Alpha Phi Alpha (
ΑΦΑ) is the first African American, inter-collegiate
Greek-lettered fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at
Cornell University in
Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "". It employs an icon from Ancient Egypt, the
Great Sphinx of Giza, as its symbol. Its aims are "manly deeds, scholarship, and love for all mankind," and its motto is
First of All, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All. Its archives are preserved at the
Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.