The First 100 Years of Sigma

To appreciate the history of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, one must first understand the social, political and educational climate that existed in the United States.  Slavery ended nearly 50 years prior to the founding of Phi Beta Sigma.  Throughout slavery, it was illegal for African-American's to learn to read and write.  The educational standard for America as a whole was a sixth grade education.  So, it is not only remarkable, but also astounding that in one generation, African American's were attending Colleges & Universities to become Doctors, Lawyers, Scientist and more.  This is the story of Sigma Men who changed history in America.

In the summer of 1910, after a conversation with a recent Howard University graduate, A. Langston Taylor formed the idea to establish a fraternity and soon after, enrolled into Howard University in Washington, D.C. Once there, Taylor began to set his vision of a brotherhood into action. In October 1913, Taylor and Leonard F. Morse had their initial conversation about starting a fraternity. As a result, Charles I. Brown was named as the third member of the founding group. By November 1913, a committee was established to begin to lay the foundation of what was to become Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. Soon after the first committee meeting, Taylor, Morse, and Brown chose 9 associates to assist them with the creation of the fraternity. Those men were the first charter members of the organization.

On January 9, 1914, the permanent organization of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity was established in the Bowen Room of the 12th Street Y.M.C.A Building in Washington, D.C. On April 15, 1914, the Board of Deans at Howard University officially recognized Phi Beta Sigma and the following week The University Reporter, Howard University's student publication, made known the news.

The first two years of the fraternity's existence would see them organize and maintain a Sunday school program, led by A.H. Brown, open a library and art gallery to the public, the foundation of the Benjamin Banneker Research Society, and also the Washington Art Club.   In addition to their impact to the Washington, D.C. Community, the members of Sigma were also impacting the campus of Howard University. Abraham M. Walker was elected associate editor of the Howard University Journal. The following year, Walker and Founder A. Langston Taylor, were elected Editor-in-Chief and circulation manager respectively. Other members were also taking leadership positions as W.F. Vincent, William H. Foster, John Berry, Earl Lawson, among others, were presidents of the Debating Society, the college YMCA, the Political Science Club, and the Athletic Association respectively. On the athletic field, Captain John Camper and J. House Franklin were standout football players for Howard University.

In the spring of 1915, the fraternity was seeking to further its intellectual pool. As a result, several affluent African-American scholars Dr. Edward P. Davis, Dr. Thomas W. Turner, T.M. Gregory, and Dr. Alain Leroy Locke, were inducted into the Fraternity. On March 5, 1915, Herbert L. Stevens was initiated, in turn making him the first Graduate member of Phi Beta Sigma.

A year after the establishment of Phi Beta Sigma, the Fraternity saw that the scope of Sigma needed to be expanded beyond just Washington, D.C. and Howard University. On November 13, 1915, Beta Chapter was chartered at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas by graduate member Herbert Stevens. Beta chapter became the first chapter of any African-American Greek-lettered organization to be chartered south of Richmond, Virginia.  

On December 28, 1916, Phi Beta Sigma hosted the fraternity's first conclave in Washington, D.C. 200 members representing three collegiate chapters, Alpha, Beta and Gamma (established at Morgan State College) were in attendance. As a result of the 1916 conclave, an official publication for the Fraternity was authorized and member W.F. Vincent was elected as the National Editor.

Fraternity brother A. Phillip Randolph, who organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, played a role in the amendments to the Railway Labor Act in 1934. As a result, railway porters were granted rights under federal law. This victory and the continuing work of Randolph and the BSCP led to the Pullman Company contract with the union, which included over $2 million in pay increases for employees, a shorter workweek, and overtime pay. 1934 also marked the birth of Social Action as a national program and the return of founder A. Langston Taylor to the forefront of Sigma. Brother Emmett May was elected as the first director of the social action initiative.

The 1935 Atlanta Conclave saw yet another meeting between Sigma and Omega Psi Phi fraternities. Omega founders Edgar Amos Love and Oscar James Cooper brought greetings to the brothers in attendance of the conference on behalf of the members of Omega Psi Phi. The following year, the general board approved the fraternity's affiliation with the already established National Pan-Hellenic Council in continuation of Sigma's Social Action initiative, brothers of Sigma were actively involved the Chicago meeting of the National Negro Congress.

As Phi Beta Sigma prepared for the Silver (25th) Anniversary, a special search was made for lost founder Charles I. Brown. The search would yield no results as to the fate or location of Founder Brown. The 1939 conclave marking the 25th anniversary of the fraternity was held on the campus of Howard University.

At the 1941 Conclave in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the fraternity became a permanent member of the National Negro Business League. At the same conclave Brother A. Phillip Randolph announced a proposed march on Washington, D.C., to protest racial discrimination in defense work and the armed forces. This proposed march would lead then president of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt to create the Committee on Fair Employment Practice and issue Executive Order 8802 which barred discrimination in governmental and defense industry hiring.

Due to the outbreak of the Second World War no Conclaves were held, although some brothers in various regions were able to assemble independently of the General Board. At the fraternity's first spring conclave in 1944, the fraternity voted to support the United Negro College Fund. 1949 would mark the reunion of two of the founders of Sigma: A. Langston Taylor and Leonard F. Morse.

The 1940s and 1950s would show the continued expansion of Phi Beta Sigma. In 1949, the fraternity became an international organization with the chartering of the Beta Upsilon Sigma graduate chapter and the Gamma Nu Sigma graduate chapter in Monrovia, Liberia. The fraternity would extend its international chapters into Geneva, Switzerland, with the chartering of the Gamma Nu Sigma graduate chapter in 1955.

As the struggle for the civil rights of African Americans renewed in the 1950s, Sigma men held positions of leadership among various civil rights groups, organized protests, and proposed the famous March on Washington of 1963. In Atlanta, A. Phillip Randolph helped with the establishment of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957. Randolph and fraternity brother John Lewis would later be involved with the ′63 March on Washington, Randolph as a key organizer and Lewis as a speaker representing the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

In 1961, Phi Beta Sigma brother James Forman joined and became the executive secretary of the then newly formed Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. From 1961 to 1965 Forman, a decade older and more experienced than most of the other members of SNCC, became responsible for providing organizational support to the young, loosely affiliated activists by paying bills, radically expanding the institutional staff, and planning the logistics for programs. Under the leadership of Forman and others, SNCC became an important political player at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.

During the Selma to Montgomery marches, Brothers Hosea Williams and John Lewis (U.S. politician) led a 54-mile protest march from Selma to the capital of Alabama: Montgomery. Lewis became known nationally for his prominent role in the marches and became a Congressman as a Democrat from Georgia. During police attacks on the peaceful demonstration Lewis was beaten mercilessly, leaving head wounds that are still visible today.

Phi Beta Sigma brother Huey P. Newton helped establish the revolutionary left-wing Black Panther Party. Originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, their goal was the protection of African-American neighborhoods from police brutality in the interest of African-American justice. As one of the many advocates of The Black Power Movement, the Black Panthers were considered part of one of the most significant social, political, and cultural movements in U.S. history. "The Movement's provocative rhetoric, militant posture, and cultural and political flourishes permanently altered the contours of American Identity."

Phi Beta Sigma responded to a "Call to Arms" in 1917 as the United States entered the First World War.  No definite study has ever been made as to the participation of Sigma brothers in World War I. However, the extent of their activity may be suggested by the fact that the Alpha chapter had about seventy members in uniform.  

The troubles of membership, not only affected the Alpha Chapter. Other chapters of Sigma were so depleted that only the Alpha Chapter showed any signs of activity and the National Office ceased to function. The General Board was forced to re-organize as a result of death and other dislocations brought on by the war.  Fraternity President I. L. Scruggs would ask Founder, and now the fraternity's National Treasurer, A. Langston Taylor to contact the Brothers as soon as they re-appeared in civilian clothes.  

Taylor called on the National Board to fill the vacancies created by the "Call to Arms," and, on May 4, 1919, wrote letters to the Beta and Delta Chapters (established at Kansas State College) in an attempt to track down the membership.  By June 1919, all chapters were reactivated with the exception of Beta Chapter, where the National Office experienced great difficulty locating Sigma men.  It was through the efforts of Taylor that the fraternity was able to continue and proceed to operate financially as numerous Sigma men served on the European battle front.

By February 1920, Phi Beta Sigma had expanded to Ten active chapters; including the Eta Chapter at The Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina (now North Carolina A&T State University).  As a result of the December 1919 Conclave, Phi Beta Sigma's first conclave after the war, fraternity founder A Langston Taylor was given approval from the General Board to assist in the organization of what was to become the sister sorority to Phi Beta Sigma.

In the spring of 1919, Sigma Brother, Charles Robert Samuel Taylor shared with Arizona Cleaver his idea for a sister organization to the fraternity. Cleaver then presented this idea to fourteen other Howard Women; and with the help of Charles Taylor and Sigma Founder A. Langston Taylor, work began to establish the new sorority. With permission from the Howard University administration, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority held its first official meeting on January 16, 1920.

The founders and charter members of the Sorority consisted of Arizona Cleaver (Stemons), Viola Tyler (Goings), Myrtle Tyler (Faithful), Pearl Anna Neal, and Fannie Pettie (Watts). The five founders chose the name Zeta Phi Beta. The similar names of both Sigma and Zeta are intentional in nature as the ladies adopted the Greek letters 'Phi' and 'Beta' to “seal and signify the relationship between the two organizations”.

The newly established Zeta Phi Beta Sorority was given a formal introduction at the Whitelaw Hotel by their Sigma Counterparts, Charles R. and A. Langston Taylor. The two Sigma Brothers had been a source of advice and encouragement during the establishment, and throughout the early days. of Zeta Phi Beta.  As National Executive Secretary of Phi Beta Sigma, Charles Taylor wrote to all Sigma Chapters requesting they establish Zeta chapters at their respective institutions. With the efforts of Taylor, Zeta added several chapters in areas as far west as Kansas City State College; as far south as Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia; and as far north as New York City.

Phi Beta Sigma's contributions to the Harlem Renaissance:

The 1920s also witnessed the birth of the Harlem Renaissance - a flowering of African-American cultural and intellectual life which began to be absorbed into mainstream American culture. Phi Beta Sigma fraternity brother Alain LeRoy Locke is unofficially credited as the "Father of the Harlem Renaissance." His philosophy served as a strong motivating force in keeping the energy and passion of the Movement at the forefront.   In addition to Locke, Sigma Brothers James Weldon Johnson and A. Phillip Randolph were participants in this creative emergence led primarily by the African-American community based in the neighborhood of Harlem in New York City.

On January 31, 1920, Phi Beta Sigma was incorporated in the district of Washington, D.C. And became known as Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated.

In November 1921, the first volume of the Phi Beta Sigma Journal was published. The journal was the official organ of the fraternity and Eugene T. Alexander was named its first editor. The following month, the fraternity held its 1921 Conclave at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia. This conference saw the first ever inter-fraternity conference between Phi Beta Sigma and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. This would lead to the first inter-fraternity council meeting between the two organizations the following spring in Washington, D.C., later giving rise to the National Pan-Hellenic Council,(the NPHC).

In 1922, Founder Taylor called for the assembly of the Black Greek Lettered Organizations of Howard University to discuss the formation of a governing council. Although, the efforts of Taylor failed on that particular day, they would sow the seeds for what was to become the NPHC eight years later.

In March 1924, the name of the fraternity's official publication, The Phi Beta Sigma Journal, was changed to The Crescent Magazine. The magazine's name change was suggested by members of the Mu Chapter at Lincoln University, PA to reference the symbolic meaning of the crescent moon to the fraternity. At the 1924 conclave, the concept of the Bigger and Better Negro Business was introduced by way of an exhibit devoted to the topic. This would lead to the establishment of Bigger and Better Business as a national program at the 1925 conclave. At the 1928 Conclave, held in Louisville, Kentucky, the tradition of branding the skin with a hot iron, as a part of the initiation process was officially frowned upon.

In 1970, brother Melvin Evans was elected the first governor of the United States Virgin Islands. In 1979, Phi Beta Sigma celebrated its 65th anniversary Conclave in Washington, D.C. In 1983, Sigma brother Harold Washington became the first African-American mayor of the city of Chicago, Illinois. In 1986, the Fraternity opened the Phi Beta Sigma Federal Credit Union which is open to members of the Fraternity, members of the sister sorority, Zeta Phi Beta, their families, and their respective Regions and Chapters. With the establishment of the credit union, Phi Beta Sigma became the first NPHC organization to offer such an entity to its members.

In 1989, the Fraternity celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in Washington, D.C. Also in that year, brother Edison O. Jackson became the president of Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York. In 1990, two Sigma brothers made significant firsts in their respective fields as Brothers Charles E. Freeman and Morris Overstreet were elected the first district judge of the Illinois Supreme Court and first African-American elected by popular vote to a statewide office in the state of Texas respectively. In 1995, the fraternity was the only NPHC organization involved with the planning and support of the Million Man March as brother Benjamin Chavis Muhammad served as national coordinator of the March.

Long Island Sigmas:

The early 1980's saw the growth of collegiate chapters of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. spread to nearly every college & university on Long Island, New York.  For many years, these chapters have flourished without guidance of an Alumni Chapter.  Over time, many found it difficult to cope with recent changes mandated by the Internation Headquarters regarding the initiation process.  These changes, coupled by the general public perception that relevance of Fraternities & Sororities have eroded lead to dwindling numbers across the state.    

The Mu Delta Sigma Chapter was created in 2003 through the concerted efforts of Brothers who wanted to perserve and rebuild the collegiate chapters on Long Island.  Witness the Rebirth of Sigma!!!

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