Founders' Day Words from Our International Grand Polaris
September 19, 1963
1963 was marked by political assassinations and the murder of civil rights activists and children, what happened on the campus of Morgan State College on September 19, 1963 stands out in a very tumultuous year.
Morgan State College was well established for its role in the civil rights movement. In 1947 Morgan students descended on the state capitol in Annapolis to demand equal funding for the HBCU. The next year Morgan students joined protests that led to the desegregation of the historic Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC. In 1955, eight years before North Carolina A&T students staged a sit-in at the Greensboro Woolworth’s store, Morgan State students staged the first successful student sit-in at Read’s Drug Store in downtown Baltimore. Five years later Morgan State students picketed the segregated Northwood Shopping Center across from the college campus.
It was in this environment that Morgan State students Albert Hicks, Lonnie Spruill, Jr., Charles Briscoe, Frank Coakley, John Slade, Barron Willis, Webster Lewis, Charles Brown, Louis Hudnell, Charles Gregory, Elias Dorsey, Jr., and Michael Williams found common ground and established Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. These were no ordinary students. They were older students, seasoned young Black men, connected to the Baltimore community, some family men and veterans who understood the moment. Iota was an expression of the times, a fraternity that recognized the need for a mature representation of the civically engaged and community-oriented college male. Our Founders were not spectators or bystanders of the moment, they were part of the movement.
Today, we celebrate the 59th anniversary of this great Brotherhood. Let this be a day when we recommit ourselves, each one of us, to the 5 Stars and the unfinished business of our Founders. Iota Man, what are you doing to uplift the Brown and Gold? Are you stepping into your greatness and representing the best of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.? Are you committed to your fraternity? It takes a Man. Are you that Man?
Our best days are ahead of us and as Founder Spruill declared at the inauguration, it’s time to “get onboard!” As we prepare to convene for our 39th Biennial and 60th Anniversary Conclave next summer in Atlanta, we are kicking off the march to our Centennial celebration in 2063. Today, let’s honor our Founders and celebrate this great fraternity they founded on the steps of Hurt Gymnasium at Morgan State College.
Yours in the Fold,
Sean D. Housen, Sr.
23rd International Grand Polaris
Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.
“It takes a Man, be that Man”
#oneiota
1963 was marked by political assassinations and the murder of civil rights activists and children, what happened on the campus of Morgan State College on September 19, 1963 stands out in a very tumultuous year.
Morgan State College was well established for its role in the civil rights movement. In 1947 Morgan students descended on the state capitol in Annapolis to demand equal funding for the HBCU. The next year Morgan students joined protests that led to the desegregation of the historic Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC. In 1955, eight years before North Carolina A&T students staged a sit-in at the Greensboro Woolworth’s store, Morgan State students staged the first successful student sit-in at Read’s Drug Store in downtown Baltimore. Five years later Morgan State students picketed the segregated Northwood Shopping Center across from the college campus.
It was in this environment that Morgan State students Albert Hicks, Lonnie Spruill, Jr., Charles Briscoe, Frank Coakley, John Slade, Barron Willis, Webster Lewis, Charles Brown, Louis Hudnell, Charles Gregory, Elias Dorsey, Jr., and Michael Williams found common ground and established Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. These were no ordinary students. They were older students, seasoned young Black men, connected to the Baltimore community, some family men and veterans who understood the moment. Iota was an expression of the times, a fraternity that recognized the need for a mature representation of the civically engaged and community-oriented college male. Our Founders were not spectators or bystanders of the moment, they were part of the movement.
Today, we celebrate the 59th anniversary of this great Brotherhood. Let this be a day when we recommit ourselves, each one of us, to the 5 Stars and the unfinished business of our Founders. Iota Man, what are you doing to uplift the Brown and Gold? Are you stepping into your greatness and representing the best of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.? Are you committed to your fraternity? It takes a Man. Are you that Man?
Our best days are ahead of us and as Founder Spruill declared at the inauguration, it’s time to “get onboard!” As we prepare to convene for our 39th Biennial and 60th Anniversary Conclave next summer in Atlanta, we are kicking off the march to our Centennial celebration in 2063. Today, let’s honor our Founders and celebrate this great fraternity they founded on the steps of Hurt Gymnasium at Morgan State College.
Yours in the Fold,
Sean D. Housen, Sr.
23rd International Grand Polaris
Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.
“It takes a Man, be that Man”
#oneiota