SIGMA PI PHI. Sigma Pi Phi records, 1926-2019

Emory University Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library Atlanta, GA 30322 404-727-6887 [email protected]

Collection Stored Off-Site All or portions of this collection are housed off-site. Materials can still be requested but researchers should expect a delay of up to two business days for retrieval.

Descriptive Summary

Creator: Sigma Pi Phi. Title: Sigma Pi Phi records, 1926-2019 Call Number: Manuscript Collection No. 1337 Extent: 47.25 linear feet (50 boxes), and 107 GB born-digital material (29,637 files) Abstract: Records of Sigma Pi Phi, a fraternal organization of African American professional men. Language: Materials entirely in English.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Access Special restrictions apply: Collection stored off-site. Researchers must contact the Rose Library in advance to access this collection. Special restrictions apply: Use copies have not been made for audiovisual material in this collection. Researchers must contact the Rose Library at least two weeks in advance for access to these items. Collection restrictions, copyright limitations, or technical complications may hinder Rose’s ability to provide access to audiovisual material Special restrictions apply: Access to processed born digital materials is only available in the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (the Rose Library). Use of the original digital media is restricted. Special restrictions apply: Some material designated by the organizations such as member rosters, policy documents, meeting minutes, material related to the organization’s rituals, financial records, and legal records will be restricted from access until 25 years after the dissolution of the donating organization.

Emory Libraries provides copies of its finding aids for use only in research and private study. Copies supplied may not be copied for others or otherwise distributed without prior consent of the holding repository. Sigma Pi Phi records, 1926-2019 Manuscript Collection No. 1337

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.

Additional Physical Form Series 1:Boulé Journal, 1926-2015 is also available digitally to researchers through the Emory Luna Digital Image Gallery.

Related Materials in Other Repositories Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity archives (Group 1), Fisk University Special Collections, Nashville, TN Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity archives (Group 2), Fisk University Special Collections, Nashville, TN Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity archives (Group 3), Fisk University Special Collections, Nashville, TN Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity archives (Group 4), Fisk University Special Collections, Nashville, TN Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity archives (Group 5), Fisk University Special Collections, Nashville, TN Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity archives (Group 6), Fisk University Special Collections, Nashville, TN Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity archives (Group 7), Fisk University Special Collections, Nashville, TN

Source Gift, 2015. Additions, 2018, 2019.

Citation [after identification of item(s)], title statement, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University.

Processing Described at the series level by Carrie Hintz, 2016. Additions described at a collection level by Brenna Edwards, 2019, 2020. Born digital materials processed, arranged, and described by Brenna Edwards, 2020. Born digital materials include files taken from 10 3.5" floppy disks, 82 optical discs, one Zip disk, five flash drives, and one file transfer. For information as to how these materials were processed, see the processing note in the description of series 4, Born digital materials. This finding aid may include language that is offensive or harmful. Please refer to the Rose Library's harmful language statement for more information about why such language may appear and ongoing efforts to remediate racist, ableist, sexist, homophobic, euphemistic and other oppressive language. If you are concerned about language used in this finding aid, please contact us at [email protected].

Collection Description

Biographical Note Sigma Pi Phi, also referred to the Boulé, was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 15, 1904 by Edwin Howard, Algernon Jackson, Henry McKee Minton, and Richard Warrick. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity to be founded by African American men, and, unlike undergraduate fraternal organizations, membership is limited to African American men who have already achieved some degree of success within their chosen profession.

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From this first group of men, known as the Alpha Boulé because they were the inaugural chapter of the organization, Sigma Pi Phi quickly began to grow into a national organization, establishing chapters in Chicago in 1907 and Baltimore in 1908—the Beta and Gamma Boulé’s respectively. Representatives from the member boulés met in Philadelphia in 1908 to form the Grand Boulé, providing centralized leadership for the growing organization. Sigma Pi Phi continued to grow quickly throughout the teens and twenties, and published the first edition of Boulé Journal in 1912 in order to facilitate communication to Boulé members. The early members of Sigma Pi Phi were inspired by models of Greek democracy and the influence of Ancient Greek democratic principles remains evident in the terminology and leadership structure of the organization. Boulé members refer to themselves as Archons and the highest leadership position in the organization is the Grand Sire Archon. The organization’s other leadership positions also have Greek-inspired titles including the Grand Grammateus (Secretary), Grand Thesauristes (Treasurer). Until 1968 the Grand Sire Archon was chosen by lot, rather than elected, to demonstrate the members’ belief that any individual worthy of entrance into the organization would be capable of leading it. During the 1970s the organization began to more explicitly engage in social action, with a social action committee tasked with managing social justice programs. In 1980 the Sigma Pi Phi, later Boulé, Foundation was established with the explicit intent to fund social action programs.

Scope and Content Note The Sigma Pi Phi records include the records, paper and born-digital, that document the activities of the organization, including administrative and planning documents, records related to the Boulé Foundation, and related to the publishing of the Boulé Journal, and copies of the Journal itself. The collection also includes photographs of fraternity members and events held by both the Grand Boulé and the member Boulés.

Arrangement Note Organized into 5 series: (1) Boulé Journal, 1926-2015 (2) Photographs, 1987-2015 (3) Administrative Material, 1941-2013 (4) Born digital materials, 1980-2019 (5) Unprocessed additions, 1985-2018

3 Sigma Pi Phi records, 1926-2019 Manuscript Collection No. 1337 Description of Series

Series 1: Boulé Journal, 1926-2015 Series 2: Photographs, 1987-2015 Series 3: Administrative Records, 1941-2013 Series 4: Born digital materials, 1980-2019 Series 5: Unprocessed additions, 1985-2018

4 Sigma Pi Phi records, 1926-2019 Manuscript Collection No. 1337 Series 1 Boulé Journal, 1926-2015 Boxes 1 - 10

Scope and Content Note This series consists of a near complete run of the Boulé Journal from 1926-2015. The Boulé Journal was first printed in 1912 and serves as the official publication for Sigma Pi Phi. Records related to the Boulé Journal can also be found in Born digital materials (Series 4).

Arrangement Note Arranged in chronological order.

Additional Physical Form Series 1:Boulé Journal, 1926-2015 is also available digitally to researchers through the Emory Luna Digital Image Gallery.

Box Folder Content 1 - Volume 3, 1926-Volume 18, 1954 2 - Volume 19, 1956-Volume 22, 1959 3 - Volume 22, 1960-Volume 30, 1976 4 - Volume 40, 1976-Volume 49, 1985 5 - Volume 50, 1986-Volume 56, 1992 6 - Volume 57, 1993-Volume 62, 1998 7 - Volume 62, 1998-Volume 67, 2003 8 - Volume 68, 2004-Volume 71, 2007 9 - Volume 72, 2008-Volume 76, 2012 10 - Volume 76, 2012-Volume 79, 2015

5 Sigma Pi Phi records, 1926-2019 Manuscript Collection No. 1337 Series 2 Photographs, 1987-2015 Boxes 11, 13, 14-21

Scope and Content Note This series consists of photographs of Boulé members and Boulé events from 1987-2015. It includes individual portraits, as well as photographs from meetings and social events hosted by the Grand Boulé and member Boulés. Some photographs can also be found in Born digital materials (Series 4).

Arrangement Note Arranged by member Boulé.

Box Folder Content 11 - Boulé Journal photographs, 1987, 2014-2015 11 - Sigma Pi Phi Foundation founders 11 - Slides 14 - Picture of Archon Andrew Young being interviewed for the HIstoryMakers by Charlayne Hunter Gault, Atlanta GA, GA Public Broadcasting, 2006 13 - Member Boulés Alpha-Mu 15 - Member Boulés Nu-Alpha Epsilon 16 - Member Boulés Alpha Eta- Alpha Zeta 17 - Member Boulés Beta Alpha- Beta Upsilon 18 - Member Boulés Beta Xai- Gamma Iota 19 - Member Boulés Gamma Kappa- Epsilon Alpha 20 - Individuals and Events A-J 21 - Individuals K-T and Unknown

6 Sigma Pi Phi records, 1926-2019 Manuscript Collection No. 1337 Series 3 Administrative Records, 1941-2013 Boxes 11-12, 14

Scope and Content Note The Administrative Records series is comprised of the business and administrative records of Sigma Pi Phi from 1941 to 2013, with most of these records dating from the late 1990s through 2015. It includes numerous programs, brochures, and planning materials related to the annual meeting of the Grand Boulé, the largest event held by the organization. There are also annual reports, correspondence, and records of the Boulé Foundation as well as records related to member Boulés. Administrative records can also be found in Born digital materials (Series 4).

Arrangement Note Arranged by topic.

Grand Boulé Documents Box Folder Content 11 - Tentative Program, Grand Boulé, SPP Fraternity, Seventeenth Convocation, 1941 14 - 40th Grand Boulé Correspondence, 1989-1990 14 - 41st Grand Boulé from Patricia Stanley to Harvey C Russell (Zeta Boulé), 1992 11 - 41st Grand Boulé Souvenir Program, Kansas City, MO., 1994 11 - 42nd Biennial Grand Boulé Host Committee, Gamma Boulé, 1994 11 - 43rd Biennial Grand Boulé Souvenir Program, Houston TX, 1996 12 - Westin Galleria and Westin Oaks Hotels, SPP Grand Boulé, Houston TX-- VHS 11 - 46th Grand Boulé Souvenir Program, 2002 11 - 46th Grand Boulé The Gumbo Journal - Newsletter, 2002 12 - 46th Biennial Grand Boulé: Grand Opening Ceremony Cassette tape, 2002 11 - Centennial Grand Boulé Basking in Memories, Appreciating the present, Forging the Future, Registration Booklet, 2004 11 - Centennial Grand Boulé Memorial Ritual, 2004 11 - 48th Grand Boulé Preview and Registration Materials, 2006 11 - 48th Grand Boulé Program for Taking it Higher, The Youth Recognition Luncheon, 2006 11 - 48th Grand Boulé The Memorial Service, 2006 12 - 48th Grand Boulé Grand Boulé Dinner Dance, 2006, June 14 11 - 49th Grand Boulé Brochure invitation to Denver, 2008 12 - 49th Grand Boulé Denim Diamonds & Denver, 2008 12 - 49th Grand Boulé Grand Boulé Dinner Dance Reception and Gala, 2008 12 - 49th Grand Boulé An Evening With Jeffrey Osborne, The Boulé Foundation, 2008

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12 - 49th Grand Boulé Archousai Brunch From Spirituals to Gospel, 2008 11 - Grand Boulé promotional video, undated 14 - 48th Grand Boulé Various published brochures, programs and tickets, 2008 12 - 50th Grand Boulé Dinner Dance Reception & Gala, 2010 12 - 50th Grand Boulé The Memorial Service, Bellagio Hotel Tower Ballroom, 2010 12 - 50th Grand Boulé Dinner Dance Reception & Gala, Wednesday, 2010 12 - 51st Grand Boulé Memorial Service, 2012 12 - Memorial Service program, Boca Raton, 2012 11 - Membership Directories, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997 11 - 2005 Response to the Victims of Hurricane Katrina, Brochure

Member Boulé Documents 11 - Beta Beta Annual Sweetheart Ball, 2006 11 - Beta Zeta Induction Ceremony, 2007 11 - Delta Xi Induction Ceremony, 2007 11 - Alpha Mu & Alpha Lambda Christmas Celebration/Induction/Installation Ceremonies, Program, Augusta, GA, 2004 11 - 12th Biennial Pacific Region Boulé, "San Diego: Diversity in Action", 2003 12 - Archons of Gamma Epsilon, 2010 12 - Yes We Can, Beta Theta, Dennis Upton, Nashville Public Library Special Collections, Civil Rights Photos with captions, 2010 12 - Early history of Kappa Boulé 12 - VHS of SPP Gamma Boulé 1994 Convention, Baltimore, MD 12 - 43rd Grand Boulé images; Zeta Boulé Annual Christmas Party, Dec 19, 1976, New Rochelle, New York 12 - Beta Theta Archon Lorenz Brant; New Archons—zip disk 12 - Nu Boulé's Heir's Dinner, January 1, 2002—floppy disk 12 - Alpha Iota Boulé 87 tmb Alpha Iota Captions—floppy disk 12 - Beta Eta, Delta Epsilon, Faces of Love OS.doc & Archousai Tribute—floppy disk 12 - Sire Archon Kenneth M. Hoyt (Nu Boulé)—floppy disk 12 - Nu Boulé Christmas Gala, 2001 14 - Iota Boulé Sponsor Recognition Event invitation, Fox Theatre, Detroit, MI, 2006 11 - Dr. Peyton Williams (Kappa Boulé) campaign brochure 14 - A Tribute to the Archousai of Sigma Boulé of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, 2001 14 - Best Practices, Alpha Xi Boulé, Baton Rouge, LA 14 - Gamma Zeta Boulé Foundation Annual Scholarship Luncheon: A Salute to

Education, 2007 14 - Gamma Omicron 23rd Annual Dr. Carter G Woodson Lecture Series Booklet

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14 - "Success With Creed": A Youth Leadership Development Program, Kappa Boulé, 2004-2005 14 - Beta Nu Boulé 16th Annual Recipients of the Youth Leadership Service Award, 2000 - 2001,

Administrative Records 11 - Boulé Foundation Annual Reports prior to 2000 and Brochures 14 - Boulé Foundation Brochure, 1986 11 - Various historical documents, 1985, 1989 14 - Birthday Party Invitation for Archon Willie Howard Clemons’s 65th Birthday, 2005 14 - Invitation to Grand Grammateus, Dr. Peyton Williams, Jr. (Kappa Boulé) to attend the Ground-breaking Ceremony of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monument, 2006 14 - Correspondence from National Urban League Campaign for African American Achievement to Calvin O. Pressley (Kappa Boulé), 1997 14 - Correspondence from Eddie N. Williams (Epsilon Boulé) on behalf of GSA Thomas Shropshire, 1999 14 - Correspondence Bobby R. Henderson, 1997 14 - Correspondence about the Henry Minton Awards, 1993 14 - Memo to the membership approving expenditure for the Minton Medallion, 1993 14 - Correspondence regarding Legacy awards, 1993 14 - The Economic Status of African Americans: A Background Paper for the Public Policy Committee Subcommittee on Economic Empowerment, 1999 14 - List of Grand officers, 1908 – 2004 14 - The Boulé, A Short History of SPP by Celeste Bedford-Walker. Performed by the Ensemble Theatre, Houston, TX 14 - Membership Directory, Grand Grammateus Memoirs & Questionnaire 14 - 1994 Membership report by Harvey C. Russell, 1993 14 - Membership awards Half & Quarter Century Members, July 1977 - July 1979 14 - Membership and Induction reports, 1996-2000 14 - Celebration of Life of Archousa Mary Dixon Teamer, Wife of Charles S. Teamer, 2004 14 - Newsletters from Grand Sire Archon Huel D. Perkins, 1993 14 - Memorial Program of Archon Clarence Harold Bolton, Beta Alpha Boulé, 2004 14 - SPP Fraternity Public Relations Handbook. , 1982 14 - Code of Regulations of SPP Foundation, INC 14 - Constitution and Bylaws, 1990 14 - Policies on Grand Boulé Guidelines, Regional Meeting Guidelines, 1994 – 1999 14 - Agreement by Sony Music and Delta Upsilon to fund the SPP Website, 1997 14 - Duties of Officers of member Boulés; SPP Grand Officers Organizational Chart

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14 - "Maryland, my Maryland" or "O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum"; Thoughts on the Boulé Song and Parting Hymn, 1996-1997 14 - Delta Sigma Boulé Inauguration and Dinner, Chicago, IL, 2002 14 - Boulé Foundation Brochure and Board of Trustees, 1996 14 - Seizing the Moment: The Leadership Role of SPP in the 21st Century 14 - Beta Tau Boulé presents 12th Annual Promising Scholars Golf Classic, 2014 14 - A-MAN, Inc., International Science Discovery & Learning Center 16th Anniversary Dinner 14 - History of the National Achievement Scholarship Program. Supported by the Boulé Foundation 14 - A Retrospective, Building For the future by Archon Harry G. Johnson, Central RSA, at the SPP Central Region Leadership Conference, 2001

10 Sigma Pi Phi records, 1926-2019 Manuscript Collection No. 1337 Series 4 Born digital materials, 1980-2019 Box 22, BD1, BD2, RRL

Scope and Content Note The Born digital materials series includes business and administrative records, photographs, and records related to the Boulé Journal, the offical publication for Sigma Pi Phi. Records date from 1980 to 2019. Files taken from 10 3.5" floppy disks, 82 optical discs, one Zip disk, five flash drives, and one file transfer.

Arrangement Note Arranged into four folders: (1) File transfers, (2) Flash drives, (3) Floppy and Zip disks, and (4) Optical discs.

Restrictions on Access Special restrictions apply: Access to processed born digital materials is only available in the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (the Rose Library). Use of the original digital media is restricted.

Processing Note Forensic disk images were created from the floppy disks using Kryoflux, and from the optical discs, Zip disk, and flash drives using GuyMager. Individual files were extracted using FTK Imager and scanned for viruses using McAfee’s anti-virus software; none were found. Duplicate and system files have been removed, and files were scanned for personally identifiable information; none were found. Text-based files were migrated to PDF using Adobe Acrobat and image files were migrated to JPG using Microsoft Paint and GIMP. File dates have been changed from the original creation date. Access copies retain original file names. Some folder names have been changed to reflect the label on the physical label, in cases where a descriptive folder title was not already available.

Box Folder Content RRL Access copies of processed born digital material [Reading room access ONLY] BD1 - Born digital material: 2 flash drives, 1 optical disc, 2010-2019 BD2 - Born digital material: 76 optical discs, 2 3.5" floppy disks, 1 flash drive, 1999-2018 - - Digital files, 2003-2016 BD1 - Digital files, 2016 [1] BD1 - Digital files, 2016 [2]

11 Sigma Pi Phi records, 1926-2019 Manuscript Collection No. 1337 Series 5 Unprocessed additions, 1985-2018 Boxes 34-49

Scope and Content Note Unprocessed material from the Sigma Pi Phi records additions, April 2018 and August 2019.

Box Folder Content 38 - 47th Grand Boulé photos from the Boulé Journal, 2004 36 - 47th Grand Boulé, 2004 37 - 47th Grand Boulé, 2004 36 - 47th, 48th, 50th Grand Boulé program brochures, 2010-2016 39 - 48th Grand Boulé documents; information technology and jeteractive plans, undated 44 - 49th Grand Boulé, 2008 42 - 49th Grand Boulé, undated 36 - 50th Grand Boulé registration forms; 50th Grand Boulé 25 and 50 year deceased Archons, undated 43 - 50th Grand Boulé, 2010 44 - 50th Grande Boulé; certificates for delegates, 2010 40 - 52nd Grand Boulé registration forms; 52nd Grand Boulé documents, 2014 48 - 53rd Grand Boule materials, 2016 48 - 53rd Grand Boule programs, 2016 48 - 54th Grand Boule materials, 2018 48 - 54th Grand Boule souvenir books, 2018 48 - Alpha Boule materials, 2015 34 - Beta Ne best practices guide, executive committee meeting minutes; Hurt Plaza lease, 1990-2012 48 - Beta Nu Complete Best Practices Guide, 2008 36 - Boulé Journal, 2015-2016 49 - Brochures, correspondence, reports, souvenir programs, 1986-2012 41 - Committee reports, 1993-2010 40 - Committee reports; event files; program files, 1993-2010 48 - Correspondence, event documentation, press releases, schedules, speeches, 1992-2012 49 - Delta Epsilon materials, 1996-1999 34 - Executive committee meeting books and transcripts; authorization and tax records for member boulés, 2000-2005 35 - Executive committee meeting books and transcripts; authorization and tax records for member boulés, 2000-2005 35 - Executive committee meetings, 2004-2005

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36 - Executive committee reports, 2015-2016 47 3 Father and Son at Market, 1991, unsigned prints by Jonathan Green, 2016 June 25-29 49 - Gamma Chi materials, 2005-2013 48 - Gamma Zeta materials, 2008-2016 42 - Grand Grammateus correspondence, miscellaneous correspondence, 1997-2008 36 - Guidelines; handbooks; manuals, 1992-2020 37 - Individual executive committee reports; member Boulé documents; policy and procedure documents; regional Boulé documents, undated 43 - Newsletters, reports, misc. regional correspondence, 2001-2017 34 - Program files, 1985-2007 39 - Sigma Pi Phi fraternity records, 2018 45 - Southeast Region Executive Committee files and reports, 2001-2015 46 - Southeast Region Executive Committee files and reports, 2001-2015 47 1 Southeast Region Executive Committee, 11th biennial meeting group picture, Augusta, GA, 2001 October 19-21 48 - Souvenir programs, various events, undated 47 1 Theta Boulé 100th anniversary newspapers, 2015 46 - Theta Boulé centennial materials, undated 47 2 Theta Boulé centennial, Commemorative Stamp, 2015 June 6 47 1 Theta Boulé centennial, Theta Boulé group photo 100th anniversary, 2015 49 - Various Boule materials, 1986-2013

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