By: Bro. Leon Valentine
August 26th, 2023, thousands of attendees gathered at the National Mall to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington. The weekend commemorated a historic event that revolutionized American history and sparked a shift in the mindset of African- Americans and other attendees towards change for the rights of African Americans. The March on Washington influenced of other organized movements such as the Million Man March. The Million Man March, much like the March on Washington, was special as it not only advocated for the rights for Black men and people of color but also, the event in 1995 led to the conceptualization of the Sigma Sigma Sigma Chapter. This month, we are highlighting Brother John Jackson, charter member of Sigma Sigma Sigma Chapter as he shares the significance of the 1995 Million Man March celebration, its influence towards the start of the Montgomery County chapter and its impact on the chapter today.
Brother John Jackson is a dedicated member of our beloved fraternity. Since being initiated in 1984, Brother Jackson has made a continuous effort to commit to serving the community while also setting forth a leading example of what it means to be a Sigma man for those behind him to follow. In 1996, Brother Jackson, along with other members of the fraternity, chartered the Sigma Sigma Sigma Chapter and thanks to his influence, has contributed to the chapter emerging as one of the leading chapters in the DC Metropolitan area. He and other Sigma brothers attending the March in 1995, were influenced to start a chapter. “Brothers wanted to create a chapter with a new standard of truly exemplifying service,” said Jackson. It was the call to action delivered by Minister Louis Farrakhan at the March that challenged black men to go back to their organizations and community and live up to those standards, by uplifting brothers and building the community around them that they wanted to see thrive. It was this speech and message that challenged Brother Jackson and others to leave the March and begin the process of starting a new graduate chapter within the DC metropolitan area. “November 9th, a letter was sent out for brothers in the area to come together and discuss Minister Farrakhan’s message and by November 27th, 1995, the first leading discussions were had of the forming of what would later become Sigma Sigma Sigma chapter” says Jackson.
The message of going back to your organization and community to build the environments around you led the charge to the chapter’s creation today. With this message, the chapter had an early concept of reaching back to members who were not financially active or sought reactivation to be back into the fold to serve. “Once we got approved in 1996 to organize as a chapter, we chose not to solicit any brother in any existing chapter, but the goal was to find brothers who were not financial and looking to reactivate. We wanted to create an atmosphere to really learn brothers’ skills, qualities and goals in Sigma and see how we can get brothers to get active again and create a spark to commit to serving.”
The significance of such a historical event not only influenced the inception of the chapter but also the chapter name. “Historically names for chapters in Sigma are given in alphabetical order, however our name was created from attending the Million Man March. The 3 M’s in Million Man March counter clockwise make the 3 letters in our chapter name, Sigma Sigma Sigma. It is a symbolic representation of the message behind the March and reminder of our origins to our charge to building our organizations and village around us.” The chapter is an everyday example of our motto, “Culture for Service, Service for Humanity.” Brother Jackson states, “the word culture in our motto is a synonym for education. We must use the education, lessons and wisdom learned from college and joining this fraternity to go back to our communities to serve and give them that knowledge to grow.”
Since the start of the chapter in 1996, Brother Jackson has led the charge in assisting Sigma Sigma Sigma chapter become active and give back to the community. The message of the Million Man March sparked an interest in him and many other brothers and they established a chapter that rolls up its sleeves and participate directly with the community towards change. From its early inception of having 20-30 brothers now almost thirty years later, the chapter has grown tremendously while still remembering its roots on the purpose of brotherhood and being community-focused driven. It is a legacy established by an event that led for change that has created a lasting impact in our community and chapter today.