The following are short descriptions of the groups and organizations which have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
Homestead Grays was one of the most successful of the professional Negro League baseball teams. They won ten Negro National League Titles (1937-1945, 1948) and three Negro League World Series Titles (1943-1944, 1948), where they played the champion of the Negro American League. The team was … Read MoreHomestead Grays (1912-1950)
Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. (Iota), the most recently formed black Greek-letter organization, was founded on September 19, 1963 on the campus of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. Established by twelve men who were active in the local civil rights movement, early Iota members … Read MoreIota Phi Theta Fraternity (1963)
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated, one of the five fraternities for African American men, was founded on November 17, 1911 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. It is the first African American fraternity established at a historically black college. The three founders—Edgar … Read MoreOmega Psi Phi Fraternity (1911- )
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. (Kappa), a predominantly African American Greek-letter fraternity, was founded on January 5, 1911 on the campus of Indiana University. It is the first black Greek-letter organization founded west of the Appalachian Mountains. The fraternity, originally called Kappa Alpha Nu, was … Read MoreKappa Alpha Psi Fraternity (1911- )
The Birmingham Black Barons was a professional baseball team active in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1960. They played their home games at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The team had its greatest success in the 1940s, winning three Negro National League pennants (1943, … Read MoreBirmingham Black Barons
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. (SGRho), one of the four college sororities for African American women, was founded by seven public school teachers at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 12, 1922. SGRho is thus the only Greek-letter organization founded by university graduates rather … Read MoreSigma Gamma Rho Sorority (1922- )
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (Sigma) was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C., on January 14, 1914, by three college students, A. Langston Taylor, Lenard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown on the principles of Brotherhood, Scholarship, and Service. The founders … Read MorePhi Beta Sigma Fraternity (1914- )
The New Negro Alliance (NNA) was a Washington, D.C. based organization founded in 1933 by mostly middle class blacks to use pickets, economic boycotts, and other direct action protests to promote civil rights. It sought to increase African American employment opportunities, especially in white collar … Read MoreThe New Negro Alliance (1933-1940s)
The National Medical Association (NMA) was founded in 1895 by African American physicians as an alternative to the white-only American Medical Association. It was created by twelve black doctors at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia. Robert F. Boyd was the organization’s … Read MoreNational Medical Association (1895- )
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (Delta), one of four college sororities for African American women, was founded on January 13, 1913, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. by 22 collegiate women. Delta is a nonprofit organization whose principles are Sisterhood, Leadership, and … Read MoreDelta Sigma Theta Sorority (1913- )
