Convened in December 1905 as a literary society with the first presiding officer being CC Poindexter, it was established as a fraternity on December 4, 1906, at Ithaca, New York. Alpha Phi Alpha opened chapters at other colleges, universities, and cities, and named them with Greek letters.
Alpha Phi Alpha was inaugurated in December 1905 as an intellectual gathering with CC Poindexter presiding over the first assembly, and it was subsequently reconstituted into a fraternity on December 4, 1906, at Ithaca, New York. The organization expanded to other educational institutions, establishing chapters that were labeled using Greek letters.