Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. · Chicago's Premier Alumni Chapter

Culture for Service. Service for Humanity.

Upsilon Sigma is Chicago's premier alumni chapter of Phi Beta Sigma. Chartered in 1927 and rooted at the Sigma House on King Drive, we are brothers who show up for the South Side, for young men, and for each other.

Interested in Sigma What we do

1927Chartered

ΦΒΣGreat Lakes Region

4941S. King Drive

Chartered September 11, 1927 Mother chapter of the Great Lakes Region The Sigma House · 4941 S. King Drive Brotherhood · Scholarship · Service Founded at Howard University, 1914 Chartered September 11, 1927 Mother chapter of the Great Lakes Region The Sigma House · 4941 S. King Drive Brotherhood · Scholarship · Service Founded at Howard University, 1914

1914Phi Beta Sigma founded at Howard University

1927Upsilon Sigma chartered in Chicago by nine brothers

1949Brothers purchase the Sigma House on King Drive

61+Chapters chartered or reclaimed across the region, 1974–80

150KCollege-educated men in the fraternity worldwide

Watch

A century of Sigma in three and a half minutes.

The story of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.: three students at Howard University in 1914, the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service, and the Sigma men who went on to shape history around the world.

3 min 41 secSound on

The history of Phi Beta Sigma

What we do

Four programs. One South Side.

All programs

Young men in white shirts and blue ties standing in formation

Youth mentoring · Ages 8–18

Sigma Beta Club

The first youth auxiliary of any Greek-letter organization, founded in 1954. Our Chicago club develops young men through culture, athletics, social growth, and education, and walks with them toward college and the workforce.

1954Founded

8–18Ages served

Sat.Monthly sessions

Enroll a young man

Two men shaking hands at a business meeting

Bigger & Better Business

Entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and the Black business spotlight, on the South Side and beyond.

Education

Scholarships, tutoring, and college readiness that close the gap for Chicago students.

Brothers marching with a sign reading When We Vote, We Win

Social Action

Voter engagement, health awareness, and direct service where the community needs it most.

Black Spend · Bigger & Better Business

Every dollar we spend Black builds the South Side.

Black Spend is Upsilon Sigma's collective-economics initiative. Brothers log what they spend with Black-owned businesses in the chapter app, from the barber to the accountant to the caterer for the Carnation Ball. Together those receipts show what one chapter's buying power can do.

The chapter's goal is $250,000. After passing the first $100,000 goal in 2026, the brothers raised the bar.

Brothers: log your spend Bigger & Better Business

Spent with Black-owned businesses$239,904

96%of goal

Goal $250,000

—Black-owned businesses

—Purchases logged

—Spent in 2026

Live from the chapter app. Totals only; no individual purchases are shown.

The Sigma House

A home of our own since 1949.

The chapter first met in a funeral establishment on South Indiana. In 1949 the brothers organized a fundraising drive and bought the Sigma House outright. More than 75 years later it is still where Upsilon Sigma meets, mentors, plans, and hosts the city.

From here Upsilon Sigma became the mother chapter of the Great Lakes Region. Under Regional Directors Chester Riley and Clarence Johnson (1974–1980), more than 61 chapters were chartered or reclaimed across the region.

Visit the Sigma House 4941 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, Chicago, IL 60615 (312) 254-9914 · (312) 544-9347

Read the full history

On the calendar