“No legacy is so rich as honesty.” Founder, Charles I. Brown

This is a most happy post for me as I wish a spectacular 100th Birthday to my wonderful and adoring brothers of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated and their visionary, Honorable Founders: A. Langston Taylor (deceased), Leonard F. Morse (deceased), Charles I. Brown (deceased).

Established on the campus of Howard University on January 9th, 1914, these powerful brothers have been consistently entrenched in the everyday battles of life and living.  From Anti-Lynching crusades to academic advocacy, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated has impacted its national and international communities politically, socially, and economically.

When I sit back and reflect on my affiliation with these beloved helpmates, I am thankful to these men for including my sorority, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, into their greater strategy for effecting change in the lives of Blacks, Americans and the greater global community.

For Blacks, America is still a very peculiar and unforgiving place at the time in which Phi Beta Sigma began; lynching is rampant and the Progressive Era is not progressive for Blacks under President Woodrow Wilson (Woodrow Wilson’s Record on Race). However, one place Blacks are able to incubate ideas and execute plans is in meeting rooms and dormitories of Historically Black College and University (HBCU) campuses. In addition, Blacks are yielded a voice through the Black press and organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).   Although it will be another six months before World War I actually begins (July 28th, 1914), and another three years before the United States enters, April 6th, 1917, the men of Phi Beta Sigma, Fraternity Incorporated are already engaged in numerous battles to create culture and to provide service for all of humanity; hence, its motto: “Culture for Service and Service for Humanity.”

I could rattle off a list of notable Sigmas that have influenced my life in a most amazing way–men like James Weldon Johnson and Congressman John Lewis–but to me, every member of this organization that has allowed Phi Beta Sigma’s motto and principles to steer his life in meaningful, purposeful and uplifting ways is notable.

Brothers, thank you for your support in helping to establish a female counterpart to assist in fulfilling much needed goals and providing divine service to our communities. Thank you for working along with our Honorable Founders: Arizona Cleaver Stemmons (deceased), Pearl Anna Neal (deceased), Viola Tyler Goings (deceased) , Myrtle Tyler Faithful (deceased), Fannie Pettie Watts (deceased), to bind our tie with a constitution.

I’d especially like to thank and salute the brothers of the Alpha Alpha Alpha Chapter from my esteemed alma mater, Virginia State University, for teaching me and the rest of the Phi Chapter so much about fraternity, service and leadership.

In terms of etiquette, it is appropriate to celebrate this day as the Platinum Centennial.  Platinum, a precious metal with a silvery-white appearance is rare, durable, and fitting for such a phenomenal organization with an outstanding membership. Salute!