FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 18, 2023

39th Biennial Conclave of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.

A fraternity rooted in social justice is coming to Atlanta to celebrate its 60th Anniversary.

(Baltimore, MD) – Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. will convene for its 39th Biennial Conclave July 25 – 30 in Atlanta, Georgia. During this national convention, the fraternity will celebrate its 60th anniversary and honor the twelve founders of the organization. The host hotel is the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia, 4355 Ashford Dunwoody Road, NE.

Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. was established on September 19, 1963, on the campus of one of the nation’s premier historically Black colleges, Morgan State University (nee College). Founded just four days after the horrific bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama that claimed the lives of four little Black girls, Iota represented the enthusiasm of the burgeoning Black liberation movement. The fraternity’s founders were non-traditional students, older, military veterans, and family men coming of age on a college campus steeped in the civil rights movement. Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. expressed the 20th-century call for social change and community uplift. The organization’s founding aligns with that of other Black-youth movements of that era, including the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Black Panther Party, and the Freedom Summer Movement.

The conditions that existed in the United States in 1963 and that precipitated the founding of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. have resurfaced. The fraternity continues to be a voice for social justice, regularly engaging in voter education and registration efforts, and advocating for progressive policy in states and at the federal level.

Today, Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. has over 30,000 members in over three hundred undergraduate and graduate chapters in the United States and abroad. As the fraternity continues to expand, its members are committed to the organization’s motto ‘Building a tradition, not resting upon one.”

Notable Iotas include actor Terrence ‘TC’ Carson, featured actor on the television series Living Single, retired United States Congressman Bobby Rush (D-IL), our late Founder Webster Lewis, an accomplished composer and musician, television meteorologist Spencer Christian, NBA greats and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame members Calvin Murphy and Elvin ‘The Big E’ Hayes, Attorney and former White House policy advisor Ashley Bell, Anthony and Anton Downing, the hosts of the HGTV series Backyard Bar Wars, the Honorable Kenny Burgos, New York State Assemblyman, 85th District, and Bishop Talbert Swan, II, prelate of the Vermont Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ, Kansas State Representative, District 49, the Honorable Brad Boyd, and University of Massachusetts-Boston Chancellor Emeritus, Dr. J. Keith Motley.

The fraternity will arrive in Atlanta a modern manifestation of Black Greek-letter society, a multi-cultural and diverse organization that is the latest addition to the National Pan-Hellenic Council, effectively creating the ‘Divine 9.’ The 23rd International Grand Polaris, Dr. Sean D. Housen, Sr. notes, “The Iota of today builds upon the commitment and vision of our Founders in 1963 and continues to be a force for social change and uplift of communities in which we have chapters. We come to Atlanta ready to conduct the business of our fraternity and celebrate our 60th anniversary with our Brothers and friends in the Divine 9.”

In addition to fraternity business sessions, events during the Conclave will include an awards ceremony for our members in the Armed Forces, and a white coat gala honoring our Founders. The fraternity will also welcome civic leaders and guests from our National Pan-Hellenic Council peer organizations.

On Thursday, July 27 the fraternity will host a Public Meeting that will be open to the public and invited guests. During this session, the fraternity will welcome elected officials, receive presentations, and inform the public of the fraternity’s projects and programs. The Public Meeting will begin at 6 pm in the Ravinia ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter Hotel at Ravinia. The attire for the Public Meeting is business casual. There is no charge to attend the Public Meeting.

The fraternity’s political action committee, Brown and Gold PAC, is an official partner for the 60th Anniversary March on Washington on Saturday, August 26. During the Public Meeting, the fraternity will hear a special video message from Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, a sponsoring organization of the March.

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About the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)

Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. is a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, a body representing nine traditionally and culturally Black Greek-letter sororities and fraternities. These organizations are Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.

MEDIA CONTACT

Walter Fields, National Director of Communications
communicationsdirector@iotaphitheta.org
973 738-7876 – Direct
1600 N. Calvert Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
443 438-5691
www.iotaphitheta.org