Title
Honoring the Founding of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Inc. on the occasion of its 120th Anniversary.
Body
WHEREAS, The Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity was founded in Philadelphia on May 15, 1904, at 508 South 10th Street, the home of Dr. Edwin C.J. Turpin Howard; and
WHEREAS, Sigma Pi Phi, a fraternity of college graduates and professional Black men, was born at the dawn of the 20th century during a time when intellectual and social interaction for men of color in their professional endeavors were closed or limited by virtue of race; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Henry McKee Minton, a pharmacist and later a physician, recognized and foresaw the need for African American men of distinction to interact with one another and become members of a close fraternal union for their mutual benefit and to enhance their underserved communities; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Minton was a pharmacist at Douglas Hospital, Philadelphia's first Black hospital, and later, after receiving his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson College of Medicine, was a co-founder of Mercy Hospital, the second Black hospital in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, These two medical institutions were beacons of hope that attracted Black professionals to Philadelphia for generations; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Minton (1870-1946) convened the first Boul? meeting of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity with Dr. Edwin C.J. Turpin Howard (1846-1912), the first African American graduate of Harvard Medical School, who practiced medicine and hosted the meeting in his home; Dr. Algernon B. Jackson (1878-1942), Chief Surgeon at Mercy Hospital; and Dr. Richard J. Warrick (1880-1957), a dentist and fellow Mercy co-founder; and
WHEREAS, Two weeks later, they would be joined by Dr. Eugene T. Hinson (1873-1960), a graduate of the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania who had joined the staff of Douglas Hospital, and Dr. Robert J. Abele (1875-1929), a graduate of Hahnemann Medical College and co-founder of Mercy Hospital; and
WHEREAS, All six founders lived i...
Click here for full text