SigmaPAC1914 announces $1 Million Believe in Sigma Campaign in honor of Late Congressman, Brother John R. Lewis
SigmaPAC1914 is the political action committee created by Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., to serve as the advocacy arm of the international brotherhood. Next week commemorates the eighty-second birthday of the late Congressman Brother John R. Lewis; and in honor of his legacy, we announce the $1 million Believe in Sigma campaign. The first-of-its-kind initiative will support political candidates who carry on the late activist’s march for voting rights.
“Today we launch one of our major fundraising initiatives, celebrating a civic and political giant, while we continue to support candidates and those diverse individuals in the community, looking to run for elected office,” said SigmaPAC1914 chairman, Kendrick O. Faison. “We are creating the table for our fraternity members and the communities we serve,” said Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., International President, Hon. Bro. Chris V. Rey, J.D.
In Summer 2021, SigmaPAC1914’s John R. Lewis Bootcamp trained a cohort of fifteen Black men in leadership, communication, fundraising, and voter engagement using interactive features in cutting-edge workshops. The pinnacle of this program is the Campaign Simulation, in which participants fill specific roles required to develop and
lead a winning campaign. The Bootcamp cohort was trained by the 2021 Time 100 Next award recipient, Jessica Byrd. The Three-Point Strategies utilized, resulted in almost 70% percent of these candidates winning their general election campaigns.
Believe In Sigma’s historic political investment follows the Fraternity’s successful $500,000 Centennial fundraising campaign to gift an endowment to its founding institution, Howard University. It also raised and contributed $500,000 to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, in 2017. The organization enlisted coalitions of internal and external stakeholders to accomplish these efforts; partnership and collaboration are needed to ensure future success. The fraternity calls on its 150,000 brothers across 600 international chapters to rise to the occasion and to honor their late brother to protect this nation’s most fundamental right.
International President, Hon. Bro. Chris V. Rey, J.D., former Mayor of Spring Lake, NC,
understand the importance of supporting our own. “There is an attack on the very fabric of what our late dear Brother, Congressman John Lewis, spent his life defending: protection of voting rights for all people,” he said. “SigmaPAC1914 will allow us to advocate for resources necessary to solve the issues that continue to plague our communities, train prospective candidates, and financially support candidates that align with these ideals.”
Notable members: US President Bill Clinton, US Congressman Adriano Espaillat, US Congressman Edolphus Towns Jr, first African American Mayor of Chicago, Harold Washington, US Congressman Arthur Mitchell (the only African American in Congress from 1935-1943 and 6th President of Phi Beta Sigma), US Congressman Elijah Cummings.
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., was founded on January 9, 1914. SigmaPac1914 is a nonpartisan general-purpose political action committee established to support candidates who support the PAC’s social, civic, business, and political interests. The PAC intends to make contributions and support candidates seeking elected office on all levels of government, and support candidates who are strategically and intentionally focused on solutions to complex public policy problems.
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