Phi Beta Sigma
Native Tennessean Abram Langston Taylor, near this spot, 423 Beale Avenue, conceived the idea of establishing an international organization of college and professional men dedicated to "Culture for Service and Service For Humanity". On January 9, 1914 at Howard University, together with Leonard F. Morse and Charles I Brown, Taylor became the principal founder of the organization that he had envisioned.
In his own words, Taylor related: "One dull summer day in 1910, I paused for a while at Bumpus Beale Avenue Grocery to pick up the latest news from the Squash Center...In conversation with a young man recently graduated from Howard...he dwelt at length on the activities of Greek Letter fraternities there. His talk gave me an idea, and from that day, Phi Beta Sigma was in the making..."
Abram Langston Taylor
1890-1953
The principal Founder of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Upon completing his education at Howe Institute, Howard University and Frelinghuysen University, Taylor operated various insurance and investment companies. He served as the first International President of Phi Beta Sigma, and was primarily responsible for the conception, the early growth and the development of the organization dedicated to the principles of Brotherhood, Scholarship and Service. Taylor symbolizes the unbroken link with the past and the living beginning of the organization. His idea of the fraternity, envisioned in 1910 in Memphis, Tennessee, lives around the world today.
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