103 Years of Uninterrupted Service!

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Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated was founded on January 16, 1920 on the campus of Howard University, Washington D.C. In Miner Hall, five illustrious women gathered together to form an organization that would have a positive impact on the community, 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 trailblazing women were strong, principled coeds who possessed a great deal of modesty, strength of character and pride in academic achievement. Together these women created an organization that thrives off the principles of Scholarship, Service, Sisterhood, and the Ideal of Finer Womanhood. Although Zeta Phi Beta holds the seventh place in the Divine 9 - nine historically black fraternities and sororities - Zeta prides itself on being the most inclusive of the organization.

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"There, a Zeta is a girl, regardless of race, creed, or color, who has high standards of principles, a good scholarly average, and an active interest in all things that she undertakes to accomplish. These are the qualities that make up all zetadom." - Triumphant Founder Viola Tyler Goings

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Sorority Founders

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Arizona Cleaver Stemons: Arizona Cleaver was the first president of the Alpha chapter 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. High school mathematics and English teacher, Founder Tyler was an active member of the 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 junior and senior high schools in Savannah, Georgia. She was credited with organizing two additional Zeta chapters and had active membership in Delta Alpha Zeta chapter.

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Programs & Firsts

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Since its inception, Zeta has continued its steady climb into the national spotlight with programs designed to demonstrate concern for the human condition both nationally and internationally.  Some of these philanthropies include Adopt-A-School, Z-HOPE, March of Dimes, and many more. The organization has also been innovative in that it has chronicled a number of firsts.  It was the first National Pan-Hellenic Council organization to centralize its operations in a national headquarters, the first to charter a chapter in Africa, the first to form auxiliary groups, and the FIRST and ONLY to be constitutionally bound to a fraternity - Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.  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+.

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"A Community-conscious, action-oriented organization."

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