Gregory, Willis, and Brown were all service veterans, and Brown, Hicks, and Briscoe were married with small children. Spruill, Coakley, Dorsey, and Gregory had known one another since grade school, and Spruill and Coakley's friendship extended to when the two were pre-schoolers.Įven more uniquely, many of these men were what are now referred to as "Non-Traditional Students" and were 3-5 years older than the average college student. First of all, many were long-time friends. This group of men was unique for several reasons. The Honorable Founders of Iota Phi Theta were: Albert Hicks, Lonnie Spruill, Jr., Charles Briscoe, Frank Coakley, John Slade, Barron Willis, Webster Lewis, Charles Brown, Louis Hudnell, Charles Gregory, Elias Dorsey, Jr., and Michael Williams. On September 19, 1963, at Morgan State College (now Morgan State University), 12 students founded what is now the nation's fifth largest, predominately African-American social service fraternity: The Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Incorporated. Three weeks later and less than 50 miles away, in Baltimore, Maryland, another group of men would make a different kind of history. deliver his historic "I Have a Dream" speech. On August 28th, 250,000 people participated in the historic "March on Washington" and heard Martin Luther King, Jr. On June 12th, Medger Evers, NAACP field secretary and civil rights leader, was assassinated at his home in Jackson, Mississippi by a segregationist. On April 12, America watched with horror and outrage as Birmingham Police Chief Eugene "Bull" Connor and his officers used water hoses and police dogs against peaceful civil rights demonstrators. History-making events occurred that would radically and permanently affect the country as a whole, and African-Americans in particular.
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