Dr. Georg Iggers
Brothers, my good friend and our Sigma Brother, Bro. Dr. Georg Iggers has released his autobiography. Bro. Iggers is one of the first white brothers initiated into Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Made at Philander Smith College in 1953, Dr. Iggers has been a major force in the Civil Rights, Humanitarian, and World History arenas. His remarkable life is chronicled in his book Two Lives in Uncertain Times: Facing the Challenges of the 20th Century as Scholars and Citizens by Georg and Wilma Iggers.
Dr. Iggers is a world renown author, scholar, historian, and civil rights activist. Dr. and Dr. Iggers (his wife Wilma), were instrumental in the desegregation of Little Rock’s Central High School in 1957, you have all heard of the Little Rock Nine.
Currently, Dr. Iggers lives in Buffalo, NY and is a member of Theta Sigma Chapter. If you would like to contact him, it’s iggers@buffalo.edu. Tell him that I sent you and go out and purchase his book.
We should honor him at Conclave 2007 for all of his dedication to Social Action, Social Justice, and Civil Rights. When I look at what this man has done in his life, I hope that I can make a difference, like he has done, one day.
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N. Calif. Fall Cluster Meeting
bro. reginald paul, northern california state director, sent out this notification a while ago regarding next saturday’s cluster meeting. it’s mandatory for all chapter officers and recommended for all financial members.
The 2006 Northern California Cluster Spring Meeting
California State University East Bay, Hayward, CA
North Science Building room 125
Saturday, October 7th, 9:30am sharp.
Dress code: Business attire. Lunch will be provided.
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A Salute to Hon. Bro. Demetrius C. Newton
my first experience with bro. newton was at conclave LA last year. it was my first conclave in my (then) 11 years in Sigma. during one of the business sessions, after a series of motions concluded with a monotonous recommendation to the general board for review, bro. newton took the mic. while he grabbed my attention as he introduced himself as the 24th intl president, it was his comment about us needing to stop making recommendations to the general board and be more about action. the point that came across to me was that the GB is crippling and slowing things down. we’ll at least that’s how i remembered it.
it was four months later that i finally had the pleasure of meeting the bro. newton. it was in atlanta in november of 2005 during the general board meeting. there was a reception at a nearby hotel for the GB and i shared a few minutes one-on-one with bro. newton. by this point of the meetings, many had already made it clear they thought i had no place in the meeting, much less being a Sigma. but i’ll never forget the brotherly welcome bro. newton extended me.
the national site finally got the page up for a salute to service: honorable demitrius c. newton – the man. it’s being held on saturday, october 14th in birmingham, AL. i’m bummed i can’t make the trip out to honor him in person, but if you can, please do.
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Putting Virtual-Sigma Back On Line
In 1978, I sensed that something was going very wrong with Phi Beta Sigma. I did not know exactly what was wrong; but I knew definitely that we were in for a long decline.
I will not elaborate at this time; but I will say this – several of our past officers wanted an organization much different from that which was conceived by our Founders. They chose the critical period when we were trying to convert from a part-time to a full-time operation to strike. Essentially – because of their intervention, Phi Beta Sigma never made the necessary conversion. Instead, P.R. was used to replace actual service to humanity.
I am writing today to ask you to do two things.
(1) I want you to take the time to read three essays that I have written. I know that some of you have read them previously; but I beg you to reread them now.
The first enclosed essay, “A Conflict of Models” tells how we moved from the structure that the Founders left to us to the one we operate by today. The second essay, “The Birth of G. O. M. A. B” tells how we slowly turned our backs on the motto the Founders gave us – “Culture for Service and Service for Humanity” (which focused on bringing benefits to those outside of Sigma) to the self promoting[...]theme.
The third essay “Established Upon the Principles”, is yet unfinished. I had abandoned finishing it because I didn’t think that anybody cared. Kevin Christian and others have strengthened me to fight for the Founders. I began it in my heart; I trust you to finish it in yours.
Please read all three essays. Please discuss them among yourselves and pass them on to every committed Sigma that you know. If you have any questions, write them down and e-mail me. I will answer any question that you ask and I can answer. If you have a burning question, call me. Once you understand what must be done, tell every Sigma that you know. And when people try to beat on you, stand up and push them back in the name of the Founders.
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