History of
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The Founders, Honorable A. Langston Taylor, Honorable Leonard F. Morse, and Honorable Charles I. Brown, wanted to organize a Greek letter fraternity that would truly exemplify the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service.
The Founders deeply wished to create an organization that viewed itself as “a part of” the general community rather than “apart from” the general community. They believed that each potential member should be judged by his own merits, rather than his family background or affluence…without regard to race, nationality, skin tone or texture of hair. They desired for their fraternity to exist as part of an even greater brotherhood which would be devoted to the “inclusive we” rather than the “exclusive we”.
From its inception, the Founders also conceived Phi Beta Sigma as a mechanism to deliver services to the general community. Rather than gaining skills to be utilized exclusively for themselves and their immediate families, they held a deep conviction that they should return their newly acquired skills to the communities from which they had come. This deep conviction was mirrored in the Fraternity’s motto, “Culture For Service and Service For Humanity”.
Today, Phi Beta Sigma has blossomed into an international organization of leaders. No longer a single entity, members of the Fraternity have been instrumental in the establishment of the Phi Beta Sigma National Foundation, the Phi Beta Sigma Federal Credit Union and The Sigma Beta Club Foundation. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, founded in 1920 with the assistance of Phi Beta Sigma, is the sister organization of the Fraternity.
History of
The Eta Chapter
Brother Abraham McCartney Walker, the first initiate of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, said in 1914, "I believe in all that Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity represents, and I will herald and defend it, even against the world." Five years later in 1919, the Eta chapter was chartered at what is now North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University by Dr. William Savage to further the cause of Sigma in Greensboro, NC.
Brother Dr. William Sherman Savage was born March 7, 1890 and reared in Accomac County, Virginia He was the eldest of 12 children born to Adam and Annie Savage. He enrolled in Howard University in Washington, DC graduating with the B.A. Degree. While attended Howard University he pledged Phi Beta Sigma at the Alpha Chapter. He began graduate study in the summers of 1921 and 1923 at the University of Kansas; he was awarded the M.A. Degree from the University of Oregon in 1925. Graduate study continued and he received the PhD. Degree from Ohio State University in 1934. His publications include: The Controversy Over Abolition, The History of Lincoln University, Blacks in the West, The History of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, and numerous articles. He was a columnist on the Kansas City Call for five years under the title of "Know Your History" excerpt from The Sigma Historical Society.
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As the first and oldest chapter of any Greek organization at A&T, as well as the Southeastern Region, Eta chapter continues to uplift the national ideals of Phi Beta Sigma on campus and in the Greensboro community. Eta Chapter has been at the forefront of service to the community since its inception. Eta Chapter was the first chapter to create a Sleep-Out for the Homeless Program, which later became a national initiative. Eta Chapter also led the petition for our Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice And Sing", to be played at all NC A&T sporting events. Eta Chapter was also the first of any campus organization to bring awareness to the ongoing problem of campus violence, and sought solution by creating its Date Rape Awareness/Self-Defense seminars.
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From Congressmen to professional athletes....from businessmen to ministers of God, Eta Chapter has produced the best and brightest minds and talent from North Carolina A&T. It is the goal of Eta Chapter to continue to carry the torch of Sigma well into the new millennium in the manner of all of those Brothers before us.
