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OMEGA PSI PHI FRATERNITY, INC.
SIGMA ALPHA CHAPTER
Chartered 1939
On November 17, 1911, three Howard University
undergraduate students with the able assistance
of a young university professor organized the
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Liberal arts
students Edgar A. Love, Oscar J. Cooper, and
Frank Coleman were assisted by Professor Ernest
E. Just. Dr. Just was regarded as one of the
world’s most distinguished cytologists.
The name Omega Psi Phi was derived from the
initials of the Greek phrase meaning,
“friendship is essential to the soul.” This
phrase became the Fraternity’s motto. Manhood,
Scholarship, Perseverance, and Uplift were
adopted as its cardinal principles.
On March 13, 1939, fourteen young Miami
professional men, with ideals and attainments
similar to those of the Fraternity’s founders,
organized the Sigma Alpha Chapter of the Omega
Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. The Supreme Council led
by Grand Basileus Albert Dent had approved Sigma
Alpha’s Charter, along with two others on
February 13, 1939. The total number of chapters
in 1939 was one hundred eleven with a total
membership of slightly more than nine thousand.
Officers of the new Chapter were: A. B. Benson,
M.D. (physician), Basileus; G. W. Styles
(teacher), Vice Basileus; J. E. Hogan (teacher),
Keeper of Records and Seal; E. A. Ward
(pharmacist), Keeper of Finance; A. F. Crosby
(teacher), Keeper of Peace; and J. E. Scott
(administrator), Chaplin.
Brother Styles and Brother Hogan subsequently
earned medical degrees and returned to practice
medicine in the community for many years. The
other charter members were L. H. Portlock
(minister), L. E. Thomas (attorney), G. W.
Hawkins (dentist), C. D. Wyche (teacher), E. B.
Haley (teacher), E. R. Jones (teacher), C. H.
Carey (teacher), and H. E. Martin (teacher).
Once organized, Sigma Alpha Chapter endured the
normal growing pains of a new chapter. In 1950,
eleven years later, the Chapter hosted its first
Seventh District Meeting. One year later in
1951, Sigma Alpha hosted the 37th Grand
Conclave. Brother Hawkins was Chapter Basileus.
W. Pinkston served as Grand Marshal. Many of the
visiting brothers were housed at the new Lord
Calvert Hotel (Sir John). The Booker T.
Washington Junior/Senior High School served as
the headquarters. Grant Reynolds, a former
Miamian, was elected as the 21st Grand Basileus.
A boat cruise to Havana, Cuba, was one of the
highlights of the 1951 Grand Conclave.
Approximately forty Chapter members participated
in the 1951 Grand Conclave. After the Conclave,
there was a steady decline in membership. In
1958, with approximately one hundred brothers in
the area, only eight made an effort to keep the
Chapter alive. Chapter officers for that were:
Edward Braynon, Jr. (Basileus), John H. Davis
(Vice Basileus), Thomas Sanders (Keeper of
Records and Seal), and William B. Haley (Keeper
of Finance). After a couple of very hard years
and much Perseverance, the Chapter started to
rise again.
Chapter representation at District and National
meetings resumed. The Chapter was represented at
the historic 1961 Golden Anniversary Grand
Conclave (Washington, D.C.), by Basileus Edward
Braynon, Jr. This was the last time that
founders Edgar A. Love, Oscar J. Cooper, and
Frank Coleman would attend a Conclave together.
Brother Coleman, after an extended illness,
entered Omega Chapter in 1967. Brother Ernest
Just had entered Omega Chapter in 1941. Brothers
Oscar Cooper and Edgar Love entered Omega
Chapter in 1971 and 1974, respectively.
In 1963, Sigma Alpha hosted the Seventh District
Meeting for the second time. Chapter membership
had reached an all-time high. Approximately
fifty brothers were affiliated with the Chapter.
The Chapter made Seventh District history by
housing the complete meeting in a hotel for the
first time. Visiting brothers were quite
impressed with the new Hampton House Motel.
Edward Braynon was Chapter Basileus and U. G.
Horne served as District Marshal. The Chapter
entered the District Meeting in good financial
condition and emerged from the meeting in an
even better financial state.
Sigma Alpha’s success continued with the
election of Edward Braynon as Florida’s State
Representative in 1964. Brother Braynon served
until 1968. Brother U. G. Horne was also elected
as Florida’s State Representative in 1971 and
served until 1974.
In the 1970’s, Sigma Alpha’s representation at
District and National meetings moved beyond the
token stage. Eight Chapter members attended the
1971 Seventh District meeting in Jackson,
Mississippi. Edward Braynon by acclamation
became the first Floridian elected as Seventh
District Representative. Brother Braynon was
twice re-elected by acclamation. Six members of
the Chapter in attendance at the 1973 St. Louis
Grand Conclave helped elect Edward Braynon as
First Vice-Grand Basileus.
Sigma Alpha Chapter, still climbing, hosted the
Seventh District Meeting for the third time in
1976. Again, Sigma Alpha Chapter raised the
standards of housing. The Four Ambassadors Hotel
(Headquarters Hotel) has no rooms, only suites.
Visiting brothers were impressed because the
rates were comparable to regular room rates.
Herbert Day was Chapter Basileus and J. A.
Chico-Arenas served as District Marshal for yet
another successful Miami-hosted Seventh District
Meeting.
The 1976 Atlanta Grand Conclave was at that time
the largest Conclave in the history of the
Fraternity. A record number of thirty-two
members of Sigma Alpha attended the Conclave.
Most of the Brothers were accompanied by their
families. The Sigma Alpha Brothers, known as the
“Miami Mafia,” under the direction of U. G.
Horne, Herbert Day, and J. A. Chico-Arenas, had
waged a vigorous national election campaign. The
group went to Atlanta armed with little money,
plenty of strategy, and an over-abundance of
enthusiasm. Ready for any eventuality, the
Brothers found no opposition. Edward J. Braynon,
Jr. was elected by acclamation as the 29th Grand
Basileus of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Edward Braynon became the first Brother of the
Seventh District (the Fraternity’s largest) ever
elected to the Fraternity’s highest office.
Re-election at the 1977 New Orleans Conclave was
also by acclamation.
In 1977, Sigma Alpha Chapter continued to move.
Willie J. Wright was appointed as the
Fraternity’s third National Executive Secretary.
Also in 1977, Brother U. G. Horne became the
second member of the Chapter elected as Seventh
District Representative. Brother Astrid Mack was
elected to the office of District Keeper of
Records and Seal in 1977. Therefore, during the
year of 1977, Brothers of Sigma Alpha Chapter
simultaneously held offices of the Grand
Basileus, National Executive Secretary, Seventh
District Representative, and Seventh District
Keeper of Records and Seal. Never in the history
of the Fraternity has one chapter controlled so
many prestigious positions in Omega.
Sigma Alpha hosted its second Grand Conclave in
1982. The very successful Conclave was
headquartered at the Fontainebleau-Hilton Hotel,
Miami Beach, Florida. Brother Herbert Day was
Chapter Basileus. Brother U. G. Horne served as
Grand Marshal and also ran a very spirited but
unsuccessful election campaign for the office of
Grand Basileus. The election was won by Brother
L. Benjamin Livingston.
Chapter member Elmer Ward was presented to the
assembled Brothers of the 1982 Grand Conclave by
Immediate Past Grand Basileus Edward J. Braynon,
Jr. Brother Ward, initiated at Alpha Chapter
(Howard University) in 1914, had been a member
of the Fraternity longer than any other living
Brother. The Brothers responded with a standing
ovation.
In the late 1980’s, Brothers of Sigma Alpha were
still making major contributions to the
Fraternity. In 1986, Brother Edward Braynon
wrote A Summary of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity,
1911 – 1986. Since 1986, all perspective members
of the Fraternity, among other requirements,
must pass a written examination based on
information contained in the above-named
document. Also in 1986, Brother Astrid Mack
became the third Brother of Sigma Alpha elected
Seventh District Representative. Brother Mack
had earlier served four terms as District Keeper
of Records and Seal. He was twice re-elected as
District Representative. Brother Mack, like
Brothers U. G. Horne and E. Braynon, is a former
Basileus of Sigma Alpha Chapter. Brother U. G.
Horne continued to give leadership at the
National level just as he did at the Chapter and
District levels for three decades. Brothers A.
K. Mack and J. A. Chico-Arenas have also
remained involved at the Chapter, District, and
National levels. Other members of the Chapter
have also served as chairmen and members of
numerous State, District, and National
committees.
The list of Chapter members who have provided
leadership in the local community is much too
long to print in the limited space that is
available. However, mention must be made of the
following outstanding Brothers: Former Dade
County Commissioner, Former City of Miami
Commissioner, and NAACP Leader, Edward T.
Graham; Former City of Miami Commissioner and
NAACP Leader, Theodore Gibson; and City of Miami
Commissioner, Miller Dawkins kept the tradition
alive. Every Black male City of Miami
Commissioner has been a member of the Sigma
Alpha Chapter. Former City of Miami Manager,
Howard Gary, is also a member of Sigma Alpha
Chapter.
Brother Elmer Ward was a civil rights activist
for more than fifty years. Brothers Garth
Reeves, Sr., John O. Brown, M.D., and T. Willard
Fair have been very visible and vocal in the
civil rights arena for several decades. Brother
L. E. Thomas, in 1945, was appointed as the
first Black judge in the south since the
Reconstruction Era. Brothers Henry Arrington and
Harold Braynon were two of the earlier Black
judges. Brother Ralph Person is a Circuit Court
Judge. Brother Charles Felton served as the
Director of the Dade County Corrections and
Rehabilitation Department, while Brother T. S.
Greer was one of the highest-ranking Blacks in
the Dade Public School System.
Scholarship funding has been a very important
facet of the Chapter’s program for more than
forty years. Many of the students who were
assisted by the Chapter are now productive
community residents. The Chapter has contributed
hundreds of food baskets to needy families in
the community.
In the late 1980’s there was a sharp increase in
the number of Omega men in the area. Brother
Manson Brown (Keeper of Records and Seal, 1989)
helped to alleviate some of the problems by
computerizing the Chapter records. The next
major hurdle was finding a suitable meeting
place.
On November 24, 1991, after a very long and
difficult journey, the Omega Activity Center was
dedicated. The two-story 9,000 square foot
building is located immediately south of the
Florida Memorial College campus. The Omega
Activity Center serves as the Chapter’s meeting
place and is also very popular for weddings,
wedding receptions, banquets, luncheons,
political rallies, etc.
Along with some members of the local community,
many Brothers supported the building project
with funds and labor. A list of some of the key
Brothers would include: Edward T. Graham, Garth
Reeves, Sr., Miller Dawkins, McArthur Carter,
Bernard Kelly, Robert Thomas (Basileus), Elliot
Scavella (Project Director), Astrid Mack
(President, Sig-Al, Inc.), Sherwood Dubose,
Audley Coakley, Manson Brown, Charles Sargent,
U. G. Horne, and many others.
The Omega Activity Center stands as a
magnificent monument to all past and present
Omega men of the Miami Community.
In January, 1994, Charles D. Wyche, Jr., the
last living Chapter charter member, entered
Omega Chapter. Wyche was preceded in death by
charter members E. A. Ward (1991), L. E. Thomas
(1989), and J. E. Hogan (1989).
In 2004, Sigma Alpha and Omega Psi Phi lost a
little of its glimmer by the passing of Brothers
Richard Harris, Sr., Earl Higgs, Sr., and
Ulysses G. Horne into Omega Chapter.
Today, the Brothers of Sigma Alpha Chapter, one
of Omega’s premier chapters, continues to rise
to great heights. Following in the footsteps of
the brothers who have gone before him, Brother
Larry Handfield, Esquire is the Chairman of both
the Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County,
one of the largest and most comprehensive
medical facilities in the nation, and the City
of Miami Civilian Investigative Panel. In 2003,
the Chapter established The Omega Activity
Center Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit
corporation, to continue the tradition of
providing Uplift to the community through
scholarships and programs for at-risk youth. The
Chapter remains committed to giving back through
its Social Acton programs, from assisting the
battered women’s shelter during Valentines Day;
tutoring and providing guidance to young men
through the Lamp Lighter’s Program; donating
food baskets to families for Thanksgiving and
Christmas; and providing needed goods for the
victims of Hurricane Jeanne in Haiti, to name a
few.
As we march on into the 21st century – the
Brothers of Sigma Alpha, through its actions and
deeds, continues to illustrate the Fraternity’s
cardinal principles of Manhood, Scholarship,
Perseverance, and Uplift. Long live the Omega
Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and one of its shining
stars – the Sigma Alpha Chapter.
This brief history was written by Brother E. J.
Braynon, Jr., D.D.S., 30th Grand Basileus, and
is being updated by the brothers of Sigma Alpha
Chapter to ensure that our story continues to be
told.
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