Reflections
on the AHEPA 37th Biennial Salute Banquet
Can AHEPA
remain relevant to future generations of Greek-Americans?
March 13, 2006
On March 10-12, 2006, AHEPA’s 37th Biennial Salute Weekend honoring
retiring Senator Paul Sarbanes and Congressman Mike Bilarakis, marked
by a gala evening emceed by George Stephanopoulos, may have been the
biggest event the majority of the Greek-American community never learned about
until it was over. As this was our first major AHEPA event, our perceptions
about the organization, its goals, and its relevance to Greek-American young
adults, were certainly influenced by perhaps the largest gathering of
well-behaved Greek-Americans we had ever seen. The event left us cautiously
optimistic that there is a place for our generation in AHEPA and that AHEPA and
what it stands for deserves a commitment from us as well.
Many people we talked to during the evening were shocked that this was our
first AHEPA event and that we had only joined a month ago. Growing up first
generation in a DC area with plenty of recent Greek immigration, AHEPA didn’t
appeal to our father or to us for different reasons. He rightly or wrongly
perceived AHEPA as not doing enough for Greece and the lack of spoken Greek at
the meetings didn’t agree with him either. (Also as a younger man at the time
he shared the same perception of the organization that we ourselves held for
most our lives of the members of the organization comprising the gerousia.)
Still, he joined the organization around the time we were in high school and
forced us to fill out the paperwork to apply for a coveted AHEPA scholarship.
(He may have, in the process, inadvertently funded those same scholarships
through poker losses to other members of The Order.
More on the
AHEPA scholarships later.) For us with Greek first and last names that
hadn’t been through the Ellis Island Chopper, infused with a strong
first-generation, Greek-speaking, foustanella-wearing pride, we saw the
organization as a bunch of assimilatory sell-outs, who had lost their “Greekness”
while trying to maintain some abstract form of Hellenism, whatever that was
supposed to mean.
The two of us made a pact that we weren’t joining the organization until we
were at least 30 years old, and somehow the powers that be at Chapter 438 found
us shortly thereafter and we were finally initiated a month before our 31st
birthday. We were told at our initiation that we were not to reveal the details
of our initiation, but let’s just say the welts from the paddling have yet to
subside, we’re not allowed to show you the branding, and I don’t know if I’ll
ever get over my newly discovered fear of blindfolds.
Our generation
hasn’t grown up with active membership in fraternal organizations,
particularly those of us who considered ourselves too Greek to “go Greek” in
college; all the pomp, circumstance, secret handshakes and greetings seem a
little dated and counterintuitive to what AHEPA was meant to counteract in the
first place. (More on the evil that necessitated the creation of AHEPA later.)
Finding information about this weekend was as secret as the initiation
itself. Besides the events that took place on Friday afternoon that we hadn’t
heard about, details on Friday night’s banquet, including time and place were
hard to come by, particularly as confusion surrounded the identity of the hotel
where the event was to take place. You say “Hilton” and “Greek event”,
most Greeks in the area automatically think of the Capitol Hilton on 16th and K,
the venue for numerous American Hellenic Institute events, and even a St.
Constantine and Helen Dinner-Dance a few years ago. But this event was actually
at the much more lavish Washington Hilton on Connecticut Avenue, just north of
Dupont Circle. Those in the know told us the location was, “the Washington
Hilton, you remember, the one where President Reagan was shot,” which did help
much either, as we had no clue that Reagan was shot near Dupont Circle, since
were only 6 when it happened.
Walking into the hotel and seeing the over 700 Greek-Americans in the hallway
outside the grand ballroom, I was reminded of everything I loved about Greek
events throughout my lifetime – a large anonymous crowd that surprisingly made
you feel at home, with a dynamic energy and spirit amongst the homogenous faces.
There was definitely a sense of family, a sense of belonging to a nobler group;
the adherence to protocol and ceremony as the crowd took its seats and the
program began reminded everyone in that room that they were continuing a great
tradition.
The protocol and refinement of this event is seemingly atypical to most
Greek-American affairs. The mile-long head table featured honorees, introducers
of honorees, and introducers of introducers of honorees. There were no bouzouki
or klarino here, simply a small jazz ensemble sticking to typical American fare
– from “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” to “New York, New York,” “Oklahoma,”
and “Carolina in the Morning”. (Actually, they did play “Never on Sunday,”
which had the audience clapping throughout the song.)
Meanwhile sitting on the outskirts of the congregation at Table 66, (which we
jokingly dubbed the “kids table”, or the “table of single men under 40
without dates,”) coupled with being new to these proceedings, allowed for us
to observe (without being observed) and comment (without interrupting) the
multitude of speeches both before and after dinner. We learned and reacted to a
great many things that were said throughout the evening, and the remainder of
our thoughts here address some of the sentiments presented.
A great point was made of the circumstances surrounding the founding of AHEPA
back in Atlanta in 1922. While we don’t remember hearing the word “racism”
specifically used, Senator Sarbanes came close when he repeatedly referred to
the “bigotry” that existed at the time of AHEPA’s founding that the
organization was meant to combat. I believe I came more to the point when I
discreetly folded my lily-white dinner napkin into a dunce-cappish hood, if you
will, and showed it to my brother who knew exactly what wasn’t being said.
Previous accounts of the AHEPA story we were told on AHEPA Sundays past in
church spoke more openly of the evil of which we dare not speak, mostly for fear
of the term being caught by Google and sending unsavory traffic our way. (AHEPA’s
website notably doesn’t mention it either, maybe for the same reasons. If you’re
reading this and still don’t know what we’re talking about, think “A Time
to Kill” or how Forrest Gump got his name.) But over 80 years later, that kind
of racism and bigotry really doesn’t exist against Greek-Americans anymore,
and the assimilation that resulted is no longer needed for our safety and
survival. (More on AHEPA’s continuing mission later.)
George Stephanopoulos not only served as emcee of the event but also as the
most shining example of the power of the AHEPA Scholarship program, which
annually gives over half a million dollars to deserving Greek-American high
school students, usually $500 at a time. We joked with several AHEPAns
afterwards who also had received the $500 award in their lifetime that back in
Stephanopoulos’ time, $500 towards the cost of tuition actually meant
something, and if receiving an AHEPA scholarship was such a springboard on the
road of life, why weren’t we advising Presidents or at least hosting “This
Week” on ABC on Sunday mornings. Scholarship money is great and can produce,
as Senator Sarbanes referred to in a different context, “educated
good-for-nothings,” but the real focus should be on mentoring these
scholarship recipients after the scholarship money has been spent. What’s the
point in giving money to students without tracking the return on investment to
the Greek-American community and its causes?
The focus of the evening of course was to honor the retirements of
Senator Sarbanes and Representative Bilirakis. Their collective
retirement was offered as a cause for sadness and re-evaluation, as
Greek-American representation in Congress will be deeply effected by their
departure. Both men’s sons were on hand to offer hope of a continuing legacy
as each is currently campaigning to enter the U.S. House of Representatives from
their respective states. Legacy is a powerful asset that for once is in the
hands of the Greek-American community. As it has proven throughout the years, it
can be used to get qualified and even under-qualified individuals into the
highest realm of public office, sometimes on name recognition alone. (Think
Kennedy or Bush.) While both men seem well-suited and qualified to follow in
their fathers’ footsteps, clearly John Sarbanes also has more of the “John-John”
aura about him with the charisma and good looks that play well with today’s
voters.
A large gathering of Greek-Americans in the shadow of the White House and the
Capitol with a smattering of politicians in the audience can’t avoid the topic
of the Cyprus issue, particularly in a time that has seen increased diplomatic
efforts at solving the problem. Preaching to the choir at these events works
only if it inspires those in the audience not represented by Greek-Americans or
Philhellenes in Congress to ride their elected officials to attempt to persuade
the President and the State Department to use the United States’ influence for
positive change in the area. We were pleased to learn that AHEPA did take
advantage of their Friday afternoon in our nation’s Capital to pay a visit to
Congress to do just that.
As the evening wound to a close, a great optimism filled the room that
signaled that somehow AHEPA had come out of hibernation with a renewed energy to
refocus on its core mission now, and in the future. AHEPA’s various
philanthropic ventures have been and will continue to be a staple of the
organization. With its original mission of integrating Greeks into American
society successfully accomplished, perhaps its future should focus on bringing
the descendants of those Greek-Americans who assimilated so fully into American
society back into the Greek-American fold. The organization has the established
infrastructure to finally promote the ideals of Hellenism within the greater
American society and put a Greek-American stamp on this country’s politics and
culture. Of course our generation is uniquely poised to put our own stamp on
AHEPA and to direct it through the start of its next 100 years, building on the
hard work and results that the forefathers of the organization accomplished so
many years ago. It is in this way that AHEPA is and can remain relevant for our
generation and those to follow.
Read
past feature articles.