In The Matter Of My Renunciation Of My Oath To Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

by Darryl L. Fortson, MD

Dear Basileus Ricky Lewis,

  In a few days, via certified mail, the Corporate Offices of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity will be receiving a letter indicating that I have renounced my oath into the Fraternity and that I am requesting that I be removed from the rolls of the same following my initiation therein at Psi Chapter of Omega, on May 8th, 1983 at the close of my junior year at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.

  My decision to renounce my oath as an Omega Psi Phi member is the culmination of a year and a half of soul-searching and prayer as I have sought to attain a closer and more obedient walk with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to place or swear no other allegiances (save my vow of holy matrimony under His Holy name), and to remove any spiritual incumbrances from my life and soul as a result of allegiances to any entities or gods but Jesus Christ alone. I have in no way taken this decision lightly. It is something that I evolved into through my interrogation of my initial vows, my understanding of the ungodly Masonic influences on all Black Greek life (not just Omega), and a now passionate and resolute desire to not simply believe in God, but to trust and believe God and His Word, and in doing so, follow it.

  This is not a paroxysm of hyper-religiosity for me. I am in no way new to the Christian faith, having been baptized as a teenager, and having given my life to Christ about two years prior to pledging Omega, as well as having served in years past as an elder in the Presbyterian Church that I grew up in. I am neither blind, ignorant, or unappreciative of the value and benefit of the relationships and dear friendships I have developed through Omega Psi Phi, particularly among my line brothers, and the prophyte and neophyte brothers in my chapter. Truly, I have been helped in any way a man can be helped through fraternity bonds, be it socially, financially, scholastically, vocationally, and even spiritually by Christian pastors and brothers in Omega who have offered me wise counsel and prayed with and for me during my many trials in life. Nearly all my closest and dearest friends in life are Omega men, including my best friends and two of my cousins.

  But as I recall my day of initiation nearly 42 years ago, I am struck by the fact that I entered into a contract blindfolded and under duress that I had no opportunity to review, a contract which hinted at a relationship with God, but not in any explicit way, and with no expression of a devotion to Jesus Christ by name, and Him alone. Making an oath of this magnitude under such circumstances is like agreeing to buy a house for full price with cash after merely touring the house and then being taken to the closing blindfolded with no review of the contract that refers vaguely to a seller of the property whose name you do not fully know and would not do business with if you did. The knowledge that I have come into regarding this now and my long-standing knowledge that I am to place “no other gods before” the Living God is a conflict that I cannot reconcile or continue to live with.

     Two of my line brothers – dear to me – passed away in 2024. Another one nearly died. Yet another very close brother to me from my first days in college who pledged grad chapter in Atlanta also passed away, all of them in their early 60’s. I consider these men's deaths collectively as one of the most transformative events in my life. (Other chapter brothers and men of other fraternities who were classmates or schoolmates of mine have also recently died.) These devastating and grievous losses forced me take assessment of my life and its relative brevity. I was compelled to look unflinchingly at where I was in life and where I wanted to be with God. More importantly, I was forced to assess what God thought of my walk with Him at this time of life, and I concluded that there are some facets of my life in need of a total renovation. This is one of them.

   One of the things that has made taking this action so difficult is my profound and sincere love for the brothers of Omega Psi Phi, particularly my dear chapter brothers of Psi. Being an only child, they have been the only brothers I have ever had, save my non-Omega brothers from Morehouse and a few friends I have retained from childhood. It is not my desire at all to cause them unnecessary and fruitless vexation, and it is my sincere hope that they will continue to count me as their friend and brother in Christ following this renunciation. However, I recognize also that some of them (perhaps most) will see this action as a repudiation and/or rejection of them personally (it is not) and that they will no longer wish to call me or consider me a friend. However, if this is a loss I must endure, I will do so, understanding that just as Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for the Kingdom of God, so must all Christians give up something for the promise of eternal life with the Lord in Heaven. At this point, whatever “the price of admission” to eternal presence with the Lord and for peace of mind and spirit in this earthly realm may be, I am now willing and prepared to pay it.

  Just as I was inspired by good and earnest men of Omega to pledge this fraternity, I have probably inspired others to do the same. Since I now have come to understand that other forces not of God and not Scriptural have influenced the creation of all of the Black Greek letter organizations (and White ones as well), it is my responsibility as a brother in Christ who loves them to make my decision to renounce an organization I once held so very dear public, not to author confusion or to call attention to myself, but to challenge, in love, all my friends in Omega (and all the other fraternities and sororities) to prayerfully consider what they pledged an oath for, and most significantly – to.

  The so-called “Divine Nine” group of Black fraternities and sororities are NOT "divine." They are comprised of mortal men and women, and this moniker is also a sign that the devil is using plays on words, mis-directions, and vaunted ceremony to distract us all in Black Greek life that we are pledging our fidelity to something that is not the Living God or Jesus Christ explicitly or truly.

  The bottom line is that, more than ever before, I am serious about my walk with Jesus Christ. I no longer wish to be “conformed to this world, but continuously be transformed by the renewing of (my mind) so that (I) may be able to determine what God’s will is—what is proper, pleasing, and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 ISV), and that most of all, I will take definitive action in the wake of that transformation.

  The joys and many happy experiences in Omega with its brothers, and my subsequent renouncing of my oath and membership in Omega notwithstanding, I repent of my involvement with any and every organization, including Omega, of which I have ever been a part, that has explicitly or occultly sought to elevate a false god above the Living One that I worship, and I seek forgiveness from those who I have encouraged in the way of Greek life – both in Omega and beyond – and forgive those who encouraged me in the same way, including my uncle and other dear friends.

  Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. has been of benevolent help and service to many both within and outside the fraternity – of this there can be no doubt. It has been that for me, with good men performing noble deeds. But I have come to recognize that the enemy of God has little to no concern of what virtuous deeds a man or woman exercise; rather, he is concerned in whose service he or she exercises those deeds for. “No man can serve two masters,” Scripture teaches us. “For either he will hate the one, and love the other” (Matthew 6:24). I serve Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone. In this matter, I can no longer be lukewarm or equivocal.

  I pray that all those who singularly accept Jesus Christ as the Lord and Master of their lives who read this will pray my strength in Him, and I pray for all the brothers of Omega that enlightenment and liberation in Jesus Christ may guide their steps going forward.

   It was a pleasure and an honor to have had an opportunity to meet and break bread with you when I did. I will pray your strength and enlightenment in Jesus Christ as well.

Sincerely, In The Manhood Image of Jesus, In The Scholarship of His Word, In The Perseverance Of His Mercy, And In The Uplift Of His Love,

Darryl L. Fortson, MD

Las Vegas, Nevada

(formerly 4-Psi-Spring 1983 – “Gumby”)