About Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. was founded January 16, 1920, at Howard University, Washington,D.C. Five coeds envisioned a sorority which would directly affect positive change, chart a course of action for the 1920s and beyond, raise consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achievement, and foster a greater sense of unity among its members. These women believed that sorority elitism and socializing overshadowed the real mission for progressive organizations and failed to address fully the societal mores, ills, prejudices, and poverty affecting humanity in general and the black community in particular.
These five women, also known as our Five Pearls, dared to depart from the traditional coalitions for black women and sought to establish a new organization predicated on the precepts of Scholarship, Service, Sisterly love, and Finer Womanhood. It was the ideal of the Founders that the Sorority would reach college women in all parts of the country who were sorority-minded and desired to follow the founding principles of the organization.
The sorority takes pride in its continued participation in transforming communities through volunteer services from members and its auxiliaries. Zeta Phi Beta has chartered hundreds of chapters worldwide and has a membership of 100,000+.
As the sorority moves forward over 100 years strong, it retains its original zest for excellence. It espouses the highest academic ideals and that has resulted in its members serving in groundbreaking roles in all fields of endeavor. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. is poised for perpetual service to mankind into her second century and beyond.
For additional information about Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. please see the National website
For additional information about the history of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. please see the
National website
The Five Pearls: Our Founders
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority would be remiss not to pay homage to the first women who believed in the need for a new and different type of Greek-lettered organization and acted upon that need. To these women, Zeta was more than an organization-it was a movement, a belief system that reflected, at its core, the desire to provide true Service, to embrace Scholarship, to set a standard for Sisterly Love and to define the noble concept of Finer Womanhood. This belief has sustained and encouraged Zetas around the world to hold fast to the ideals initiated and developed by its earliest members.
The Founders of Zeta were strong, principled coeds who possessed a great deal of modesty, strength of character, and pride in academic achievement. They are indeed a worthy foundation upon which to base our illustrious Sorority.
Arizona Cleaver Stemons: Arizona Cleaver was the first president of the Alpha chapter at Howard University and the first national president of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. She completed her graduate and post-graduate studies in the field of social work and was responsible for chartering numerous undergraduate and graduate chapters throughout the United States.
Pearl Anna Neal: After graduating from Howard University’s Conservatory of Music, Founder Neal continued her studies at the Julliard School of Music. In 1938, she was the first black woman in New York to earn a master’s degree in music from Columbia University. An extremely accomplished musician, Founder Neal taught music in North Carolina public
schools and served as a director of seniors majoring in music at Teachers College in Winston Salem, NC.Myrtle Tyler Faithful: Myrtle Tyler was the second national president of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and blood sister to Viola Tyler. A high school mathematics and English teacher, Founder Tyler was an active member of Alpha Zeta chapter in Baltimore, Maryland.
Viola Tyler Goings: Viola Tyler graduated from Howard University with a teaching degree and a major in math. She taught school in Ohio for many years and was always very active in community affairs.
Fannie Pettie Watts: Fannie Pettie graduated from Howard with a Bachelor of Arts degree in education and taught both junior and senior high school programs in Savannah, Georgia. She was credited with organizing two additional Zeta chapters and had active membership in the Delta Alpha Zeta chapter.
Zeta Auxiliaries
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. has a longstanding tradition of auxiliary organizations. In 1940, graduate chapters began to recognize women in the community who shared the sorority's values and ideals. However, many of these women were unable to attend college and therefore did not meet the eligibility requirements for sorority membership. To address this issue, Zeta Phi Beta established several successful auxiliary groups, including the following:
Pearlettes
In July 1994, Zeta Phi Beta
Sorority, Inc. officially adopted the Pearlettes as a national youth affiliate. The Pearlettes are girls aged four (4) to eight (8) willing to strive for the ideals of Scholarship, Service, Sisterhood, and Finer Womanhood.
Amicettes
They were officially adopted as the second official youth organization of the Sorority in 1970. The Amicettes are girls nine (9) to thirteen (13) years old elementary & middle school girls through hands-on participation in self-improvement activities and service projects.
Archonettes
They were the first organized
youth club sponsored by Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. in 1968. The Archonettes support the cultural, social, leadership, and educational growth of a talented group of fourteen (14) to eighteen (18) year-old high school girls.
Zeta Amicae
Amicae are women who believe in and support the ideals of Zeta but have not attended college. The Amicae auxiliary provides an opportunity for professional women to be affiliated with Zeta and assist the sorority nationally and internationally.
Zeta Male Network
The Zeta Male Network is open to men in the lives of members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Whether they are spouses, friends, family, or colleagues, these men
have committed to help support the efforts of the Sorority’s programs and service projects.