and discovered a method of producing cortisone synthetically.
• Dr. Fred Drew Gregory – Astronaut, graduate of the United States Air Force Academy (pilot).
• Charles Bolden – Astronaut, graduate of the United States Naval Academy (pilot).
• Dr. Ronald E. McNair – Astronaut, graduate of M.I.T., Ph.D. in Physics (civilian).