Today is Founders Day; a day for great celebration, a day for deep pride and a day for even greater reflection.<\/p>\n
When you find yourself up to your ass in alligators is usually when you remember that your initial intention was to drain the damn swamp!!!<\/em><\/p>\n Phi Beta Sigma started off with very good and worthy intentions. Our Founders were men of great character, great concern, and great vision. It is more than appropriate that we pause on this day to think deeply about the organization to which they gave life and to insure that we who follow their lead are still on the path that they set forth for us.<\/p>\n When our dear Founders joined hands in fraternity on this day some ninety-three years ago, they did so in the presence of two existing fraternities and with the knowledge of the formation of a third. And yet, they felt the need to establish another organization rather than to seek membership in either of those which then existed. Who were these men and what was their motivation??? Charles Ignatius Brown is described as having been “princely” in his manners. Our history tells us that it was to Brown that the other two Founders turned to identify most of the charter members because he was both known to, and respected by, every one with whom he came into contact. When he graduated from Howard, it was Charles Ignatius Brown who founded the first chapter of any predominately African-American fraternity on a predominately white campus. We know now that the chapter that Brother Brown founded (Delta Chapter) became the home chapter for most of the African-American males who attended Kansas State University in the early 1900’s. And we know that many of the young Sigmas who matriculated through that chapter majoring in the Veterinary Science program would go on to work side by side with another Sigma man (Bro. Dr. George Washington Carver) to build what is now a world-famous veterinary science program at the Tuskegee University. Brother Brown was an exemplar of the first principle of Sigma – Brotherhood.<\/p>\n Abram Langston Taylor was so deeply committed to service that he had made the decision to found an organization devoted to public service even before he was accepted to become a student at Howard. Brother Taylor’s personal motto, “Culture for Service” serves as the basis for the motto to which we all look for direction, “Culture for Service and Service for Humanity”. Abram Langston Taylor was an exemplar of the third principle in Sigma: Service.<\/p>\n It is wholly appropriate therefore on this day that we assess our allegiance to the three principles to which they swore their lives; and to which we, standing in their shadow, have sworn our lives.<\/p>\n Our Founders left us with an organization and with a mission. In some ways, over the past several years, tossed both by time and by circumstances; we have failed to uphold both our organization and our mission. Today is the perfect time for us to reflect on the path that our Founders established and to return to the true reasons for our founding.<\/p>\n Other brotherhoods exist. Other organizations exist which uphold scholarship. Phi Beta Sigma was the first predominately African-American fraternity to link both brotherhood and scholarship to public service. We have a right to be proud. But beyond pride; we have a responsibility to be public servants. And when we rightly link our right to be proud with our responsibility to be public servants; we will then have both the right and the reason to celebrate.<\/p>\n Today is Founders Day; a day for great celebration, a day for deep pride and a day for even greater reflection. When you find yourself up to your ass in alligators is usually when you remember that your initial intention was to drain the damn swamp!!! Phi Beta Sigma started off with very good and … Read moremore Founders’ Day 2007<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,12],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluephi.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluephi.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluephi.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluephi.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluephi.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/bluephi.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3160,"href":"https:\/\/bluephi.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152\/revisions\/3160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluephi.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluephi.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluephi.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nLeonard Francis Morse was from a proud New England family. He had come to Howard as the valedictorian of his integrated high school class during the height of segregation. He had established himself as a scholar even before he entered Howard University. Before passing on to the ancestry, he would add some eight additional earned and awarded degrees. Leonard Francis Morse was a scholar; an exemplar of scholarship. Leonard Francis Morse was an exemplar of the second principle of Sigma; Scholarship.<\/p>\n
\nSigma what of the day?<\/strong><\/em>
\nWell thunder back along the line<\/strong><\/em>
\nOur cause speeds on its way<\/strong><\/em>
\nWe’ll thunder back (by our voices and by our actions) along the line<\/strong><\/em>
\nOur Cause Speeds On Its Way<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"