{"id":415,"date":"2026-05-22T03:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T03:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ireishprint.com\/blog\/zeta-phi-beta-sorority-complete-guide-history-traditions-culture\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T08:51:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:51:40","slug":"zeta-phi-beta-sorority-complete-guide-history-traditions-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ireishprint.com\/blog\/zeta-phi-beta-sorority-complete-guide-history-traditions-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Zeta Phi Beta Sorority: A Complete Guide to History, Traditions, and Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Zeta<\/figure>\n

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated turned 106 in January 2026, and the organization is still defined by a single idea its founders pushed against in 1920. Sorority life had become elitist and socially driven on Howard’s campus, and five coeds wanted a different model, one rooted in service, scholarship, sisterly love, and what they called Finer Womanhood.<\/p>\n

This guide walks through where Zeta started, who the Five Pearls were, the four principles that anchor every chapter, the symbols members carry for life, and the firsts that made Zeta a structural innovator in Black Greek life.<\/p>\n

Founded by Five Women at Howard University in 1920<\/h2>\n

Five coeds chartered Zeta Phi Beta on January 16, 1920 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. The country was in a tense political moment. The Klan was active. Lynchings were common. The Harlem Renaissance was just beginning, and Tennessee had only that summer delivered the 36th and decisive ratification of the 19th Amendment, giving all American women the right to vote.<\/p>\n

Inside that environment the founders believed sorority elitism and socializing had overshadowed the real mission of progressive organizations and failed to address the societal mores, ills, prejudices, and poverty affecting humanity in general and the Black community in particular. They envisioned a sorority that would directly affect positive change, chart a course of action for the 1920s and beyond, raise people’s consciousness, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achievement, and foster a greater sense of unity among its members.<\/p>\n

Meet the Five Pearls<\/h2>\n
\"Zeta
Honoring the Five Pearls who founded Zeta Phi Beta in 1920.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Arizona Cleaver Stemons.<\/strong> First president of the Alpha Chapter and the first national president. She completed graduate and post-graduate studies in social work and was responsible for chartering numerous undergraduate and graduate chapters across the United States.<\/p>\n

Pearl Anna Neal.<\/strong> Graduated from Howard University’s Conservatory of Music and continued her studies at the Juilliard School of Music. In 1938 she became the first Black woman in New York to earn a master’s degree in music from Columbia University, and she taught music in North Carolina public schools.<\/p>\n

Myrtle Tyler Faithful.<\/strong> Second national president of Zeta Phi Beta. A high school mathematics and English teacher, and an active member of the Alpha Zeta Chapter in Baltimore, Maryland. Blood sister to Viola Tyler.<\/p>\n

Viola Tyler Goings.<\/strong> Graduated from Howard University with a teaching degree and a major in mathematics. She taught school in Ohio for many years and remained active in community affairs.<\/p>\n

Fannie Pettie Watts.<\/strong> Graduated from Howard with a Bachelor of Arts in education and taught junior and senior high schools in Savannah, Georgia. She is credited with organizing two additional Zeta chapters and held active membership in the Delta Alpha Zeta Chapter.<\/p>\n

Four more women, Gladys Warrington, Harriet Dorsey, Pauline Phillips, and Nellie Singfield, joined as the second pledge class. Pauline Phillips graduated summa cum laude from Howard, setting the academic precedent Zeta members are still expected to meet.<\/p>\n

The Four Principles That Anchor Every Chapter<\/h2>\n

Every Zeta chapter, from the Alpha Chapter at Howard to chapters in Africa and Europe, ladders up to four founding principles. This is what members mean when they refer to the four pillars of Zeta Phi Beta.<\/p>\n