The roots of our Beloved and Sacred Fraternity date back to 2007 in Oxford, Mississippi and connect us to a tradition of Brotherhood started in the United States of America in the 1940s.
Zeta Alpha Delta Fraternity, Inc. was founded on Wednesday, January 9th, 2013 in Memphis, Tennessee; first in the heart of Honorable Paul Johnson, and then in the minds of both himself and our co-founder, DeJuan Sharp. The Fraternity is designed to not only be an organizational body invigorated with integrity, but a Fraternity with a true zeal toward change.
The need for a Fraternity that is founded on relatable, and obtainable principles derives itself from an experience from our Visionary and Honorably Founder Paul M. Johnson. In 2006, visionary Founder Paul Johnson was enrolled as a student at the iconic and historic University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi and he lived on campus as a budding scholar. As most young people do, he began to search for a place in which he could fit in as himself, a true man of integrity. Paul made a valiant effort to join various “traditional” fraternities, but there was no organizational body on his campus in which he felt that he could truly belong.
Honorable Paul Johnson toiled tirelessly and ruminated on where he could fit in, and one day he had an epiphany; to start his own Fraternity, based on the morals and the principles in which he believed, and a concept that inspired him and other men like him, thus the genesis of our legacy begins.
The first official meeting of Zeta Alpha Delta Fraternity, Inc. was held on Wednesday, January 9th, 2013 and the Fraternity’s principles were thus established: Brotherhood, Integrity, Scholarship, and Service; our colors: royal blue and steel grey; and our motto: “A Brotherhood of Integrity, Scholarship, and Service.” The purpose of the body was also established, and it reads:
Zeta Alpha Delta Fraternity, Inc. promotes scholarship through academics, service to the community, brotherhood throughout humankind, and integrity through all endeavors. Our mission was simple: enhance and progress the lifestyle experiences of collegiate and professional men in various communities through the promotion of Brotherhood, Integrity, Scholarship, and Service.