Sigma Pi Phi, also known as The Boulé, is an African American professional fraternity. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1904, it is arguably the oldest fraternity for African Americans. The fraternity does not have collegiate chapters and is designed for professionals in mid-career or older. Sigma Pi Phi has over 5,000 members and 139 chapters throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, The Bahamas, Colombia, and Brazil. Following is an incomplete list of notable members of Sigma Pi Phi include.
Academia
- Johnson O. Akinleye, chancellor of North Carolina Central University
- Julius E. Coles, director of Morehouse College's Andrew Young Center for International Affairs and president of Africare
- John Warren Davis, president of West Virginia State College
- Lewis C. Dowdy, president and first chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
- Robert Michael Franklin Jr., president of Morehouse College
- Frederick S. Humphries, president of Tennessee State University and Florida A&M University
- Michael Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund and president of Dillard University
- Makau Mutua, professor at the SUNY Buffalo School of Law
- J. Keith Motley, chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Boston
- Samuel L. Myers Sr., president of Bowie State University
- Benjamin F. Payton, president of Benedict College and Tuskegee University
- Ivory A. Toldson, professor of Counseling Psychology at Howard University and author
- Gregory J. Vincent, president of Talladega College, Hobart College, and William Smith College
- Walter Washington, professor at Alcorn State University
- Charles H. Wesley, president of Wilberforce University and founding president of Central State University
- Carter G. Woodson, historian, author, journalist, and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History
Activism and civil rights
- W. E. B. Du Bois, Niagara Movement leader and one of the founders of the NAACP
- Lafayette M. Hershaw, civil rights activist
- Vernon Jordan, lawyer and civil rights activist
- Martin Luther King Jr., minister and civil rights leader
- Franklin McCain, civil rights activist and member of the Greensboro Four
- Kweisi Mfume, former NAACP president
- Andrew Young, civil rights leader and a mayor of Atlanta
Business
- Walter Braithwaite, engineer and executive for Boeing
- Eddie C. Brown, investment manager and entrepreneur
- Cassius F. Butts, business executive and two-time United States Presidential Appointee
- Kenneth Chenault, a CEO of American Express
- Percy Creuzot, restaurateur who founded Frenchy's Chicken
- Lawrence Hamlar, civic leader, businessman, and philanthropist in Roanoke, Virginia
Law
- Hubert Thomas Delany, Assistant U.S. Attorney and the first African American appointed as Tax Commissioner of New York
- Jack Greenberg, succeeded Thurgood Marshall as the leader of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
- Roger Gregory, circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- Eric Holder, United States Attorney General
- Morris Overstreet, judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
- Richard W. Roberts, senior district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- Robert Heberton Terrell, justice of the peace in Washington, D.C. and a judge to the District of Columbia Municipal Court
- James Andrew Wynn, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Literature and journalism
- Leon Bibb, news anchor and commentator for WKYC
- Lawrence Otis Graham, author of 14 non-fiction books about politics, education, race, and class in America
- Moneta Sleet Jr., 1969 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography, press photographer best known for his work as a staff photographer for Ebony
- Cecil J. Williams, photographer, publisher, author and inventor
Military
- Ernest James Harrell, Commanding General of Europe division for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- William J. Walker, retired United States Army major general and former Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. House of Representatives
- William E. Ward, retired United States Army three-star general
- Johnnie E. Wilson, United States Army four-star general who served as Commanding General, United States Army Materiel Command
Politics and government
- Calvin Ball, Executive of Howard County
- Stephen K. Benjamin, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement
- Ken Blackwell, Secretary of State of Ohio, Treasurer of Ohio, and Mayor of Cincinnati
- Lee P. Brown, Mayor of Houston, Police Commissioner of New York City, and Police Chief of Houston
- Ron Brown, United States Secretary of Commerce and Chair of the Democratic National Committee
- Ralph Bunche, a United Nations Ambassador and first African-American winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
- G. K. Butterfield, member of the U.S. House of Representatives
- Cassius Cash, 16th superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Lawrence D. Crawford, Mayor of Saginaw, Michigan
- David Dinkins, Mayor of New York City
- W. Wilson Goode Jr., former member of the Philadelphia City Council
- Fred Gray, Alabama House of Representatives
- Dennis Hightower, United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce
- Bernard Kincaid, 26th Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama
- John M. Lewellen, Arkansas House of Representatives
- James Carroll Napier, Register of the Treasury
- Bobby Scott, United States House of Representatives and Virginia Senate
- Josiah T. Settle, Mississippi House of Representatives
- C. O. Simpkins, Louisiana House of Representatives
- Mel Watt, United States House of Representatives and director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and North Carolina Senate
- Douglas Wilder, Governor of Virginia
- Andrew Young, civil rights leader and a mayor of Atlanta
Religion
- Nathan D. Baxter, 10th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania
- Edgar Amos Love, Bishop with the Methodist Episcopal Church and founder of Omega Psi Phi
Science and medicine
- Claudius Ballard, prominent physician in Los Angeles, California
- Frederick D. Gregory, astronaut and 10th NASA Deputy Administrator
- Algernon B. Jackson, prominent African American physician, surgeon, writer, and columnist
- Maynard Jackson, Mayor of Atlanta
- Henry McKee Minton, pharmacist, doctor, and superintendent of the Mercy Hospital of Philadelphia
- Frederick Douglass Stubbs, pioneering thoracic surgeon
- William J. Thompkins, physician and superintendent of the Old General Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia
- John P. Turner, chief of surgery and staff president of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School
Sports
- Arthur Ashe, professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam titles
- Clarence Gaines, men's basketball coach at Winston-Salem State University
- Tracy Porter, former professional football player for the Detroit Lions and Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts
- Max Siegel, CEO of USA Track & Field
- John Baxter Taylor Jr., the first African-American to win an Olympic Gold Medal
- Dwayne Woodruff, former professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers and judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
- Tony Wyllie, former regional president and managing director for Special Olympics North America
References
- "UnityFirst.com". May 29, 2004. Archived from the original on 2004-05-29. Retrieved Jan 12, 2021.
- Olechowski, Carol (April 25, 2002). "Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity Supports Scholarships for UAlbany Students" (Press release). University at Albany, SUNY.
- "Historical Moment#19". Archived from the original on 2007-11-28. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
- "NAACP - Timeline". Archived from the original on 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
- "1904–2004: the Boule at 100: Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity holds centennial celebration". Ebony. September 2004. Archived from the original on November 23, 2004. Retrieved September 11, 2006.
- fullahead.org. "Boulé Delegation Returns to Capitol Hill for Third Trip and Meets With Lawmakers and With Two Members of Obama's Cabinet - Sigma Pi Phi". www.sigmapiphi.org.
- "Archives - Philly.com". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014.
- Watt, Mel (February 28, 2006). "Honoring Black History Month". Congressional Record. Retrieved 2006-10-08.
- Harris, William H. (2012). Brown, Tamara L.; Parks, Gregory S.; Phillips, Clarenda M. (eds.). African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision (2nd ed.). 104: University Press of Kentucky. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-8131-3662-2.
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