Founder’s Day essay
As I reflect on this Founder’s Day…I…just like any other Brother, think of the “BIG 3″. Our Founders…A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown. There is so much that surrounds their lives…and I could spend all day, or spend this entire letter, talking about them. But I won’t.
I instead will talk about what has happened and what we have found because of them.
You have already seen what an impact their vision had in the State of Kansas, and how that vision carried on to Tuskegee University in the Deep South in the early 1920′s. We have been blessed to find Brother Sheridan Settler before he joined the Omega Chapter. This Brother came from KSAC and worked at Tuskegee with George Washington Carver (a Brother of Sigma who was initiated and was a charter member of Gamma Sigma chapter in Alabama).
We have been blessed to communicate with Brother Clarence Q. Pair, who was initiated into Sigma at Alpha Chapter in 1918. Appointed by Brother A. Langston Taylor, he was on the first committee to start a sister organization at Howard University. The 1st attempt failed in 1919..but Brother Taylor was so determined he sent out a 2nd committee that was successful in 1920. You know the rest. Brother Pair joined the Omega Chapter in 2001.
Our Ancestors led me to “find” Brother Georg G. Iggers, a white, German, Jew who fled Nazi occupied Germany in the late 1930′s. Brother Iggers was initiated in the mid 1950′s into our Brotherhood after being heavily recruited by Brother William H. Pipes. When I say “find”, I say that because during my initial phone call to Brother Iggers, he told me he had not talked to another member of Sigma since Brother Pipes died…which I believe was in the mid 1960′s. Brother Iggers was instrumental in the “Little Rock Nine” court case….and is known as one of the world’s most renowned Historians.
Since I mentioned the “Big 3″ at the beginning…I figured that I would just mention “3″ other Brothers that we have been blessed to know. I could go on and on…but my appreciation in the Founders is that in their own special way from Above…they have guided us, challenged us, and sometimes teased us…on our way to our Fraternal discoveries.
“When we have turned over a rock…it is because our Founder’s led us down the path to trip over it.”
Categories: Founders' Day Tags:
History Contest Results
Congratulations to the winners of the Bluephi.net Founders’ Day History Contest
1st Place – Rho Chapter Brothers, Southern University. Scoring an astonishing 91%!
Over $300 worth of prizes:
A Business Suit valued at $250
A pair of J. Anthony Brown cufflinks
A Sigma Lapel Pin
Original copy of the Fall 1974 Crescent Magazine
2nd Place – Bro. Matthew Smith, Alpha Alpha Delta – University of Nebraska @ Omaha
Over $200 worth of prizes:
Three pack of Video Games (titles and platforms TBD)
A pair of J. Anthony Brown cufflinks
A Sigma Medallion
Original copy of the 1981 Crescent Magazine
3rd Place – Bro. Steven Townsend, Eta Beta Sigma Nashville, TN Alumni Chapter
Over $125 worth of prizes:
One Video Game (title and platform TBD)
Original copy of the Spring 1981 Crescent Magazine
The contest was an overwhelming success with the entire brotherhood, with collegiate brothers taking 1st and 2nd place. Over $600 in prizes will to be awarded to the winners of this contest. We have posted on Bluephi.net the answers to the contest questions for your review. Please take the time to review these 40 historical questions & answers and use them for future fraternal events: MIP, Founders’ Day programs, Informational meetings, etc.Continue checking Bluephi.net for our next history contest! The Bluephi.net History Team is committed to keeping the brotherhood informed of the very rich and diverse history of Phi Beta Sigma International Fraternity!
Categories: brotherhood Tags:
Award Winning Undergraduates: Rho Chapter
The Rho chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. was founded on Nov. 5, 1924 on the campus of Southern University A & M College in Baton Rouge, La.. As a chapter we pride ourselves on researching the rich history of our beloved fraternity and implementing the founders wishes by not only knowing the fraternity history but understanding it. The Rho chapter has grown tremendously over the past two years with over 20 active brothers on campus. We are a well rounded chapter, with Bro. Justin Jones as one of the recipients of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. National Scholarship, Bro. Jarell Johnson an Boeing Intern whom in 2008 worked United States Space Shuttle program, and Brothers Terry Porter and Brandon Williams whom are active students and University Police officers. Locally we are the fraternity that you can count on by participating in various community outreach programs and providing free step show performances. Rho chapter is the current chapter of the year for the Gulf Coast Region winning 5 of 6 of the conference awards. In 2007 Rho chapter was awarded the State Farm Bayou classic step show champions which was viewed by millions of people on the ABC network. More recently Rho chapter performed for the New Orleans Hornets pre game show and has been traveling all over the south stepping and spreading the good news of Sigma.
Categories: brotherhood Tags:
Coach Charlie Strong
Coach Charlie Strong is frat.
Gators’ Strong told white wife has been impediment
Associated Press
MIAMI — Florida Gators defensive coordinator Charlie Strong believes race is a reason he hasn’t been offered a head-coaching job during his 25 years in college football, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
Strong, a 48-year-old black man, shook his head affirmatively when an Orlando Sentinel reporter asked him if his interracial marriage was a factor in getting passed over for jobs, including one at a Southern school a few years ago. Strong, whose wife is white, said he heard that too many times for it to be rumor.
Categories: brotherhood Tags:
Sigma Chapters Around the World
One of the strengths of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. has been the global reach of our membership. We have had chapters in foreign countries since 1950. Here are the countries that have Sigma chapters: Switzerland, Nigeria, U.S. Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Japan, Liberia, Germany, Korea and even Hawaii and Alaska (I know they are part of the United States, but they are so far away!).
Phi Beta Sigma has produced at least 11 international leaders from foreign countries:
- Nnamdi Azikiwe, Former 1st President of Nigeria
- William Tubman, Former President of Liberia
- William Tolbert, Former President of Liberia
- Kwame Nkrumah, Former President of Ghana
- Sir Winston Scott, Former Governor and General of the Barbados, West Indies
- Dr. Melvin Herbert Evans, Former Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands
- Richard Henries, Sr., Speaker of the House of Representatives, Liberian Legislature
- Prof. A. Babatunde (“Babs”) Fafunwa, Federal Minister of Education, Nigeria
- Phenton O. Neymour, Member of the Bahamas Parliament serving as Minister of State for Public Utilities
- Shane Gibson, Member of Parliament and Minister of Immigration, Labour and Training of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas
- Francisco Corneiro, U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General
Categories: brotherhood Tags:
