Brother Donald M. Smith serves as the Eastern Province Historian for Kappa Alpha Psi, combining a deep knowledge of history with extensive professional experience in archival research and strategic planning. Since becoming Historian in 2021, Brother Smith has worked to preserve, digitize, and share the rich legacy of the Eastern Province, ensuring that the lessons, achievements, and traditions of past generations remain accessible to the Brotherhood.
He has a long record of leadership in the province, having served as Province Polemarch (2019–2021), First Vice Polemarch (2017–2019), and in numerous other roles, including Keeper of Records, Assistant Keeper of Records, and Reporter. He also served as President of the Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation of Metropolitan Baltimore from 2012 to 2017 and has chaired key committees such as the Bylaws Committee (2017–2019, 2020) and the Resolutions Committee (2015–2016).
Professionally, Brother Smith served as Director of Strategy and Performance at the National Archives and Records Administration, leading initiatives to digitize records, improve public access to information, and engage citizen archivists. His work included projects related to Prohibition (“Spirited Republic”) and the development of archival best practices. He is also an active member of the Baltimore Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society.
As Historian, Brother Smith has digitized critical versions of Eastern Province history, initiated oral histories for chapters such as Coppin State University’s Zeta Gamma Chapter, and created biographies and located photographs for every Province Polemarch. He has shared archival best practices at Officers Workshops and started the process of rewriting the comprehensive History of the Eastern Province.
Brother Smith service has been recognized with numerous awards, including the William L. Crump History Award (2021), Polemarch’s Service Awards (1998–2000, 2003–2018, 2022–2025), the William “Box” Harris Award (2018), James Fenimore Cooper Award (2016), Brother of the Year (2009), and the I.W.E. Taylor Award (2003).
He holds a Master of City and Regional Planning from Morgan State University and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice (Pre-Law) from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He is also a member of Pi Alpha Alpha Public Administration Honor Society (2010).
