About Gamma Eta Sigma
The Gamma Eta Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. was chartered in November of 1936. Prominent members of the chapter that were known in the city of Tampa included:
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Bro. T. N. Hill, educator and past State Director, one of the brothers responsible for the chartering of the collegiate chapter at the University of South Florida (Zeta Xi chapter)
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Bro. Dr. Caleb Wright, prominent dentist
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Bro. Linnell DuPree, owner of the DuPree Press-printing company
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Bro. Clifford Brady, City of Tampa Employee
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Bro. George Dennis
The chapter has been involved with the various community conscious organizations, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban League. Also, the chapter was responsible for the chartering of the two collegiate chapters at the University of Tampa (Alpha Beta Gamma) and the University of South Florida (Zeta Xi). Annual chapter projects include the Community Easter Egg Hunt, Thanksgiving Food Drive, Christmas Toy Drive, Bigger & Better Business Reception and the Blue Tie Affair.
Gamma Eta Sigma Chapter was voted “International Alumni Chapter of the Year”-Level 1 Chapter in 2009 and we have won numerous awards on the State, Regional and International levels. Our chapter has a great deal of diversity, from brothers just starting their post-collegiate careers to senior members who continue to give guidance and support. Several of our brothers have served as State and Regional Officers, showing that our leadership goes beyond our local chapter level.
We celebrate 107 years as a fraternity in 2021 and 85 years as a chapter in 2021. Gamma Eta Sigma will continue to uphold the principles of Brotherhood, Scholarship and Service.
Early Beginnings
Tampa, FL
1914
The year 1914 was a year that changed the lives of Americans. It was the year of the first scheduled airline flight. That flight took place from St. Petersburg-Tampa. It was the year of the first Mother’s Day. One hundred years ago, an average house costs $6,156, and to buy a car folks had to spend on $550. That was just $27 shy of the average yearly wage of $557.
The year also brought about a major movement for hundreds of thousands of African-American men…it was the year Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity (Sigma) was founded. On January 9, 1914 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC, three courageous men forged new ground to form the fraternity. On January 9, 2014, the men of Phi Beta Sigma celebrated 100 years of service. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown established the fraternity on the principals of Brotherhood, Scholarship, and Service.
A century later, the hope the founders, to be an organization that is “a part of” rather than “apart from” the community, lives on. The organization has evolved into a historical institution of more 150,000 college-educated men operating more than 650 chapters worldwide.
GAMMA ETA SIGMA IS CHARTERED
May 4, 1936
One of those chapters is here in the Tampa Bay area. The Gamma Eta Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. was chartered on May 4th 1936. Prominent members of the chapter that were known in the City of Tampa included: Bro. T.N. Hill, educator and past State Director, one of the brothers responsible for the chartering of the collegiate chapter at the University of South Florida, Bro. Dr. Caleb Wright, prominent dentist, Bro. Linnell DuPree, owner of the DuPree Press Printing Company, Bro. Clifford Brady, City of Tampa Employee and Bro. George Dennis. The chapter has been involved with the NAACP, National Urban League and Voters Registration Drives. Also, the chapter was responsible for the chartering of the collegiate chapter at the University of Tampa.
Tampa TrailBlazer Sigmas
TrailBlazers
Trailblazer men of Sigma Tampa Alumni Chapter are Bro. Howard W. Blake-Blake High School (One of the Charter members of the Gamma Eta Sigma Chapter-1946); Bro. Dr. Sam Horton-Horton Stadium at Jefferson High School and the Instructional Services Building on 40th Street (first black Director of Secondary Education for Hillsborough County School Board, Principal of Jefferson High); Bro. Rev. Jimmie Keel-Jimmie Keel Regional Library Branch (Former Hillsborough County Assistant Administrator).
Howard W. Blake
Brother Howard W. Blake was born in Tampa, Florida. The only child of Mr. Brown Wesley Blake and Mrs. Pearl Miles Blake, he attended elementary schools in Manatee County where his father was a merchant farmer. He began his high school education at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College, now known as Florida A&M University (FAMU) High. An athletic scholarship at Claflin University enabled him to complete both high school and college. He received his Masters Degree in Education at Atlanta University.
His outstanding career as a college athlete and high school coach became the basis of his deep belief that good sportsmanship and teamwork were significant in the development of young people for effective citizenship. He began his teaching career as a coach at Stevens High School in the quaint town of Quincy, Florida. He was one of the original organizers of the Florida High School Athletic Association. Mr. Blake often referred with great pride to many of the health and physical education teachers in the state whom he had the pleasure of teaching as youngsters.
He came to the Hillsborough County School System as Principal of Booker T. Washington High School – where he served for twenty-one years. In November 1953, he received a citation from his associate principals for twenty years of outstanding service to the schools of Hillsborough County.
In addition to his professional affiliations, Howard W. Blake was active in civic, business and community affairs. He was a faithful member of Tyer Temple Methodist Church. His Fraternal membership included the President of the Gamma Eta Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Prince Hall Affiliated Masons as member of Jerusalem Lodge # 100, Prince Hall Affiliated Shriners as a member of Harram Temple #23 A.E.A.O.N.M.S. , and Bay City Elks Lodge.
Howard W. Blake was ever aware of his responsibilities and duties to the constructive growth of his community. He continuously maintained an abiding faith in the youth of Tampa and gave them his very best in faithful and conscientious service. His entire life was geared toward guiding them to their optimal educational and vocational potential. The sincerity of all his efforts was reflected in the quite unassuming manner in which he worked with people.
His Memory has been preserved by the citizens of Tampa and the Hillsborough County School Board by re-erecting a High School in his name sake, The Howard W. Blake Senior High School.
Rev. Dr. A. Leon Lowry
Brother Rev. Dr. A Leon Lowry was a preacher, educator and civil rights leader A. Leon Lowry, who once taught the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and led the desegregation of public facilities in Tampa, FL. Lowry’s association with the civil rights movement dated to the 1940s, when he taught theology at Morehouse College and King was one of his students. In the 1960s, Lowry led peaceful protests at Tampa lunch counters and helped found the city’s first biracial bank.
He became president of the Florida chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, and in 1976 was the first African American elected to the Hillsborough County school board, on which he served for 16 years. The Florida Bar awarded him a medal of honor for easing racial tensions and promoting social justice.
A. Leon Lowry Elementary School opened in August of 1992. The school is named in honor of Reverend Dr. A. Leon Lowry, Sr., a gentleman who distinguished himself in the Hillsborough County community, in the state of Florida, and across the nation. His courage and statesmanship, his life’s service to mankind, and his dedication and efforts on behalf of children and education made him a giant in our midst. Dr. Lowry retired from the School Board of Hillsborough County where he served as Chairman of the Board at the request of his fellow Board members. He was also retired as pastor of the Beulah Baptist Church of Tampa, Florida.
Brother Rev. Dr. A Leon Lowry’s involvement in numerous community affairs, his active participation in Gamma Eta Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, and his tireless search for excellence are all standards by which his commitment to the community of Tampa can be measured.
Dr. Sam Horton
Brother Dr. Sam Horton was a direct descendent of a founding family of Bealsville, founded by a dozen freed slave families after the Civil War. He devoted free time to Gamma Eta Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Beulah Baptist Church and Guardsmen. Bro. Horton was influential voice for the integration of schools and racial equality. Horton had been a longtime educator in the Hillsborough County School District and was past president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. School district officials honored his contributions by naming the stadium after him at Jefferson High School.
Horton graduated from what was then Florida A&M College and later got a doctorate from Nova Southeastern. Horton returned to teach in Hillsborough County. He was principal of Marshall as it became one of the first to integrate. He later became principal of Jefferson High School and was the first black general director of secondary education. The Jefferson High School football stadium has been named in his honor.
Horton was instrumental to recommendations of establishing The Crescent Foundation, Inc. to support the Gamma Eta Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity youth group called the Sigma Beta Club for the ages of 13 to 18 in March of 2006. He spent much of his later years opposing education policies he thought would lead to more segregated schools. “I have a principle to stand on,” Horton said in a 2006 Tampa Tribune article. “I’m an integrationist.” U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa recognized Horton in Congress this February during Black History Month. “Dr. Horton was truly a legend in our community,” she said in a statement today. “It is a sad day, but Sam led a wonderful life of leadership. He will be remembered as one of Tampa’s – and one of Florida’s – most remarkable citizens.”
Rev. Jimmie B. Keel
Brother Rev. Jimmie B. Keel was a dedicated member of the Gamma Eta Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and was the Assistant Hillsborough County Administrator, who retired in 2000 after 35 years of service. Bro. Keel began with the Hospital and Welfare Board in 1965. In 1980 he was appointed Director of the Public Assistance Department. In 1991, he was named Assistant County Administrator. His responsibilities included overseeing Library Services. He is one of the founders of the Martin Luther King Memorial Scholarship Fund. He is widely recognized for the passionate and caring leadership he shared with his colleagues, staff, and citizens of Hillsborough County.
In October 1979, the Bishop of the A.M.E. church sent Rev. Jimmie Keel to Mt. Olive A.M.E. Church in Clearwater, FL. Leonard F. Morse one of the Founders of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity as served in the capacity Pastor at this historic A.M.E. church. On February 3, 2000, Mt. Olive A.M.E. Church was among 1,298 sites to be listed in Florida as having received the National Historic Designation. The church had been active for 106 years in the year of the celebration. After 25 years of dedicated service, Pastor Jimmie Keel announced his retirement from Mt. Olive A.M.E. Church.