🎙️'TELL IT LIKE IT IS' Black History Series: Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity—The Boulé and the Quiet Architecture of Black Leadership

Founded in 1904, the nation’s oldest Black Greek-letter fraternity has shaped American civic, intellectual, and political life through deliberate leadership and global influence

Founded on May 15, 1904, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, known as The Boulé, stands as the oldest continuously existing Black Greek-letter fraternity in the United States—and among the most influential yet deliberately private institutions in American history. Created by and for eminent Black professional men at a time when racial barriers sharply limited opportunity, the fraternity has spent more than a century shaping leadership across law, medicine, education, politics, science, and the arts.

The fraternity’s name draws from ancient Greece, where a boulé referred to a council of chiefs. That concept—measured counsel, collective responsibility, and strategic leadership—defined the organization from its inception. Its six founders, all medical and health professionals or students in Philadelphia, envisioned a fraternity that would strengthen professional bonds while uplifting underserved Black communities through service, advocacy, and institutional excellence.

From the outset, Sigma Pi Phi emphasized quality over quantity. Membership was never intended to be broad or indiscriminate. Instead, it has remained selective, extended to accomplished men with proven records of professional achievement and demonstrated commitment to the advancement of Black communities. That philosophy has guided the fraternity’s growth from six founding members in Philadelphia to more than 5,000 active members affiliated with 139 local boulés across the United States, the Bahamas, and the United Kingdom.

🎙️ TELL IT LIKE IT IS Black History Series: Fred Hampton, the 21-Year-Old Revolutionary Whose Vision Still Shapes America

Charismatic Illinois Black Panther leader built multiracial coalitions, challenged institutional power, and became a symbol of state violence and unfinished justice

Fred Hampton, the deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, remains one of the most consequential—and contested—figures of the American civil rights and Black liberation movements. Killed by police at just 21 years old during a predawn raid in Chicago, Hampton’s short life left a long shadow over U.S. politics, law enforcement accountability, and the debate over dissent and state power.

Born August 30, 1948, and raised in Maywood, Illinois, Hampton emerged early as a gifted leader. He excelled academically and athletically in high school before enrolling in a pre-law program at Triton Junior College. At the same time, he joined the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, where his organizing talent quickly propelled him to president of the NAACP Youth Council. There, Hampton mobilized hundreds of racially diverse young people to pressure city officials for improved educational resources and recreational facilities for Black children—an early indication of the coalition-building that would define his politics.

In 1968, Hampton joined the Black Panther Party and soon became head of its Chicago chapter. Drawing on his NAACP experience, he helped transform the organization into a disciplined, community-focused political force. Hampton’s most enduring contribution was the creation of the “Rainbow Coalition,” an alliance that brought together the Panthers, Students for a Democratic Society, the Young Lords, and even local street organizations—an unprecedented multiracial, cross-class effort aimed at addressing poverty, police brutality, and political exclusion.