A Legacy of Scholarship, Service, Sisterly Love, and Finer Womanhood
As the Sorority moves beyond its centennial celebration, it retains its original zest for excellence.
It espouses the highest academic ideals and that has resulted in its members serving in groundbreaking roles in all fields of endeavor, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. is poised for perpertual service to mankind into her second century and beyond.
INTERNATIONAL MEMBERS
ACTIVE GLOBAL CHAPTERS
PEOPLE IMPACTED
Blazing New Trails
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. was founded January 16, 1920, at Howard University, Washington, D.C. The Klan was very active during this period and the Harlem Renaissance was acknowledged as the first important movement of Black artist and writers in the U.S. This same year the Volstead Act became effective heralding the start of Prohibition and Tennessee delivered the crucial 36th ratification for the final adoption of the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote. The worst and longest economic recession to hit the U.S. would define the end of the decade-The Great Depression.
It was within this environment that five coeds envisioned a sorority which would directly affect positive change, chart a course of action for the 1920s and beyond, raise consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achievement, and foster a greater sense of unity among its members. These women believed that sorority elitism and socializing overshadowed the real mission for progressive organizations and failed to address fully the societal mores, ills, prejudices, and poverty affecting humanity in general and the black community in particular.
Since its inception, Zeta has continued its steady climb into the national spotlight with programs designed to demonstrate concern for the human condition both nationally and internationally. The sorority takes pride in its continued participation in transforming communities through volunteer services from members and its auxiliaries. Zeta Phi Beta has chartered hundreds of chapters worldwide and has a membership of 100,000+.
The organization has been innovative in that it has chronicled a number of firsts. It was the first National Pan-Hellenic Council organization to centralize its operations in a national headquarters, first to charter a chapter in Africa, first to form auxiliary groups, and first to be constitutionally bound to a fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority also owes a debt of gratitude to our Sorority’s incorporators. From the beginning, Zeta members saw the necessity of ensuring the permanence of the organization. As such, Sorority members Myrtle Tyler, Gladys Warrington, Joanna Houston, Josephine F. Johnson and L.O. Goldia Smith first incorporated Zeta Phi Beta Sorority on March 30, 1923 in Washington D.C. In 1939, the Sorority was incorporated in the state of Illinois.
Zeta‘s national and local programs include the endowment of its National Educational Foundation community outreach services and support of multiple affiliate organizations. Zeta chapters and auxiliaries have given untotaled hours of voluntary service to educate the public, assist youth, provide scholarships, support organized charities, and promote legislation for social and civic change.
SISTERLY AND BROTHERLY LOVE
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Constitutional Bond unites us…
Zeta Phi Beta must acknowledge the encouragement and support provided to its members by the men of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated, especially Charles R.S. Taylor and A. Langston Taylor. From the Sorority’s inception, the members of Zeta Phi Beta and Phi Beta Sigma have collaborated on various community service projects, shared national, regional, state and local activities, and developed and enjoyed the bonds afforded a sisterhood and brotherhood with a shared purpose. No other two organizations can boast of such a rich, mutually beneficial relationship that has resulted in a complete and comprehensive record of service to our communities’ men, women, and children.
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