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Phi Beta Sigma

July 21-27, 1984
Hyatt Regency at SuperDome
New Orleans, La.

SIGMA REELECT NEWTON AND AWARD ALAIN LEROY LOCK SCHOLARSHIP AT 68TH CONVENTION

After listening to Brother Edolphus Towns, the newly elected Congressman from Brooklyn, New York, 11th Congressional district, and John Jacobs, Executive Director of the National Urban League, 1500 delegates attending the 68th Anniversary Conclave of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity wrote six resolutions which encompassed protection for American Blacks in Arm Forces in Europe; unemployment among Black youth; protection against assault and murder in the streets of Black men, relief for Haitian boat people and a call for support of HR 2816, the Refugee Act of 1979; that Postal Service strike a commemorative stamp in honor of the late Brother A. Philip Randolph; that Congress pass legislation declaring January 15 as a national holiday in honor of the late Martin Luther King, Jr.; that the United States and Soviet Union immediately halt testing and producing any further deployment of all nuclear and chemical and biological weapons; that President restore all budget cuts in higher educational loans and grants and furthermore, increase the amount of funding for higher educational loans and grants so that families of lower economic class can meet the increasing cost of educating their children.

The fraternity allotted the first group of Alain Leroy Lock scholarships to students attending universities in the United States.

The Conclave, hosted by Atlanta area Chapters, was co-chaired by Charles Moore and William Stanley and convened from December 26 through 30 in the Peachtree Center Hotel in Atlanta.

At the conclusion of the meetings, Attorney Demetrious C. Newton, a Birmingham Attorney was reelected to head the 68th year old Black Collegiate Fraternity for a second term.

In exhorting his Brothers to find new solutions to furthering the cause of Black progress during these perilous times of cut backs, high unemployment; resurgence of the Klan new conservatism; Brother Edolphus Towns, who was elected to replace Shirley Chrisholm in the 98th Congress of the United States said, "we have had a glorious past which produced a Dubois, Walter White, Martin Luther King, Jr. and a Shirley Chrisholm who brought us to the beginning of the 80's. From now on, the speaker continued, we must honor the past but must now depend on new dynamic leadership which can cope with and implement new approaches which will enable us to compete in a computer nuclear age.

John Jacobs announced a four point program the National Urban League would foster to aid Black humanity.

The program, he said, the League would pursue called for fostering a Universal Employment and training system; an increase in the Black presence in business, a Urban Enterprise Academy, advised by the League staff and its Commerce and Industry Council, which will be advised by 75 major Business concerns; a drive to raise the level of practical economic literacy among community workers and community based group.

John Jacobs also said the League will conduct and implement a community wide drive to deal constructively with Teen age pregnancy, female-headed household, crime and citizenship, voters registration education.

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