The Eta Beta chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. celebrated its 50th year on the University of Mississippi campus on Sunday at 2 p.m. The celebration included a series of events centered around community, legacy and scholarship. A banquet was held on Sunday afternoon in the Student Union Ballroom honoring the brothers of the Eta Beta chapter.
The chapter was chartered by Joe Brown, Everett Brown, Michael Watts and Jerry Everson in 1975 at the university. The Eta Beta chapter of Phi Beta Sigma was the second Black fraternity to charter at the university and the first to have an on-campus fraternity house.
Gary Wilson, Eta Beta alumni and lead coordinator of the anniversary celebration, spoke about the chapter’s founders.
“They set the foundation for us to have a great legacy and story to tell,” Wilson said. “Through these 50 years, we have done just that. We have made a story that today can be told through the lens and through the voices of all the guys that have come through the chapter.”
The weekend started with a mental health table in the Gertrude C. Ford Student Union on Friday as part of their community service initiative. On Saturday morning, Phi Beta Sigma had their Brotherhood Meeting, allowing current undergraduate members and their alumni brothers a chance to network with one another. The chapter also held their annual Blue and White Picnic, which they shared with the Tau Eta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta, on the afternoon leading up to the National Pan Hellenic Council Spring 2025 New Member Presentation.
Reaching this monumental moment in the chapter’s trajectory gave new and old members a chance to honor those who paved the way for them at this university.
“We want to celebrate this moment. This is our time,” Wilson said. “You can only celebrate 50 years one time, and so we just want to take advantage of that but also remind this campus that we are here and we will continue to be here and serve this campus.”
Wilson felt honored to be able to celebrate the history and past of the organization.
“My grandfather, four uncles and a cousin all crossed at this chapter,” Wilson said. “I’m blessed to be able to say that and fortunate to have something to connect to through the family members that have gone to college ahead of me.”
Seneca Crump, a spring 2014 initiate, concurred with Wilson on the beauty of the anniversary celebration and being intentional about continuing to give back.
“Witnessing this weekend and witnessing this celebration has been very emotional and very joyful to see how we are actually building those bridges across the generations over 50 years and bringing everybody back here for the weekend,” Crump said.
Crump continued explaining the importance of returning to the university and guiding his younger fraternity brothers.
“I joined the chapter at a time when the chapter was rebuilding and getting back on the yard,” Crump said. “We went from about seven members during that time to when I graduated, we had thirty one members in the chapter. When we came back with the fall 2024 initiates who are doing the same thing, we made sure to embrace these young men.”
The chapter had paused initiation of new members, and this was the first initiation since 2020.
“We understand the adversities of what it means to bring a chapter back after being on a pause, and we understand the resources that go into that,” Crump said. “Our young men have been working with us to plan this week so this gave us a good opportunity to learn more about them and they go to learn more about us.”
The impact of the chapter on its younger members was quite obvious and palpable on Sunday. Traylan Williams, a junior law studies major from Cleveland, Miss. and a fall 2024 initiate, expressed his gratitude for the organization.
“I feel like I’m the luckiest person in the world,” Williams said. “Coming back on campus at a time like this where we’ve learned about all of these people and now we get to meet them face to face allows us to rebrand.”
