Omega men 'are about our people' in Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Omega Psi Phi, one of the nation's most celebrated fraternities, took over downtown Raleigh this weekend for fun and fellowship. Moore Square became "Omega Village" Saturday, awash in the fraternity's purple and gold colors. A few thousand Omega men and family members from across the country - spending nearly a week in Raleigh for the fraternity's 76th Grand Conclave - shared food and drink under a broiling sun.

"We fed the homeless - and even the people who were driving past saw what was happening and got out of their cars to come eat with us," said Charles Hayden, a 1974 graduate of N.C. Central University who owns an investment company in New York. "We are about our people, man!" Visitors sipped cold drinks under shady oak trees and purchased everything from fraternity regalia to shaved ices at vendors' stalls. Others lined up to grub on ribs, chicken wings, hot dogs and burgers while a whole pig lay on a mammoth grill.

Fun and fellowship were only part of the reason why the fraternity descended on Raleigh last week. Omega Psi Phi, founded at Howard University in 1911, lived up to its creed of community service Saturday morning when more than 100 members showed up at the Garner Road YMCA to give it a makeover and a paint job. The real work of the convention will occur this week, when the fraternity elects officers and reviews bylaws and policies.

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