This is Alpha Chapter #25 - 11/6/15

Profiles of who we are:

Miles Davis & Alpha Chapter??

Davis grew up in East St. Louis, IL, hometown to Alpha Chapter's Dr. John Edwards Eubanks Jr.  Bro. Eubanks was initiated into Omega through Alpha Chapter in February 1920 (see his graduation picture below from the 1921 HU yearbook, The Enopron).  After graduating HU in 1921, he moved to Chicago to attend the University of Illinois College of Medicine where he earned his degree in 1926.  While in Chicago, Bro. Eubanks served as Basileus of Iota Chapter from 1925-26.  Once completing med school, Dr. Eubanks moved back to East St. Louis where he married, established a practice, served as Basileus of Upsilon Omega in 1934 and presided over the local NAACP from 1949-51.

In Miles Davis' book entitled "Miles: The Autobiography," Davis talks about an action of major significance in his life that Dr. Eubanks did:

"Next door (to my house) was my father's best friend, Dr. John Eubanks, who was a physician.  Dr. Eubanks was so light he almost looked white.  His wife, Alma, or Josephine, I forget which, was almost white too.  She was a fine lady, yellow, like Lena Horne, with curly black, shiny hair.  My mother would send me over to their  house to get something and his wife would be sitting there with her legs crossed, looking finer than a motherf****r.  She had great legs and she didn't mind showing them either.  As a matter of fact she looked good everywhere!  Anyway, Uncle Johnny - that's what we called her husband, Dr. Eubanks - gave me my first trumpet."

Excerpt from "Miles: The Autobiography" p. 16.

So the next time you listen to a Miles Davis tune, you can thank Bro. Eubanks, son of The Mother Pearl, for his contribution to launching the career of one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time by giving him his first trumpet!