Charles Poindexter

Charles Cardoza Poindexter (March 10, 1880 – June 3, 1913) was a professor at Fisk University. Poindexter was also known for being the founder of Alpha Phi Alpha Society which became Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Early life Poindexter was born in Pennsboro, West Virginia, on March 10, 1880. He attended high school at the West Virginia Colored Institute (present-day West Virginia State University), graduating in 1896, and returned for a vocational degree. Poindexter attended Ohio State University from 1899 to 1903 earning a B.Sci in Agriculture. Poindexter was said to be a very superior Negro, very light in color. From Ohio State, he attended a graduate program at Cornell University from 1905 to 1907. Poindexter served as secretary to Thomas Forsyth Hunt, who authored How to Choose a Farm: With a Discussion of American Lands, as well as The Cereals of America. He would serve as a Virginia delegate to the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations Convention.

Alpha Phi Alpha After graduation and while at Cornell as a graduate student in the College of Agriculture, Poindexter was the organizer of a group of literary students at Cornell University. The group initially consisted of 15 students and included females. The group met every two weeks at 421 North Albany Street, where Poindexter roomed.

Poindexter was the first President of Alpha Phi Alpha Society. His leadership was significant during the early stages of the organization. One month later, in January 1907, Poindexter resigned from the fraternity when he took a new job in Hampton, Virginia. This job was as an assistant agriculturist.

Despite Poindexter's role in the formation of Alpha Phi Alpha, it was agreed that his name would not be linked to the early formation of the fraternity by the Jewels of Alpha Phi Alpha. The term used for Poindexter as agreed by members of the fraternity was Precursor. Euguene Kinkle Jones who joined the group in October 1906 was given the title of a founder in 1952, while James Morton was removed because he was not a member of the school.

Fisk University At Fisk University, Poindexter served as the Professor of the Agriculture Department and Biology. While there he implemented programs such as the annual spring day celebration. Among his botany students was Alpha Phi Alpha historian Charles H. Wesley. Poindexter died on June 3, 1913, as a result of complications from surgery.