Red wooden paddle from Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Kappa Alpha Psi red painted wooden paddle. The Greek letters, kappa alpha psi [???], have been hand painted in white paint on the body of the paddle, recto, to the right of an image of the fraternity's crest also hand painted in white. The crest depicts a knight’s helmet with visor above a heraldic shaped shield divided into four sections. The top section has three stars above a wreath with a center bow and a single Greek work. The bottom, left section of the shield depicts two hands clasping. The bottom, center section depicts a scroll with the three Greek letters printed vertically. The bottom, right section depicts an arm holding a bolt. Below the shield, is a banner with Greek text written across the center. The text [Next / Phase] has been hand painted in white paint on the body of the paddle, verso, next to a larger version of the fraternity's crest also hand painted in white. There is a 1cm diameter hole drilled through the top of the handle.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1979
• Created by: Unidentified
• Owned by: Terance Turner
• Subject of: Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1911
• Type: paddles (watercraft equipment)
• Medium: wood and paint
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 4 1/8 × 20 11/16 × 13/16 in. (10.5 × 52.5 × 2 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Associations and institutions
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Fraternities
• Topic: Men
• Object number: 2014.127.4
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Taalib Abdullah Al 'Ali (Terance Turner)
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.