-----Original Message-----
From: Kenneth Coles <kcoles@dupagehousing.org>
To: 'Jonathan Matthews' <jonymatt@aol.com>
Cc: 'Kenneth Coles' <chicagoque2@gmail.com>
Sent: Mon, Nov 25, 2019 5:11 pm
Subject: Iota Centennial 2020
Good afternoon Bro. Matthews,
Hoping you and your family are in great health and spirits...
The Brothers in Iota Chapter in Chicago are preparing several activities during 2020 leading up to our celebrating the 100th anniversary of the chapter's establishment on August 17, 1920 in Atlantic City, NJ. With a lack of official Fraternity documentation contemporary to the event we are left with speculation based on preponderance of evidence available to us.
I have always referenced the Summer 1921 Oracle article for Iota's establishment date as the Fraternity's first graduate chapter, but I also have a newspaper account 8 months previous to that from December 20, 1919 in the Daily Defender "Big Weekend" edition that references the upcoming 8th Grand Conclave the following week in Boston, hosted by Gamma Chapter. That Defender article lists the chapters that will be attending and their locations. That listing includes Iota Chapter and this is the direct quote:
"All eyes are set towards the HUB. Brothers will gather here from as far west as the University of California, while all the following chapters will be represented: Alpha, Howard University; Beta, Lincoln University; Delta, Fisk University and Meharry; Epsilon, Columbia; Zeta, Virginia Union University; Eata (sic) Atlanta University; Theta, Dartmouth, and Iota, Pennsylvania University."
Have you read anything like this before in any documents you may have seen? Thanks for anything you may have.
Bro. Kenny Coles (Spr 77)
(312) 545-9413
chicagoque2@gmail.com
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
From: Jonathan Matthews <jonymatt@aol.com>
Sent: Monday, November 25, 2019 5:41 PM
To: Kenneth Coles <kcoles@dupagehousing.org>
Cc: chicagoque2@gmail.com
Subject: Re: Iota Centennial 2020
Evening Bro. Coles,
Don't get too caught up in what is a misprint that was in the Defender. It is not uncommon for the media then to screw up Chapter designation. Attached is a great example from the 1921 Howard University Yearbook. They had a half-dozen Chapters misdesignated on the Alpha Chapter page in the Yearbook (they had Theta at Atlantic City, Iota at West Virginia State, Kappa at Cal, Mu at Penn State, Nu in Philly, and Chi at Pittsburgh).
Now, to give you a direct counterpoint to the Defender article, the other attachment is from the Alpha magazine, The Sphinx, from February 1921 which has the proper designation of Iota at Atlantic City. That's why it always good practice to investigate multiple sources because one could be in error. I hope this helps.
Jonathan
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>