One of the most exciting prospects of being within a multicultural fraternity is the prospect of expanding our mission and values to new unexplored frontiers. These efforts are led valiantly by the founders process at a university, beginning either when the university opens for expansion and allows our expansion team to “make our case,” or when eager university students hear of our reputation and successes, and say to themselves that they want to bring Omega Delta Phi to their campus. In the case of Sir Zeke “Wu-Tang” Lipscomb, Omega Delta Phi entered his life through the latter.
I met Zeke right at the precipice of his journey to Knighthood within Omega Delta Phi. His gregarious nature, coupled with a “get it done” attitude and an always present open mindedness to new ideas and practices, quickly set him apart from almost any brother that I have had the opportunity to work with. In my interactions with Zeke he has always been consistent in the excellence he emits, and the quality he produces for not only our organization, but for the institution of Kennesaw State University as well. Where most of our undergraduates would be considered “traditional” students, Zeke’s path would define him as “nontraditional.” His journey to our organization was not a linear path, as he would be quick to tell you.
“My identity has different layers. I am first generation, Brooklyn, the country’s biggest melting pot, I went from urban kid to rural country kid, and the dynamic of my friend group going from Brooklyn to be mostly embraced by White kids at my high school to then attending Colorado State that had a huge Latino population, I feel like that all added to my identity. So being that it was presented to me as a multicultural fraternity, that spoke to me.”
Zeke crossed in the Spring of 2020 during the height of the pandemic. In spite of this, I recall specifically Zeke stating his desire to achieve chapter status prior to his graduation for Kennesaw State University. He and his chapter brothers worked arduously to do so, quickly garnering a reputation among our ranks as a hot and upcoming entity situated in a new frontier for our brotherhood. The hard work of Zeke and his brothers paid off when they achieved chapter status at our national convention in Houston in 2022, earning their chapter letters and garnering the name of “Bloodthirsty” Beta Psi chapter.
Zeke recognizes that in spite of this accomplishment, there is still much work to be done, and has noted himself that he still has work to do within our organization, especially as it pertains to diversity and inclusion. However, his work and actions towards diversity and inclusion are not a mandate given to him from our national board, but rather a moral mandate he has adopted from his experiences.
“I am open to inclusion, I AM open to learning where I have fallen short, and trying to correct it. But I don’t want to be the person patting myself on the back for doing what I should be doing.”
For Zeke this would mean embracing diversity in its entirety. He has lamented to me that diversity has been twisted to solely mean race, when it encompasses multiple identities such as gender expression, ability and sexuality. Zeke stated, “It has to be an embrace of all of it. For me that is what diversity is.”
In addition to all of his fraternal accomplishments, Zeke is a successful business owner in Atlanta. One might think this would lend itself to Zeke being arrogant or even conceited about his accomplishments, but the opposite can only be true of Zeke. When asked about turning personal struggles into strengths he has/had, Zeke responded by saying, “I will say this, there are some personal challenges that keep me humble. So I don’t try to turn them into strengths.”
Zeke is an exemplary knight in our brotherhood, representing all of our sacraments and values. A humble, hardworking, chivalrous, wise, business minded, and incredibly amiable man, Zeke has set himself to be a shining star within our fraternity. I cannot overstate the excitement I have to see his continued journey within our organization and the potential change it will bring to not only us but to the communities we serve. Zeke is a unique brother that I think everyone in our organization would benefit from just having a conversation with. I know I certainly have, and for that I am eternally grateful.
— By Luis Feliciano