[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 198 (Wednesday, December 11, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1576]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE IOTA CHAPTER OF PHI BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY INCORPORATED 
                     ON THEIR 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. G.K. BUTTERFIELD

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 11, 2019

  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the 100th 
anniversary of the Iota Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, 
Incorporated. The Iota Chapter was chartered on December 11, 1919, on 
the historic campus of Shaw University, making it the first Greek-
lettered organization at Shaw, the ninth chapter in the history of Phi 
Beta Sigma, and the second chapter in North Carolina.
  The Iota Chapter was founded by Jesse W. Lewis, who eventually became 
the fraternity's seventh International President. Mr. Lewis wanted to 
organize a Greek-lettered fraternity on Shaw's campus that exemplified 
the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service and Phi Beta Sigma 
was a perfect fit. Sigma brothers to this day, hold deep convictions to 
use Phi Beta Sigma's ideals to better their communities.
  The Iota Chapter has produced many prominent alumni who have 
contributed enormously in the fields of medicine, speech pathology, 
education, and dentistry, including my father, Dr. G. K. Butterfield, 
Sr. who entered Shaw in September 1919 after fighting in World War One. 
On his 22nd birthday, February 9, 1922, he was initiated into the Iota 
Chapter. My father graduated from Shaw in 1922 and graduated from 
Meharry Medical College as a dentist in 1927. He returned to North 
Carolina, married my mother whom he met at Shaw, and moved to Wilson, 
North Carolina where he remained until he passed away at the age of 95. 
During his lifetime, my father was active in Phi Beta Sigma and became 
a well-respected civil rights leader in our hometown, and was even 
elected to the Wilson City Council in 1953 during the dark days of 
segregation.
  Shaw University was the first historically Black institution of 
higher education in North Carolina and is among the oldest historically 
black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the nation. In many ways, 
Shaw, with the help of the Iota Chapter, has been an institutional 
pioneer for civil rights. During the 1960's, Shaw and members of the 
Iota Chapter were leaders of numerous marches and demonstrations that 
took place on the streets of Raleigh and across North Carolina in the 
fight for civil rights and the end of segregation.
  Phi Beta Sigma has blossomed into an international organization of 
leaders. No longer a singular entity, members of the Fraternity have 
been instrumental in the establishment of the Phi Beta Sigma National 
Foundation, the Phi Beta Sigma Federal Credit Union, and the 
Fraternity's sister organization, the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, which was 
founded in 1920.
  Madam Speaker, to this day, the Iota Chapter continues to be a vital 
chapter of Phi Beta Sigma and a leading role model for community 
service in North Carolina. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
celebrating the Iota Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma on its centennial.

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