NATIONAL HISTORY
One hot summer day in 1922, two Greek
American businessmen, George Polos and John Angelopoules, both
traveling salesmen working out of Atlanta, met by chance in
Chattanooga, Tennessee. Among other things, they talked about the
growing wave of hostility that targeted their nationality and religion,
It was a time when the Ku Klux Klan, reorganized in 1917 and thriving
on militant patriotism, was enjoying a renaissance of hatred in the
South. Meanwhile, in Washington DC, Congress and the Federal Government
were discussing ways to stem the tide of ''less desirable" immigrants
from ''certain'' countries, which invariably included the Balkan
nations.
Both men agreed there was a real
need for a patriotic organization that would direct and channel the
energy of the Greek community in the United States, a group that would
be politically nonpartisan and religiously non-sectarian.
There was never a shortage of Greek
fraternal organizations whose members came to America from the same
region, island or village. These were the topika sornatia
that tended to departmentalize the Greek American community, keeping it
well outside of the larger, mainstream American community.
These regional associations, along
with the local parish church, brought the struggling immigrant some
much-needed comfort satisfying the basic human need of "belonging," In
so many cases the members of these topika were instrumental
in organizing and building the Greek Orthodox parish church across the
land. Fortunate for future generations, many of these organizations are
still around, So are the communities they helped establish.
However, faced with the tenor of the
times, Polos and Angelopoulos agreed an organization with a much
larger, national scope was needed.
The idea for a Pan-Hellenic
organization wasn't new. There had been the Pan-Hellenic Union,
established in 1907, But victimized by its own fiscal mismanagement and
charges that it was flat-out an agent of the Greek government, it
suffered an ignoble end before the outbreak of World War I.
Both men agreed that a truly American fraternity
of Greeks was the order of the day a national group that could lead its
members to rise above the political fights between Monarchists and
Venizelists that typified Greek American community life, to its detriment.
Both believed something that so many
immigrants refused to admit: that the Greek settlers were here to stay.
This was a reality the Greek community in the United States was slow to
accept.
The remarkable thing is that these
two businessmen, determined to contribute to American society, not be
devoured by it, didn't just talk, They acted.
They presented the idea to a group
of twenty-five members of the Atlanta Greek community. Seventeen men
offered their support, Now this group met in closed session, On July
26, 1922, the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association-the
Order of AHEPA was too a reality.
Twenty more meetings were held that
year to lay the groundwork. Constitution and bylaws were adopted. It
was decided that members had to be U.S. citizens or in the process of
becoming citizens, English was adopted as the organization' s official
language, Annual dues were set at $10, Officers were elected. The first
president of AHEPA was Nicholas C. Chotas, an Atlanta businessman,
AHEPA's first decade was
characterized by explosive growth, initially it was a fraternity based
in the South and Southwest of the 32 local chapters established between
September 26, 1922 and October 14, 1923, just three were in cities
north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Appealing to a rising middle class
of Greek Americans interested in climbing the proverbial ladder of
success and committed to raising their families in America, AHEPA had
49 chapters and over 2,800 members by the end of 1924, By 1928 there
were 192 chapters and over 17,000 members nationwide. Now many of the
bigger chapters were in northern cities. Some of the larger cities were
host to two or more AHEPA chapters.
The first of 75 national conventions
was held in Atlanta in 1923. The second conclave gathered in Washington
DC in September of 1924. The delegates agreed that the Order should
have its headquarters in the nation's capital, despite the fact that
Washington had no enormous Greek community. Wrote Seraphim Canoutas in
his 1918 Greek American Guide., ''This community of about 600
Greeks is one of the most peace-loving and progressive in America,
showing none of the absurdities which are usually seen in some of the
other communities and colonies.''
At this convention the 47 delegates
laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and honored Greek
American World War I hero George Dilboy, who was originally from Asia
Minor. They also called at the White House, where they were cordially
received by President Calvin Coolidge,
AHEPA was making its presence known
and from the very start had its critics: people who objected to its
Masonic approach, were suspicious of its secrecy, disdainful of what
one dissenting voice called ''little Napoleons" vying for power
Above all, the most vocal critics
condemned AHEPA's unabashed Americanism and what was perceived as
Sending young AHEPANs to Greece teaches the next AHEPA generation about
Hellenic culture, while the campaign to return the Olympics Games to
Olympia promotes Hellenism in North America. Evzones from the Hellenic Presidential Guard present the Greek flag during the 1986 Congressional Banquet unrestrained assimilations
By 1923 AHEPA had a rival: GAPA, or
the Greek American Progressive Association. Along with publications of
the Greek Press, GAPA charged AHEPANs were ''opportunists" and
"pseudo-patriots''-"anti-Hellenes committed to a program of
de-Hellenization.''
On the language question AHEPA stood
by English as the language of the country in which they'd chosen to
live. AHEPA's publications were in English
GAPA's publications were in Greek, Greek was heard more or less exclusively at GAPA meetings,
GAPA chose to openly ally itself
with the Greek Orthodox Church in America-an institution that in the
'20s admittedly needed all the help it could get, AHEPA maintained its
distance from religious affairs, GAPA made its headquarters in
Pittsburgh, where it was founded, amid a large Greek community. AHEPA
had quickly opted for Washington,
The Royalist-Venizelist
controversies more or less a thing of the past, the rivalry between
AHEPA and GAPA now kept community affairs lively and sometimes hostile,
Though by 1928 GAPA had organized
fifty chapters, primarily in cities with large Greek populations, it
never achieved the success AHEPA enjoyed,
AHEPA would be inherently bettered
suited for the transition from a strictly Greek-born membership to one
that accommodated Greeks born in the old country and the New World. It
would prove more in tune with what it recognized early on was the
inevitability of assimilation resulting from undeniably permanent
residence in a multi-national country like the United States.
Nor was AHEPA as radical as its
detractors charged. Once its super-patriotism cooled off somewhat,
AHEPA adopted a blend of what its members considered the most positive
aspects of both the Hellenic and American cultures.
In 1924 AHEPA President VJ.
Chebithes appealed to chapters to sponsor Greek orphans left homeless
following the Asia Minor disaster of two years earlier. $5 a month was
required to sponsor a child, and some AHEPA chapters sponsored as many
as thirty.
At its 1925 Chicago convention AHEPA
urged the U.S. government to extend a $50 million loan to Greece-and
the aid came through, $12,000 was appropriated for a scholarship fund.
And, in an effort to keep peace in the volatile Greek American
community, AHEPA took pain to emphasize it did not oppose the existence
of the foreign-language press in the United States.
At the 1926 convention in
Philadelphia a junior order, the Sons of Pericles, was organized for
the 12-21 age group. The first Sons chapter was established a short
time later in Manchester, New Hampshire. In time AHEPA would
add auxiliaries for women and young women, too, The Daughters of
Penelope and the Maids of Athena would round out a complete 'AHEPA
Family,"
In 1927 AHEPA raised more than
$53,000 for charitable and philanthropic activities, The following
year, in a matter of a few critical months, the members pooled over
$40,000 to aid the city of Corinth, which had been devastated by an
earthquake. AHEPA was making a difference, insisted its members, and on
both sides of the Atlantic.
In 1929 a corps of AHEPANs marched
in President Herbert Hoover's inaugural parade-a ''first'' for any
Hellenic-American group, It was a proud and genteel occasion that also
included a visit to the White House.
In the coming years AHEPA built a
stronger, more visible profile in Washington. Seventy-five Senators and
Congressmen attended the Order's first Congressional Banquet, organized
by George C. Vournas. Today that biennial event is an AHEPA tradition. In
recent years honorees have included President Lyndon Johnson, Vice
Presidents Spiro Agnew (whose father, Theodore, helped found
Baltimore's AHEPA Chapter No. 30 in 1922) and Hubert Humphrey, Greek
Prime Minister (now President) Constantine Karamanlis, Patriarch
Athenagoras and comedian-humanitarian Bob Hope,
In 1932 AHEPA fought tooth-and-nail
the speculations of the Wickersham Congressional Committee on Crime in
the U.S. Its damning allegations infuriated the Greek American
community, one of its victims. AHEPA, relying on as grass roots
strength across the land, organized fact-finding forces in every state
and succeeded in proving that the Wickersham Report was nothing more
than a shameful and inaccurate sham.
In this kind of activity AHEPA was an anti-defamation group that the Greek American community never really had.
AHEPA's friendly, indeed brotherly
relations with President Franklin D. Roosevelt also enhanced the
organization's stature. FDR had been initiated as a member of AHEPA
back when he was Governor of New York, Now AHEPA'S regular visits to
the Oval Office took on an added significance. They weren't the stiff,
formal occasions they had been with Herbert Hoover and Silent Cal.
The dark days of World War 11
changed many a life, galvanizing the AHEPA membership and demonstrating
just how much such an organization could achieve. The poignant turning
point for Greek Americans came more than a year before Pearl Harbor. On
October 28, 1940 Mussolini's troops invaded Greece from the north. That
day is still remembered and revered as " Ohi Day."
An AHEPA visit to President
Roosevelt a short time after brought about what the White House termed
"an unusual procedure, " as FDR announced a promise of U.S. aid to
Greece in her hour of peril.
The Greeks fought the Italians for
five months and dealt Mussolini utter defeat. They managed to hold off
Hitler's massive war machine for another three weeks before being
overwhelmed, That heroism captured the world's admiration.
The Greek War Relief Association
(GWRA), spearheaded by the Skouras brothers and other AHEPANs in the
movie theater business raised $4 million in food and supplies by May
1941. AHEPANS in various businesses donated a day's or a week's profits
to the cause, and many contributions came from non-Greeks. AHEPANS
provided about 90% of the labor force in GWRA efforts speculate
historian Theodore Saloutos, thanks again to its grassroots strength.
AHEPA'S 1942 convention, celebrating
the Order's 20th anniversary, was held in Atlanta. George Vournas of
Washington DC was elected President and would lead the organization
through the war years.
At the Atlanta convention it was
announced that the Treasury Department had named AHEPA an official
Issuing Agent for U.S. War Bonds, an honor achieved by no other civic
organization. Quotas were assigned to each chapter to reach a goal of
$50 million in only four months.
Steve Vasilakos, dubbed 'AHEPA'S No.
I War Bond Salesman" had long been a familiar face in front of the
White House, selling peanuts from his pushcart He offered a free bag of
goobers to each person who bought a bond. His first customer was Sam
Rayburn, Speaker of the House of Representatives. The exchange was seen
at the movies on the newsreel. There were many more customers, and the
successful drive was extended.
Michael Loris, a Brooklyn AHEPAN,
sold 24,142 individual, small denomination bonds in twelve months. A
Zanesville, Ohio AHEPAN sold $44,566 worth of War bonds in one day,
Ultimately the project brought in revenues of $500 million.
The success of the War Bond drive
launched a new era for the AHEPA, an era of increased visibility,
influence and involvement in Washington that continues to this day.
In its so-called first phase, from
1922 to 1945, the emphasis was on "Americanization" and citizenship
programs. Following the War AHEPA broadened its scope and horizons. Now
over half of the membership was American-born. Many of AHEPA's Post-War
projects would be related to rebuilding a war-torn Greece and, in
contrast to its original goal, keeping Hellenism alive among the
American born generations of Greeks.
Following World War Il AHEPANs
continued raising money for hospitals in Greece and other Greek war
relief programs, However, civil war was raging in the motherland,
AHEPANs were concerned, So was the Truman Administration, On March 12,
1947 President Truman appealed to Congress for immediate military aid.
Congress came through and the Truman Doctrine, as it came to be known,
was vital in saving Greece from Communism.
AHEPA maintained the warmest of
relations with Truman, who was initiated into the Order on Greek
Independence Day-March 25th-1946, When the President addressed AHEPA'S
Congressional Banquet, he said, "I've never had a more enthusiastic
reception anywhere!"
That year AHEPA'S first Health
Center opened in Chrysoupolis, in northern Greece. Construction began
on an AHEPA Wing at Athens' Evangelismos Hospital. Other health centers
were rising, though construction was often slowed and sometimes halted
by guerilla attacks.
AHEPA had come of age; there was no
question about the loyalty of Greek Americans to the United States or
about citizenship. The reason for establishing such an organization was
now a proud memory and AHEPA'S enduring foundation.
AHEPA continued its educational and
humanitarian efforts and civic-minded programs, focusing much of its
energy on a homeland in desperate need of help.
In the vanguard, AHEPA passed a
resolution urging self-determination for Cyprus as early as 1946,
setting up a Cyprus Affairs Committee two years later. In 1950 AHEPA
called the world's attention to the estimated 28,000 children abducted
by Communist forces in the Greek Civil War. In 1964 AHEPA sent its
first delegation to Cyprus. And today there is AHEPA-PAC, AHEPA'S
political action committee.
In the last fifteen years,
demonstrating an increasing sense of unity not always characteristic of
the inner workings of AHEPA in previous years, the organization has
worked to become a bridge between the Greek and American people and
their governments, making, maintaining and developing key contacts on
Capitol Hill and in Constitution Square,
In an effort to inform the Greek
American community, as well as the larger American community and the
Washington community in particular, AHEPA sponsors conferences on
foreign affairs that bring together government officials, political
scientists, leading journalists and, of course, AHEPANS, Last year's
forum focused on Cyprus; this year's examines Greek-U.S. relations.
Nor is it uncommon to find AHEPA
leaders testifying on Capitol Hill before the House Subcommittee on
Europe and the Middle East or the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
AHEPA'S official voice is its
magazine, edited by Elias Vlanton and Executive Director Timothy
Maniatis, who holds the fort at National Headquarters in Washington.
The first issue of the AHEPAN, edited by Achilles Catsonis, came out 58 years ago.
In addition to press releases,
salvos fired off to government officials and letters to the editors of
the Wall Street journal, the New York Times and other publications
large and small, AHEPA publishes its own materials, The most recent
offering was Cyprus: From Independence to Partition by University of Indiana-Purdue University Professor Van Coufoudakis.
''These publications aim to educate
arid inform,'' says Thomas L. Chase former chairman of the AHEPA Cyprus
and Hellenic Affairs Committee. ''They form an important part of
AHEPA'S overall program.''
Indeed, education, in a variety of
forms, has been a pillar of AHEPA since the very beginning. AHEPA
started out educating the immigrant, and acclimating him, as AHEPA
chronicler George J. Leber phrased it, "making him a gentleman,
In the early years AHEPA'S education
program emphasized citizenship and Greek as well as American history.
Today it's a different story. With the third and fourth generations of
Greek Americans coming of age, AHEPA is doing precisely what GAPA
accused it of not doing and actually working against: that is,
promoting and preserving Hellenism's and Prime Ministers, ambassadors
and spirit and values.
Scholarships have been part of
AHEPA'S civic service since the Chicago convention of 1925. Paralleling
that, AHEPA began building the bridge back to the motherland in 1928,
when over 500 AHEPANS set sail aboard the S.S. Sinaia. Those days,
before the Concord and Super-Savers, it was quite an event, a
pilgrimage,
Today AHEPA gives
scholarships on the local and national levels to promising Greek
American students. Its "Journey to Greece'' program, for high school
students, emphasizes Hellenic culture, history and language.
AHEPA and individual AHEPANS have
been a force in establishing Greek and Byzantine studies programs at
colleges and universities around the country.
AHEPA has been re-focusing too,
placing renewed emphasis on Hellenic culture, past and present. The
AHEPA Cultural Foundation has sponsored an evening of Greek poetry and
music at Wolftrap and lectures on archaeological finds in Cyprus
lately,
As a civic-minded group AHEPA has
always recognized Americans, Greek and non-Greek, who make valuable
contributions to the community and society at large. These have
included Presidents humanitarians, recipients of AHEPA award made in
the name -of Socrates and Pericles.
The athlete has a very special place
in Greek history and culture and, with AHEPA, so it remains. The Order
has always taken enormous pride in the achievements of the Greek
American athlete, going back to the heyday of world class wrestler Jim
Londos. AHEPA'S Harry Agganis Award was established in 1955, in memory
of the great all-American who died in his prime. Agganis honorees have
included: in football, Detroit Lion Alex Karras; in basketball, Boston
Celtic Lou Tsiropoulos; and in baseball, Baltimore Oriole Milt Pappas,
Among recent recipients are Olympic diver Greg Louganis and University
of Georgia football coach and All-American Mike Castronis,
The William G, Chirgotis Award, made
to outstanding collegiate athletes, was established in 1972, AHEPA also
recognizes outstanding professional and amateur women in athletics.
On the local, district and national
levels, AHEPA and its junior orders sponsor a wide variety of athletic
events and tournaments, believing, like the ancient Greeks, that sports
and competition are an important part of daily and civic life.
Nor has AHEPA forgotten the elderly,
Soon the fourth Senior Citizen's Center organized under AHEPA auspices
will open, President Zambetis was recently in Mobile, Alabama to break
ground for this newest one, These facilities are being sponsored on the
local level in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD), requiring seed monies of at least $10,000. St.
Michael's Home for the Aged, operated by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
of North and South America, has also prospered thanks, in part to AHEPA
funding,
Devoted to ideals of American and
Hellenic culture, education and progress, AHEPA, despite its critics,
has achieved singular success, Since 1922 it has been vital force in
the life of the Greek American community.
Summing up the Order of AHEPA,
Theodore Saloutos wrote: ''More than anything else, through the years
it accomplished more in identifying Greek Americans with the greater
American community than did all the other organizations combined."
AHEPA'S tradition is a proud one.
Its legacy is a real one. Its mission goes on, setting sight on new
horizons. AHEPA'S active role in the Greek American community's
development and achievements is a portrait of unselfish public service.
By Steven Philips | 
