On 6 February 2007,PBS will premiere a 2 hour Nova documentary film "Forgotten Genius" about Brother Percy Julian,Ph.D.,a pioneering chemist. Brother Julian was an active Omega man(who served on the Scholarship and Student Loan Committees of the Fraternity) and active in the struggle for civil rights.May we,Omega brothers,remember his legacy and accomplishments and be inspired by his example.
Links:
http://acswebcontent.acs.org/percy_julian/index.html
http://www.collegenews.org/x6132.xml
"As Dr. Percy Julian by 1934 had served DePauw University at Greenscastle,Indiana,for several years as professor of chemistry and director of chemical research,and was attracting scholarly attention by the publication of the results of his research,the Conclave appropriated $500 for his work.The other factor that caused the appropriation to be made was the peculiar conditions under which Brother Julian taught there.He was the only Negro professor at DePauw;most of his students were white,and he had all the students who were doing graduate work in chemistry. As the Ku Klux Klan was strong in Indiana and various efforts has been made to oust him only because of his color and race,the brothers thought that they should do their utmost to keep Julian at DePauw as long as possible."
Herman Dreer,Ph.D.
The History of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity,p.144