By Michael A. Robinson
New Mount Olive Baptist Church, 400 Northwest Ninth Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will host the 50th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Service on Sunday, January 18, 2026, at 4:00 P.M. The service will be sponsored by the Zeta Alpha Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Dr. Marcus D. Davidson is the Senior Pastor of New Mt. Olive Baptist Church.
This year’s celebration will include a musical extravaganza with selections from The Voices of New Mount Olive Baptist Church, Director Kenny Smith. The guest speaker is the Honorable Lucien J, Metellus, Jr., the 37th General President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc,
General President Lucien J. Metellus, Jr. was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he attended Holy Cross School. A man of Haitian descent, at the age of 14, the family moved to Queens, NY. There he attended the now —closed Springfield Garden’s High School. His education continued at Syracuse University, where he secured a degree in Policy Studies.
Brother Metellus entered the House of Alpha at Zeta Zeta Lambda Chapter, seated in St. Albans, NY. Since then, he has served as a chapter President, Vice President, Secretary, Director of Education Activities, Associate Editor to the Sphinx, and fundraising chair. He has served as chapter advisor for the college chapter Theta Epsilon, seated at St. Johns University. He is also a Life member of the Fraternity.
Service at the District level includes tenures as Parliamentarian, Secretary, Director of Competitions, NY State Director of Conferences, NY City Area Director, NY State President, and District Director.
Throughout his time in Alpha, Brother Metellus has been active and has been in service to the fraternity’s Eastern Region as March for Babies Coordinator, Parliamentarian, and Director of College Brothers Affairs. He -also served as a Parliamentarian for the General Organization and became a voting Board of Directors member with his election as the 28th Eastern Regional Vice President.
On January 2, 2024, he was officially elected as the 37th General President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, and assumed office on January I, 2025.
Professionally, he has worked in the information technology field for 20 years, and is currently employed as a Project Manager & Senior Business Analyst, he works on providing solutions for clients and customers. In his career, he has managed projects that provided millions of dollars of savings to businesses through the utilization of technology. He has over 10 professional certifications and degrees in leadership, project management, religion, and technology,
In keeping with the fraternal traditions of “Servants of All,” Brother Metellus has assisted at Center for Hope and Safety, a Domestic Violence shelter in New Jersey; Youth Partnership of Bergen County; has been a Boy Scot Troop Leader; and also worked with the March of Dimes and Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America.
Additionally, he is a published poet & writer. At present, he serves as chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, appointed by the mayor, in Frederick, MD.. He teaches the word to young adults in the area of Christian Education at his church, and has served as a minister of various churches.
The Alpha Man is also a family man, who is happily married to Esther Slack-Metellus and together they have a son, Jeremiah and a daughter, Janae.
The annual celebration service is in recognition of the magnificent works of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King’s noble precepts and ideals regarding equal rights, privileges and love for all mankind led to the Congressional Declaration of January 15th as a National Holiday in his honor. The public is invited to attend this inspirational and educational program.
For further information, please contact the Church at (954) 463-5126 or Brother Michael A. Robinson at (954) 831- 7258.