State of Georgia

A brief history of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. in the state of Georgia

During the early years of the fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma established its presence in states south of Virginia and west of the Mississippi River. With the Beta chapter at Wiley College in Texas and the Delta Chapter in Kansas State University, the Zeta Chapter was chartered at Morris Brown College in Atlanta. Soon after its establishment, fellow Morris Brown brother Walter M. Clarke became the fourth national president of the fraternity, making him the only collegiate brother to hold the position. In 1924, the Lambda Sigma Chapter was created in Atlanta as the first alumni chapter in the Georgia. The Chi Chapter and the Psi Chapters were chartered at Morehouse and Clark (now Clark Atlanta) Colleges respectively.

The fraternity began to expand outside of the Atlanta area by establishing alumni chapters in Brunswick, Savannah, Fort Valley, Albany, Columbus and Athens. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) became the site of newly chartered chapters in the 1940's as Fort Valley State, Albany State, and Savannah State Colleges. In 1958, the inauguaral Georgia State Confeference was held in Fort Valley as means to address the needs of the chapters in the state. By the end of the 1960's, every major Georgia city and HBCU had a Sigma Chapter.

With the integration of Predominately White Institutions, there was a huge growth in the fraternity as chapters were created at these colleges and universities. With the establishment of the collegiate chapters, several alumni chapters were chartered as well. In thirty years, the number of chapters in Georgia had doubled.

The 21st century saw more growth in the fraternity. Chapters were being chartered suburban areas of Atlanta and other cities such as Rome and Dublin. Today there are more than 40 chapters throughout the state.

The state of Georgia have many well known brothers who have served as president of the fraternity. These brothers are:

Hon. Walter M. Clarke

4th International President

1921 - 1922

Hon. Richard A. Billings

10th International President

1941 - 1944

Hon. Ras O. Johnson

12th International President

1948 - 1950

Hon. George W. Hightower

14th International President

1954

Hon. Roswell O. Sutton

17th International President

1960 - 1962

Hon. William E. Stanley, Jr.

28th International President

1993 - 1995

There are brothers who have served as director of the Southern Region. They are:

The Distinguished Service Chapter is the highest individual honor a Phi Beta Sigma man can receive. Since 1929, the award has been given 186 brothers. The first brother from the state of Georgia to receive Distinguished Service Key is Cornelius V. Troup in 1930. In 2017, Michael W. Hines became the most recent Phi Beta Sigma man from Georgia to received the reward. Here are other brothers who have received the DSC key:

Hon. Dr. Cornelius V. Troup - DSC #4 - 1930
Hon. Dr. Richard A. Billings - DSC #11 - 1935
Hon. Dr. George L. Hightower - DSC #32 - 1948
Hon. Dr. Ras O. Johnson - DSC #37 - 1951
Hon. Roswell O. Sutton - DSC #51 - 1959
Hon. Charles W. Moore - DSC #84 - 1978
Hon. Clifford M. Ashmore - DSC #103 - 1991
Hon. Rev. Julius C. Simmons - DSC #111 - 1993
Hon. William E. Stanley, Jr. - DSC #121 - 1997
Hon. Dr. James L. Hill - DSC #130 - 1999
Hon. Joseph T. Bickers - DSC #136 - 2001
Hon. John M. Turner - DSC #164 - 2011
Hon. Michael W. Hines - DSC #184 - 2017

The Alain Leroy Locke Scholars chapter was established in 2009 to honor collegiate brothers who have maintained extremely high scholastic aptitude during their undergraduate matriculation. Since its creation two brothers from the state of Georgia have been inducted:

Cory Zeller - 2015
Bradley Jenkins - 2017
Thomas Bengtson - 2019

In 1981, The Outstanding Sigma of the Southern Region was created to honor brothers from the Southern Region who have done extraordinary work in the fraternity and their communities. Here is a list of brothers from the state of Georgia who have received the award:

Dr. L.D. “Doc” Bussey - 1981
Roswell O. Sutton - 1981
William Stanley - 1983
Clifford Ashmore - 1984
Dr. Henry Cook - 1985
Charles W. Moore - 1986
Hue Van Ball - 1988
W. C. Jackson, Jr. - 1990
Dr. James L. Hill - 1992
Robert L. Eason - 1993
Oris W. Bryant, Jr. - 1994
Rev. Julius C. Simmons, Sr. - 1995
Joseph Bickers - 1996
Viguel M. Scott - 1996
Darrell B. Reynolds - 1997
Nathaniel Donaldson - 1998
Isadore Hillman - 1999
Mozell Smith - 2000
James Walker - 2001
Hosea Williams - 2001
Charles S. Junior - 2002
James E. Smith - 2003
Richard L. Duncan - 2004
James Atkins - 2005
Dr. Michael W. Hines - 2006
John M. Turner, Jr, Esq. - 2007
Jerome P. Guy - 2008
Stan Stovall, Sr. - 2010
Terrance Houston - 2011
Ado Ellzey - 2012
Anthony Welch - 2013
Gregory L. Brown - 2015
Franklin Wright - 2016
Monaleto C. Irby - 2018
Kenneth C. Straughter - 2019
Moncello Stewart - 2021
Dr. Dale S. Burgess - 2022
Ricky Y. Moss - 2023
Dr. Stephen McDaniel - 2023