Gamma Pi Brings Mental Health Into Focus at Awareness Event to Combat the Stigma and Share Useful Information

There are taboo subjects and then there are taboo subjects. In the African American community, mental health is a taboo subject, and especially when it comes to Black men. Members of the Gamma Pi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. did their best to bring this subject out into the open during a mental health seminar on Saturday, October 29, at the Jones-Hill House fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Maryland. The purpose of the two-hour session was to educate about the impact and challenges of mental health in the African-American community, especially regarding Black men.

Bro. Coach Mike Locksley addresses audience 

The Saturday session featured presentations by three practicing medical professionals and a local married couple who have had their own personal experience with mental health battles. They both now work in the mental health nonprofit sector through the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI). Behind it all was Gamma Pi Chapter member Bro. Coach Mike Locksley, head football coach at the University of Maryland, and the fellow members of his initiation group from Spring 2022: George Montgomery, Phd., Brandon Cannaday, Kelvin Romney, Lee Best, Quentin Wilson, Mfon Etuk, Dwight Rollins, Fred Johnson III, Derek E. Davis and Satrick Richardson.

This group of Omega men have been planning the event since the summer. The formal title of the event was, “Removing the Mask … Making Mental Health a Priority …,..Eliminating the Stigma Surrounding Mental Health in the Black Community So That We May Lift One Another as Black Men.”

“This is a passion for me. Mental illness affects us all. You never know,” said Bro. Locksley  kicking off the day’s program. His opening followed the screening of a much-talked-about video feature that takes an in-depth look at the mental health struggles of his late son, Meiko, who was murdered in Howard County, Md in 2017. The video is entitled “Father Time.” This powerful, moving and emotional film set the tone for the remainder of the program. It drew tears.

The opening presenter, David Driver,MD, who operates a practice in Bethesda, emphasized the various ways in which mental health affects the Black Community and informed the audience that just like with other areas of health, African Americans are disproportionately impacted by mental illness. “Quite often people don’t seek care until they are in crisis.” He provided some valuable information on depression, anxiety, and how people can still be high-functioning with these disorders. Dr. Driver also mentioned that 10% of African Americans have no health insurance and that the ages of 18-24 are where most psychological issues occur.

Presenters share life-saving  information

The audience of about 50 also heard from Kristi Hall, PsyD, who recently became Director of Sports Psychology for the Maryland football team. In her presentation, Dr. Hall stressed that African-American men are experiencing a huge mental health burden, but because of the way the system is set up, many tend not to search for mental health services. She also told the audience that common mental health conditions like schizophrenia, chronic depression and bipolar disorder look differently in African Americana than in other populations. A stumbling block for many African-Americans is the cost of mental health care and the hard reality that many psychologists do not accept insurance. The highlight of Dr. Hall’s presentation that seemed to resonate most with the audience was her introduction of and explanation about the emotional wheel which is used to better identify and understand people’s emotional experience at any given time.

Denisha Carter, PsyD, with MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, talked about her work with children and families including in school-based situations. She explained how African-American churches and pastors are now getting more involved in providing or linking parishioners to mental health services. Previously, this was not an area churches engaged as a part of their social services support agenda.

Audience members look on

Dr. Carter also highlighted a particularly important study for the African-American community that links ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) to mental health issues later in life. These revolve around abuse, neglect and household dysfunction. These conditions are synonymous with what many African American families in underserved communities experience.  What often happens in African American households in relation to the ACES study is that current and older generations will put the damper on mental health care by taking the attitude of, “I had all of these experiences and I turned out OK” (without having treatment).

The final presenters, married couple James and Charnene Freeny, representing NAMI, gave very dramatic snd eye-opening accounts of their personl xtruggles with mental illnes. This including Charnene's two attempted suicides as a young adult and James' psychotic episodes earlier in his life.

Listening to the questions that came from the audience, it was clear that many people are impacted by mental illness in some aspects of their lives, whether family, friends, neighbors or themselves. It was also clear from the questions that the audience was taking in a lot of the very good information that was coming over the transom.

The words on the screeen say it all ...

"Given the overall impact of health disparities on the African American community, we must be vigilant about taking every opportunity to learn about ways to improve both our phiyical and mental health," said Gamma Pi Basileus (president) Bro. Richard Allison II. "This event was about looking closely at our mental health needs first by getting rid of the stigma and then sharing credible information. I'm proud that Gamma Pi Chapter is leading this effort in the community."

Thanks to Gamma Pi’s Spring 2022 group along with the chapter’s Heath Initiatives Committee for organizing a great and truly informative seminar.

For further information, visit these websites:   NAMI Prince George’s County (https://namipgc.org) and the  D.C. Coalition for the Homeless (https://dccfh.org).

Below: Brothers from Gamma Pi and two presenting sorors from Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., celebrate unity after participating in and attending the program. Thanks to Bro. Quentin Wilson for these photos. Find more photos and short video clips here.

Gamma Pi Chapter Earns Honors at the 74th District Conference

Gamma Pi Brothers at the 74th Second District Conference 

The Brothers of Gamma Pi were in the shadows of Met Life Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands the weekend of April 28, and they scored much better than both the Giants and Jets together. That's because he Super Chapter walked away with three big awards at the 74th Second District Conference of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

Basileus Allison (r) receives
 chapter award 

Brother Brian K. Long, a former three-time Basileus for Gamma Pi, received the Second District Superior Recognition Award from outgoing District Representative Bro. Kelvin Ampofo, for his many dedicated years as the District's first and only Chief of Staff. Bro. Long has served in this capacity for the past three District Representatives. 

Gamma Pi Chapter also won two big chapter awards at the District conference: Large Graduate Chapter of the Year for Retention and Large Graduate Chapter of the Year for Reclamation. 

The Super Chapter is also fresh off the prestigious award as the Large Graduate Chapter of the Year for the previous Fraternity Year, 2020-2021. That award was given at last year's virtual Second District Conference.

Bro. Long (c) with his award

In addition, the chapter's Talent Hunt overall winner, pianist Lawrence Wingfield, placed in the District Talent Hunt competition and is seen in the photo from the event with his parents Susan and Larry Wingfield. Congratulation to a fantastically talented young man!

About 30 Gamma Pi members traveled to the four-day conference held just outside New York City. The conference agenda featured a bevy of business meetings as well as public and social events. It was also an introduction into the Business of Omega for several members of the new members inducted into Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc, through Gamma Pi Chapter were in attendance 

"Each of these awards signifies that you, my Brothers, have made and are continuing to make Gamma Pi an attractive Chapter home for Brothers in the area," said Gamma Pi Basileus Bro. Richard Allison II. " Let us continue to raise our standard by never forgetting our vision to create the 'unparalleled Brotherhood experience.'"

Gamma Pi Talent Hunt representative

Gamma Pi "Giant in Omega" Enters Omega Chapter Suddenly; Leaves Behind a Sterling Legacy

UPDATE: Livestream link for the service on Friday, March 18 at approximately 12:15 pm:  

https://www.holyfamilychurch.com

Brothers in Gamma Pi Chapter and throughout Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. have spent the past 72 hours or so trying to process the jarring developments of Friday morning, February 25. Mid-morning, urgent emails went out like wildfire. Group chats of Omega men started receiving startling posts. Smartphones started ringing. Word was traveling faster than the speed of light: "Have you heard? Gordon Everett is dead." To hear those words, it was as if someone was speaking a foreign language. Throughout Gamma Pi Chapter and the entire Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Brothers are still trying to process the shocking news as it continues to reverberate into a new week. The Super Chapter has lost a Super Brother. The Second District has  lost a Super Brother. Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. has lost a Super Brother. As one Brother put it, "A giant tree in Omega has fallen."

Bro. Gordon Everett, Sr.

Days later, the numbness about his sudden and untimely loss continues. It just does not seem real. Numerous Brothers had just seen and talked to Bro. Gordon Everett, Sr. the night before at the CIAA basketball tournament in Baltimore watching his beloved Winston-Salem State University Rams advance to the next round. The day before that, he had posted in a chat about available jobs young Black students could interview for on-site at the tournament. He was working feverishly to get all the interview spots filled and was asking for recommendations. Two chapter  members had spent hours with him just three weeks ago as part of a multimedia project. And then just last weekend, Brother Everett joined chapter members in the virtual monthly meeting on Saturday afternoon, February 19. He was his usual feisty -- and wise --self. Bro. Everett's Omega wisdom is like gold. Everybody wanted a nugget.

The suddenness with which he departed unexpectedly for Omega chapter -- and on the day before his birthday, no less -- contrasts with the many decades during which he has given many long hours of his life to serving Omega everywhere he has lived. He has been a mentor to many Brothers, and not just to newly inducted members. He is a former three-term Gamma Pi Basileus and former KRS and committee chairman for Gamma Pi, which is based in Prince George's County, Md.  Brother Everett worked at the District and International levels and ran for District office, including the top office of District representative. He most recently headed an initiative at the District level helping to enhance the code of conduct within the Fraternity. It's not a stretch at all to say that Bro. Everett knows Brothers in every district of the Fraternity. His Gamma Pi service was interrupted by a job relocation to Cincinnati from 2008-2010, where he was active with Beta Iota Chapter. After that, he returned to the DMV area and Gamma Pi. He considered The Super Chapter home.

Bro. Everett (2nd, right) with golf pro Jim Thorpe 

The consummate Omega man, Bro. Everett could delve into some of the deepest and most intellectually challenging thinking about Omega life as well as some of the most pressing  issues of the day and how they affected the Fraternity. On the other hand, he could hold his own and kick back dust when the talk turned to past-times like sports and music from "back in the day." For example, whether the "trash talk" was about his beloved WSSU Rams, or the NFL Philadelphia Eagles (he used to live and work in the area ... we can forgive him), he enjoyed giving it as good as he took it.

But when it came time to roll up the sleeves, Bro. Everett had an all-business persona that was unmatched. Whether decked out in a perfect-fitting suit, spiffy shoes and an unmistakably purple tie, or adorned in his Omega sweater, Bro. Everett could run a meeting with the skill and acumen of a Corporate CEO. He was very adept at keeping the business at hand front and center and staying on track. He never seemed to get flustered no matter how hot the heat "turned up" in the kitchen.  Leadership was written all over him. He could relate to and be comfortable among younger, newer members of the Fraternity half his age just as easily as he could be among the Brothers he had known for 30, 40 and almost 50 years of Omega life. Bro. Everett could relate to everyone and everyone could relate to him. His people skills were unique. In fact, his people and salesmanship skills were such that he sold out several tables every year for Gamma Pi Chapter's Mardi Gras fundraising formal.

Bro. Everett knew when to work and when to play. And he was good at both. Because of what he stood for and what and how he lived as an Omega man, he had hundreds of "followers" long before social media ever came into existence. It was easy to see why he also thrived in the professional world as a leader in the corporate sales arena and more recently as a federal government senior executive.

Multiple award winner for his contributions

Bro. Everett was also well-known and well-respected within the community of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in his role as a leading alumni and former national alumni president for Winston-Salem State University (Mu Epsilon '75) from 2011-2014. At a time when the role of these institutions is being questioned throughout society, Bro. Everett dedicated himself to demonstrating these schools' phenomenal intellectual output and real-world success not only to the African American community, but in all of American life. One way he did that was through helping young WSSU grads get internships, fellowships and other opportunities to showcase the knowledge that had been instilled in them at an HBCU, more specifically WSSU. 

Finally, his family was his crown jewel. Bro. Everett's family was everything to him. He never let an opportunity go by where he did not mention his wife, his son (who followed his footsteps into Omega Psi Phi) or his daughter in terms of what they were up to and where they were either going or just got back from. By the time you met members of his family you felt that you already knew them.

Yet another Second District road trip...

As all of Gamma Pi Chapter and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc, prepare to join and support his family in remembering him and honoring his legacy, one thought comes to mind. That is, being able to grieve someone's loss is a sign they have had a major impact on your life. Being able to grieve that person's loss is also a sign of privilege -- privilege to have known that person and to have had them in your life. If we did not have that privilege as his Omega Brothers, we would not be grieving Bro. Gordon Everett, Sr.

 Fraternity members throughout the country are realizing now just how much of a true privilege it was to know and be a Friend of Bro. Gordon Everett, Sr. He will always be missed, but always remembered. What a privilege we have all had in Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. to know Bro. Gordon Everett, Sr. Rest in the Arms and Peace of the Supreme Basileus, Bro. Everett...

Read more about a scholarship Bro. Everett and his wife Sharon recently endowed for Winston-Salem State University students.

From a District meeting several years ago

From 2011- Bro. Gordon Everett, Sr. positioned at The Escutcheon

Gamma Pi Prepares to Celebrate Chapter Military Veterans for Achievement Week

Bro. James Wyatt

Every year, the Omega Psi Phi Achievement Week observance is about recognizing leaders in the community and the Fraternity. Each and every chapter in the U.S. and in overseas locations pauses for a week to remind the 110-year-old Fraternity's proud membership of the clarion call of the Founders who overlaid the Four Cardinal Principles of Manhood, Scholarship, Perseverance and Uplift on top of a foundation of service.

As a part of this year's Achievement Week observance, the Brothers of Gamma Pi Chapter are recognizing Omega men who have demonstrated service of the highest order -- service to country as members of the United States Military.

In Gamma Pi, a chapter of more than 200 members, approximately 15% of members are military veterans, many having completed distinguished careers. The chapter's Protocol Committee is leading the charge to pay homage to its military veterans this year during Achievement Week, which often encompasses the November 11 Veterans' Day holiday. 

Gamma Pi men cover all the major branches of the service -- Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. Many Brothers achieved officer status. Some are still serving as reservists and are even participating in overseas tours as recently as in the last year.

Bro. Roland Penn 

"Continuing in the tradition of Col. Charles Young, Gamma Pi’s Omega Men serve and served our great nation with honor, dignity and pride. Thank you for your service!," said Bro. Terry Rogers, a member of the Protocol Committee and an 11-year veteran of the U.S. Army who retired as a Captain.

As part of the salute to military Brothers, the protocol committee has collected photographs of Gamma Pi men in their official military uniforms and gear, many from "back in the day." Some go as far back as the early 1950s, namely Bros. James Wyatt (Army) and Roland Penn (Air Force), who are both in their 80s and spry as ever. Must have been the military training mixed in with the Omega experience that has kept these Brothers young!

According to Bro Rogers, the idea to pay respects to military veterans for this year's Achievement Week was the brainchild of Bro. Ron Swann. Chapter Brothers with a military background were requested to send in their photos and short bios for this project. Below are the photos and military thumbnails of other Gamma Pi Brothers:

NAVY

Brother Aaron Ajani, Lieutenant Commander, 18 years, Active, 1MP2010, LM 6909

AIR FORCE

Brother Joseph C Ramsey, Colonel USAF (Ret) Service: Feb 1964 to Nov 1991

 

Brother Tim Blount, USAF, Col Retired, 23 years

Brother Harold Pratt - Sgt. U.S. Air Force - served 9/67 to 6/71 (crew member flying combat missions Vietnam era)

Brother Clint Green, U.S. Air Force, from 1978 to 1982 as a Missile Combat Crew Commander. Then 1982 to 1989 as Logistician. 

 

ARMY

Brother Marc Ellington, Major, U.S. Army (Retired) Service 30 December 1983-31 July 2004 

Brother Terry Rogers, Cpt. US Army Transportation Corp., 1979-1990

Brother Roderick Lawrence (Retired) 25.5 years, Dec 1987 to Jun 2013

Brother Ronnie J. McIlwain, Served 29 years in the Army 

Brother Christopher Green, enlisted into the US Army at age 18 in December 1995 to May 1998, to Virginia National Guard until 2003.  He served as Heavy Construction Equipment Engineer.

   

Brother Joshua P. Roberson, US Army- Vietnam era

Brother Michael Mitchell, JAG CORPS, Army, Major / O-4, 20 years of service as a drilling reservist (active)

Brother Willie L Blanding, Jr., LTC, US Army, 26 years

Brother Kenneth Rodgers, Major, US Army, 24 years

Brother James Riley, US Army, 4 years, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division Air Assault

Brother Darryl Thompson, Army Reserves, 20 Years, Military Police/Force Protection

Brother Lawrence Dukes, 3 years Army - Active Duty, 11 years Army National Guard

Brother Gregory Gaines, 1LT (p) US Army AG Corp, 3 Years

Bro. James Wyatt more recently  

(Colonel, U.S. Army, Ret.) 1953-1979

 

MARINES

Brother Donald Hart, GPI Spring 90, Marine Corps, Served from 1979-1982