Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity

African American fraternity established in 1914 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C., by three remarkable men—A. Langston Taylor, Leonard Morse, and Charles I. Brown. Taylor developed the initial idea for Phi Beta Sigma because he wanted to create a new fraternity that would exemplify the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service. The founders wanted the fraternity to be part of the general community rather than apart from it. They believed that each potential member should be judged on merit rather than family background or affluence and without regard to race or nationality.

Phi Beta Sigma was established at Howard on January 9, 1914. The fraternity motto—“Culture for Service and Service for Humanity”—embodies ideals and principles that distinguish Phi Beta Sigma from any other African American fraternity. The motto also mirrors the deep conviction that members of Phi Beta Sigma should return any newly acquired skills back to the communities from which they came. The sorority Zeta Phi Beta is the official sister organization of the fraternity, and they both enjoy a mutually supportive relationship.

Throughout Phi Beta Sigma's existence, the fraternity has been politically and socially responsive to the social condition of African Americans. The fraternity expressed its disdain and its opposition to lynchings in the South, the U.S. occupation of Haiti, and the economic disenfranchisement of all African Americans.

Today, Phi Beta Sigma has more than 700 chapters across the United States as well as in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. The fraternity supports and maintains national programs such as Sigmas Against Teenage Pregnancy, Sigmas Against Domestic Abuse, Sigmas Waging War Against Cancer, and the Zeta Sigma Project Vote. These programs are geared toward social, political, and educational action throughout the nation. Notable Phi Beta Sigma [Page 637]fraternity members include the agricultural scientist George Washington Carver; writer James Weldon Johnson; philosopher Alain Locke; Kwame Nkrumah, former prime minister of Ghana; and labor organizer Asa Philip Randolph.