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Iota History

[caption id="attachment_281" align="alignleft" width="187" caption="Iota Boulé Sire Archon, John M. Barnwell"][/caption] In May of 1916 a group of men led by Benjamin Locke met in Detroit to discuss the possibility of establishing a local boulé of the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity. Locke, a teacher and resident of Detroit, was originally from Baltimore – Grand Sire Archon William McCard’s town. And it was at McCard’s suggestion that he organized and chaired these initial meetings right through to Iota’s chartering on March 23, 1918. Locke served as Iota’s first Sire Archon, and Cornelius L. Henderson, Sr., who had recorded the proceedings of the organizational meetings, later became Iota’s Grammateus, serving from 1928 to 1966. Iota has hosted two Grand Boulés: the first in August 1927; the second in August 1982. Social action has been a thrust from the beginning. Stemming from racial discrimination in hospital admissions in Detroit, one of Iota’s first projects was establishment of a Negro hospital. As reported in the Boulé Journal of September 1920, “The new Dunbar Memorial Hospital is a direct outgrowth of the endeavor of Iota Boulé. The idea was planted and grew behind the secret doors of Iota.” Today Iota is investing in the future of our community and country by providing leadership for our children.
Detroit Institute of Arts Names African American Gallery for Iota Boulé Archon Roy Roberts and Archousa Maureen Roberts
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