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With Founders Day right around the corner, it’s time for us to honor some of our favorite men of A-Phi-A! Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. is celebrating 118 years of scholarship, fellowship, good character, and the uplifting of humanity. As the “Oldest and the Coldest” organization of the Divine Nine, these men have been making a difference in their communities since 1906. In honor of Founders Day, here is a list of five notable men of Alpha Phi Alpha.
Raphael Warnock
Raphael Warnock is a Baptist pastor and Georgia politician. He is currently the senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church in addition to serving as the junior United States senator from Georgia.
Warnock is an alumnus of Morehouse College. After graduating from Morehouse, he went on to earn a Master of Divinity, Master of Philosophy, and Doctor of Philosophy from Union Theological Seminary, a school affiliated with Columbia University.
Warnock has been pastor of several churches throughout his theological career. In 2005, Warnock became the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, the former congregation of Martin Luther King Jr. Since its founding, he is the fifth and youngest person to serve as senior pastor. He has remained the senior pastor while serving in the Senate.
In 2020, Warnock made history as he became the first African American to represent Georgia in the Senate, the first Black Democratic U.S. Senator elected in the South, and the first Black Democrat elected by the Senate by a former state of the Confederacy. He later re-elected in 2022.
Warnock is a fall 1993 initiate of the Alpha Gamma Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha in Harlem.
Will Packer
Will Packer is a successful film producer who is responsible for several box office hits such as Girls Trip, Night School, Almost Christmas, Straight Outta Compton, Think Like A Man, and Ride Along. His movies have grossed more than $1 billion at box offices worldwide, including 10 films that have opened at number one.
Packer graduated from Florida A&M University in 1996 magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering. After graduating from Florida A&M, Packer co-founded Rainforest Films along with fellow Florida A&M alum Rob Hardy. After dissolving Rainforest Films, he went on to launch Will Packer Productions. He went to sign multi-year contracts with both Universal Television and Universal Pictures.
He launched Will Packer Media in 2017, a branded content and digital production company in partnership with Discovery Communications and Universal Pictures.
Packer joined the Beta Nu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha during his time at Florida A&M.
Wes Moore
Wes Moore is a politician, businessman, author, Army veteran, and is currently serving as the 63rd governor of Maryland. Moore is Maryland’s first Black governor.
Moore graduated Phi Theta Kappa from Valley Forge with an associate degree. After completing the requirements for the United States Army’s early commissioning program, he was appointed a second lieutenant of Military Intelligence in the Army Reserve. He later attended Johns Hopkins University, Phi Beta Kappa, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations and economics in 2001. He earned his master’s degree in international relations from Wolfson College in 2004.
Moore served in the United States Army for 16 years before leaving in 2014. He has several years of political experience under his belt, including being a White House Fellow to then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and serving on the University System of Maryland Board of Regents.
Moore defeated state delegate Dan Cox in the general election for governor of Maryland in 2022. He was also elected to serve as the finance chair of the Democratic Governors Association that same year.
Moore joined the Sigma Sigma chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha during his time at Johns Hopkins in 2000. He is also a member of the Delta Lambda chapter in Baltimore, Maryland.
Christian Keyes
Christian Keyes is an actor, producer, author, and model best known for his work in stage plays before transitioning to television and film. Keys has been featured in several Tyler Perry productions.
Keyes attended Ferris State University, where he studied social work. He later dropped out to focus on his music and writing. He has appeared on several television shows and movies in Brothers & Sisters, Moonlight, Family Time, The Man in 3B, and The Young and the Restless. Keyes is best known for his appearances in the Tyler Perry stage plays Madea Goes to Jail and What’s Done in the Dark.
Keyes fictional urban romance novel was adapted into the BET+ television drama crime series All The Queen’s Men. The show is written and produced by Keyes and Tyler Perry Studios.
Keyes joined the Zeta Beta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha during his time at Ferris State College.
Yahya Adbul-Mateen II
Yahya Adbul-Mateen II is an actor best known for his roles in the Aquaman franchise and several other roles.
Mateen graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in architecture. After being laid off from his job as city planner in San Francisco, he decided to use the opportunity to apply to drama schools. He was accepted by the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, the Institute of Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University, and the Yale School of Drama. He went on to graduate from Yale University with a Master of Fine Arts degree and began working as a stage actor.
Mateen has appeared in several television shows and films, including Netflix’s The Get Down, The Greatest Showman, Baywatch, Black Mirror, The Matrix Resurrections, and Candyman.
Last year he made his Broadway theater debut in the revival of Topdog/Underdog. His performance earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Play. Mateen is set to star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ series Woman Man as the title character.
Mateen joined the Alpha Epsilon chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha during his time at USC Berkeley.
