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WHEREAS, Memorial Day Weekend has for years been "Alpha Weekend" for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, Alpha Omicron Lambda Chapter to recognize a fraternal year of manly deeds, scholarship, and love for all mankind to the greater Pittsburgh Community; and,
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha's motto is "FIRST of ALL, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All"; and,
WHEREAS, May 1, 2015, marked the 150th Anniversary of the very first public celebration for fallen soldiers, conducted by former slaves to honor Black soldiers of the Civil War in Charleston, South Carolina; and,
WHEREAS, the 54th Infantry of Massachusetts represented the first Black Civil War regiment commissioned to service; and,
WHEREAS, Major Martin Delany, a Pittsburgh resident, was the first African-American field officer in the United States Army during the American Civil War; and,
WHEREAS, during World War II, the Tuskegee Airmen became the first African-American military aviators in the United Stated Armed Forces, while the American military was racially segregated; over 100 Airmen and Airwomen were from Western Pennsylvania; and,
WHEREAS, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum and curator John Ford have prepared the exhibit "Slave to Soldier"; and,
WHEREAS, on Friday, May 22, 2015, the Alpha Omicron Lambda Charities, a 501(c)3 of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, and the Alpha Wives Auxiliary will hold its FIRSTS IN VALOR program to honor 150 years of Black men and women and their families serving the United States of America.
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recognize, on behalf of Alpha Phi Alpha, the African-American veterans who served in the military and in active duty from the Civil War to today; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of does hereby declare May 22, 2015, to be "First in Valor Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.