The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 17

EDUCATION,
of Greek Americans interested in
PROGRESS, AHEP A
One hot summer day in 1922, two
Gteek American businessmen,
George Polos and John
Angelopoulos, both traveling salesmen
working out of Atlanta, met by
chance in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Among other things, they talked
about the growing wave of hostility
that targeted their nationality and
religion. It was a time when the Ku
Klux Klan, reorganized in 1917 and
thriving on militant patriotism, was
enjoying a renaissance of hatred in
the South. Meanwhile, in
Washington, DC, Congress and the
F~deral Government were discussing
ways to stem the tide of
" Jess desirable " imtTtigrants from
" certain " cou~,
which invariably
inclu.detrthe Balkan natrons.
Botb men
need fi
~direct
here was a real
otic organization that
and channel the energy
of the Greek community in the
United States, a group that would be
politically non-partisan and religioujly
non-sectarian.
There w~s never a shortage of
Greek fraternal organizations whose
members came to America from tq,e
same regiOJl, island or village.
These were the topika somatia that
tended to departmentalize the Greek
American community, keeping it
well outside of the larger, mainstream
American community.
These regional associati6tis,
along with the local parish church,
;brought the struggling immigrant
..some much-needed comfort, satisying
the basic human need of
" belonging/' In so many cases the
members of these topika were
instrumental in organizing and
building the Greek Orthodox
parish church across the land.
Fortunate for future generations,
many of these organizations are
still around. So are the communities:
they helped establish.
However, faced with the tenor of
the times, Polos and Angelopoulos
agrexg an organization with a much
larger, national scope was needed.
The idea for a Pan-Hellenic organization
wasn't new. There had
been the Pan-Hellenic Union, established
in 1907. But victimized by
THE AHEPAN * SUMMER 1997
its own fiscal mismanagement and
charges that it was flat-out an agent
of the Greek government, it suffered
an ignoble end before the outbreak
of World War I.
Both men agreed that a truly
American fraternity of Greeks was
the order of the day-a national
group that could lead its members to
rise above the political fights
between Monarchists and
Venizelists that typified Greek
American community life, to its
detriment.
They presented the idea to a
group of twenty-five members of the
Atlanta Greek community.
Seventeen men offered their support.
Now this group met in closed
session. On July 26, 1922, the
American Hellenw Educational
Progressive Association-the Order
of AHEPA-was now a reality.
Twenty more meetings were held
that year to lay the groundwork.
Constitution and by- laws were
adopted. It was decided that members
had to be U.S. citizens or in the
process of becoming citizens.
English was adopted as the organization's
official language. Annual
dues were set at $10. Officers were
elected. The first president of
AHEPA was Nicholas C. Chotas, an
Atlanta businessman.
AHEP A'S FIRST
DECADE
AHEPA's first decade wa'S characterize.a
by explosive growth.
Initially it was a fraternity based in
the South and Southwest. Of the 32
local chapters established between
September 26, 1922 and October 14,
1923, just three were in cities north
of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Appealing to a rising middle class
climbing the proverbial ladder of
success and committed to raising
their families in America, AHEPA
had 49 chapters and over 2,800
members by the end of 1924. By
1928 there were 192 chapters and
over 17,000 members nationwide
including 1 chapter in Canada. Now
many of the bigger chapters were in
northern cities. Some of the larger
cities were host to two or more
AHEPA chapters.
The first national convention was
held in Atlanta in 1923. The second
conclave gathered in Washington
DC in September of 1924. The delegates
agreed that the Order should
have its headquarters in
the nation's capital,
despite the fact that
Washington had no
enormous Greek community.
At
this convention
the 47 delegates laid a
wreath at the Tomb of
the Unknown Soldier and honored
Greek Atnericap World War I heto
George Dilboy, whQ was originally
from Asia Minor. They also called
at the White House, where they
were cordially received by President
Calvin Coolidge.
Above all, the IJJOSt vocal critics
condemned AHEPA's unabashed
Americanism and what was perceived
as unrestrained
assimilationism.
COMPETITION
WITHGAPA
By 1923 AHEPA had a rival:
GAPA, or the Greek American
Progressive Association. Along
with publications of the Greek
Press, GAPA charged Ahepans were
" opportunists " and " pseudo-patriot "
anti-Hellenes committed to a pro " gram
of de-Hellenization. "
On the language question
AHEPA stood by English as the Ian,~
guage of the country in which
they'd chosen to live. AHEPA's
publications were in English;
GAPA's publications were in Greek.
Greek was heard more or less exclusively
at GAPA meetings. GAPA
Continued on page 18

The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition

The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - Intro
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 1
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 2
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 3
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 4
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 5
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 6
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 7
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 8
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 9
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 10
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 11
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 12
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 13
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 14
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 15
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 16
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 17
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 18
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 19
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 20
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 21
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 22
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 23
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 24
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 25
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 26
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 27
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 28
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 29
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 30
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 31
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 32
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 33
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 34
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 35
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 36
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 37
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 38
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 39
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 40
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 41
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 42
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 43
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 44
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 45
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 46
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 47
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 48
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 49
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 50
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 51
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 52
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 53
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 54
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 55
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 56
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 57
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 58
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 59
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 60
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 61
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 62
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 63
The AHEPAN_AHEPA_75th_Anniversary_Commemorative_Edition - 64
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