The Elder Watson Diggs Award is one of five individual honors presented by Kappa Alpha Psi at its annual or bi-annual Grand Chapter meetings. It was established in 1953 at the 43rd Grand Chapter Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, by 14th Grand Polemarch Frank M. Summers. The award is named after the fraternity's most revered founder and Laurel Wreath wearer, Elder Watson Diggs. The award was first presented in 1958 at the 48th Grand Chapter Meeting in Detroit, Michigan. The first recipients of the Elder Watson Diggs Award were attorney Ulysses G. Plummer, Jr. (Mu, 1924), and educators E. Thomas Scales (Gamma, 1922), and John N. Williams (Lambda, 1942).
The Elder Watson Diggs Award is the second-highest award presented to a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity; it is bestowed upon alumni members who demonstrate meritorious achievements in their local community or region. Recipients are selected based on petitions submitted to the Achievement Commission, a 13-member committee appointed by the Grand Polemarch. No more than five awards can be granted during any Grand Chapter session.
Recipients[]
The following is a list of all members who have received the Elder Watson Diggs Award.
| Recipient | Alumni Affiliation | Meeting | Initiated | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulysses G. Plummer, Jr. | Portland (OR) | 48th (1958) | Mu | 1924 |
| E. Thomas Scales | Des Moines (IA) | 48th (1958) | Gamma | 1922 |
| John N. Williams | Philadelphia (PA) | 48th (1958) | Lambda | 1942 |
| Caesar Felton Gayles | Langston (OK) | 50th (1961) | Pi | 1921 |
| William Henry Greene | Washington (DC) | 50th (1961) | Xi | 1923 |
| Idel W. E. Taylor | Baltimore (MD) | 50th (1961) | Epsilon | 1932 |
| William L. Crump | Washington (DC) | 58th (1973) | Alpha Mu | 1941 |
| William R. Ford | Flint (MI) | 58th (1973) | Delta Pi | 1956 |
| Murray E. Jackson | Detroit (MI) | 58th (1973) | Alpha Beta | 1947 |
| LaMont H. Lawson | Washington (DC) | 58th (1973) | Epsilon | 1928 |
| Oba B. White | Little Rock (AR) | 58th (1973) | Mu | 1920 |
| Charles J. Sudduth | Berkeley (CA) | 59th (1974) | Alpha Mu | 1938 |
| Bert V. Wadkins | Oklahoma City (OK) | 59th (1974) | Beta | 1929 |
| Thomas E. Ashe, Jr | Beckley (WV) | 60th (1976) | Tau | 1930 |
| Joseph R. Jenkins | Savannah (GA) | 60th (1976) | Delta | 1925 |
| Charles O. Stout | Philadelphia (PA) | 60th (1976) | Tulsa (OK) | 1931 |
| Sanford D. Bishop | Mobile (AL) | 61st (1977) | Pi | 1931 |
| William H. Smith | Prince Anne (MD) | 61st (1977) | Alpha Epsilon | 1933 |
| James O. Whaley | San Diego (CA) | 61st (1977) | Pi | 1924 |
| Art S. Williams | Tulsa (OK) | 62nd (1979) | Delta | 1938 |
| E. Albert Dumas | Chicago (IL) | 62nd (1979) | Kappa | 1923 |
| C. Clifford Washington | Philadelphia (PA) | 62nd (1979) | Lambda | 1926 |
| James Egert Allen | New York (NY) | 63rd (1980) | Omicron | 1925 |
| Toussaint L'Overture Hale | Birmingham (AL) | 63rd (1980) | Delta | 1922 |
| Herman J. Tyrance | Washington (DC) | 63rd (1980) | Chi | 1934 |
| Robert Williams | Indianapolis (IN) | 63rd (1980) | Delta | 1938 |
| Lenzi G. Barnes | Durham (NC) | 64th (1982) | Alpha Kappa | 1940 |
| James L. Bradford | Berkeley (CA) | 64th (1982) | Gamma Alpha | 1950 |
| Carlyle H. Chapman | Baton Rouge (LA) | 64th (1982) | Alpha Sigma | 1935 |
| Jay Crosby | Dayton (OH) | 64th (1982) | Delta | 1949 |
| Woodrow W. Walston | Richmond (VA) | 64th (1982) | Alpha Kappa | 1946 |
| Herman P. Bailey | El Paso (TX) | 65th (1983) | Epsilon | 1935 |
| Edgar H. Bishop | Los Angeles (CA) | 65th (1983) | Upsilon | 1946 |
| Sylvester R. Hall | Washington (DC) | 65th (1983) | Xi | 1931 |
| Herbert C. King | Lawton-Ft. Sill (OK) | 65th (1983) | Langston (OK) | 1949 |
| James Carter, Jr. | Washington (DC) | 66th (1985) | Xi | 1948 |
| George W. Cathcart | Detroit (MI) | 66th (1985) | Atlanta (GA) | 1932 |
| Everharding Pruitt | Birmingham (AL) | 66th (1985) | Beta Delta | 1941 |
| Arthur L. Carter | Indianapolis (IN) | 67th (1986) | Nu | 1947 |
| George N. Charlton, Jr. | Pittsburgh (PA) | 67th (1986) | Beta Epsilon | 1952 |
| Thomas E. Howard | Shreveport (LA) | 67th (1986) | Alpha Sigma | 1937 |
| Cornelius W. Grant | Albany (GA) | 68th (1988) | Tallahassee (FL) | 1965 |
| Charles G. Tildon | Baltimore (MD) | 68th (1988) | Pi | 1948 |
| Henry E. Bennett | Gary (IN) | 68th (1988) | Alpha | 1941 |
| Peter Butler | Los Angeles (CA) | 69th (1989) | Alpha Sigma | 1952 |
| Nathan J. Cooley | Gary (IN) | 69th (1989) | Gamma Phi | 1954 |
| Julius Lockett | Atlanta (GA) | 69th (1989) | Atlanta (GA) | 1940 |
| James A. Overton | Norfolk (VA) | 69th (1989) | Alpha Gamma | 1932 |
| William G. Mays | Indianapolis (IN) | 70th (1991) | Alpha | 1964 |
| Joseph Bruton | Washington (DC) | 71st (1993) | Xi | 1948 |
| Donald E. Grace | Austin (TX) | 71st (1993) | Dallas (TX) | 1960 |
| Crawford E. Lane | Rocky Mount (NC) | 71st (1993) | Alpha Nu | 1945 |
| Edward Shelton, Jr. | Vallejo-Fairfield (CA) | 71st (1993) | Delta Phi | 1958 |
| Louis N. Willis | Louisville (KY) | 71st (1993) | Beta Chi | 1951 |
| James B. Abram, Jr. | Oklahoma City (OK) | 72nd (1995) | Alpha Pi | 1956 |
| Ralph Bryson | Montgomery (AL) | 72nd (1995) | Beta Eta | 1946 |
| James Michael Graves | Charleston (SC) | 72nd (1995) | Alpha Delta | 1933 |
| Oscar Lugree Mims | Washington (DC) | 72nd (1995) | Beta Kappa | 1955 |
| K. Bernard Chase | Hyattsville-Ld (MD) | 73rd (1997) | Theta Tau | 1976 |
| Sterling H. Dover | Seattle (WA) | 73rd (1997) | Gamma | 1933 |
| Ivory Johnson, Jr. | St. Louis (MO) | 73rd (1997) | Beta Nu | 1959 |
| William M. Lockhart | Opelousas (LA) | 73rd (1997) | Alpha Sigma | 1939 |
| Richard Clark | Washington (DC) | 74th (1999) | Xi | 1955 |
| Melvin Jackson | Philadelphia (PA) | 74th (1999) | Philadelphia (PA) | 1968 |
| James R. Mosby | Indianapolis (IN) | 74th (1999) | Alpha Omicron | 1947 |
| Samuel F. Sampson | San Antonio (TX) | 74th (1999) | Xi | 1955 |
| Charles C. Smith | Detroit (MI) | 74th (1999) | Xi | 1942 |
| William M. Blakeney | Charlotte (NC) | 75th (2001) | Alpha Lambda | 1943 |
| Mark Canty, Jr. | Philadelphia (PA) | 75th (2001) | Delta Eta | 1952 |
| Willard Douglas | Richmond (VA) | 75th (2001) | Alpha Gamma | 1955 |
| Leonard H. Morton, Jr. | Nashville (TN) | 75th (2001) | Alpha Theta | 1949 |
| Carl Walker, Jr. | Houston (TX) | 75th (2001) | Beta Upsilon | 1948 |
| David Dupree | Augusta (GA) | 76th (2003) | Alpha Epsilon | 1946 |
| Myron L. Hardiman | Indianapolis (IN) | 76th (2003) | Nu | 1966 |
| Thomas E. Howard, Jr. | Detroit (MI) | 76th (2003) | Detroit (MI) | 1974 |
| Winfred Raymond Mundle | Washington (DC) | 76th (2003) | Beta Rho | 1947 |
| Cleophus Thomas, Jr. | Anniston (AL) | 76th (2003) | Epsilon Epsilon | 1974 |
| Raymond Booton | Charlotte (NC) | 77th (2005) | Alpha Epsilon | 1962 |
| Calvin D. Heard | Dayton (OH) | 77th (2005) | Epsilon Lambda | 1973 |
| W. Kenneth Jackson | Atlanta (GA) | 77th (2005) | Beta Delta | 1964 |
| Emerson Lattimore | Dallas (TX) | 77th (2005) | Delta Sigma | 1960 |
| Keflyn Xavier Reed | Mobile (AL) | 77th (2005) | Eta Chi | 1980 |
| Rhen C. Bass | Ventura (CA) | 78th (2007) | Delta Nu | 1974 |
| William E. Hooker | Raleigh (NC) | 78th (2007) | Delta Gamma | 1956 |
| James Mitchell | Dallas (TX) | 78th (2007) | Dallas (TX) | 1978 |
| Eric Morris | Pittsburgh (PA) | 78th (2007) | Zeta | 1967 |
| Mark Scott | Atlanta (GA) | 78th (2007) | Theta Tau | 1983 |
| Donald C. Bland | Fayetteville (AR) | 80th (2009) | Beta Nu | 1961 |
| Chuck Carr Brown | Baton Rouge (LA) | 80th (2009) | Delta Delta | 1977 |
| Willie High Coleman, Jr. | Houston (TX) | 80th (2009) | Houston (TX) | 1991 |
| Frank S. Emanuel | Jacksonville (FL) | 80th (2009) | Alpha Xi | 1965 |
| Clarence F. Nelson, Jr. | Norfolk (VA) | 80th (2009) | Beta Chi | 1969 |
| Terrance G. Blount | Washington (DC) | 81st (2011) | New York (NY) | 1975 |
| William B. Croom | Woodbrige (VA) | 81st (2011) | Beta Chi | 1967 |
| Charles Wesley Morgan III | Wichita (KS) | 81st (2011) | Alpha Delta | 1969 |
| Earl Tildon | Winter Park (FL) | 81st (2011) | Delta Zeta | 1955 |
| Alfred White | Winston Salem (NC) | 81st (2011) | Winston Salem (NC) | 1979 |
| George F. David III | Baltimore (MD) | 82nd (2013) | Delta | 1940 |
| Jonathan P. Hicks | New York (NY) | 82nd (2013) | Delta Omega | 1977 |
| John Mark Jenkins | Bowie-Mitch (MD) | 82nd (2013) | Alpha Nu | 1948 |
| Ocie C. Pleasant, Jr. | Memphis (TN) | 82nd (2013) | Beta Zeta | 1960 |
| Alvin L. Barrington | New Orleans (LA) | 83rd (2015) | Theta Eta | 1976 |