History of Theta Pi Chapter

Firmly positioned on the wall in the Executive Office of the Continentals of Omega Boys and Girls Club, 1 Positive Place, Vallejo CA., is a framed document, stating that Theta Pi received its charter on July 31, 1973. As with the parent chapter, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Theta Pi was founded through the efforts of several dedicated and educated Brothers, who like Frank Coleman, Edgar A. Love, Oscar J. Cooper, and Ernest Just, felt a need to organize a chapter in their city and community of residence.

Banding together under the motto “Friendship is Essential to the Soul” and guided by the Cardinal Principals of Manhood, Scholarship, Perseverance and Uplift, James E. Brown, Philmore Graham and Frank G. Breaker, Jr., active members of Sigma Iota Chapter in Oakland, CA., decided to establish Theta Pi. The Continentals of Omega Boys (now Boys and Girls) Club had been under the auspices of Sigma Iota, since it was founded in 1966 by Brother Philmore Graham of Vallejo. These Brothers decided that there was a need for a more individualized and centrally located  “Reservoir of Help” for the young Club members.

With a great deal of perseverance and with a lot of enthusiasm, Brothers Brown, Graham and Breaker, quickly recruited and signed on seven other Omega men in the area to complete the required number to receive its charter. These Theta Pi history makers were Dr. Oscar Jackson, Dr. Edward Lopez, Thomas Johnson, Godfrey White, Thomas Burroughs, Jimmie Jackson, and Michael Futch. Within Theta Pi’s first year of service, eight new men of like ideas were in its fold, including Willie Adkins, Livingston Grant, Rudolph Harris, Rudolph Jackson, Joseph Johnson, Marvin Johnson, James McDowell, Sr. and Reverend John Watts.

Since its carefully and masterfully planned inception to serve as a “Reservoir of Help to the Total Community,” Theta Pi has added numerous other Brothers to its roster. The Chapter excels in performing all nationally mandated Omega programs, such as Achievement Week (Founders Day) activities, Memorial Service and a Talent Hunt Competition that has become an annual entertainment staple at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, University of California at Davis. It also serves as a role model for other chapters for many of its locally generated activities, highlighted by its annual Juneteenth Fundraising Celebration, its almost legendary Annual Boat Ride on the Bay, and the often star-studded Annual Golf Tournament. Theta Pi’s most noted claim to fame, however, is its sponsorship of the Continental of Omega Boys and Girls Club, which is second to none not only in Northern California and the Twelfth District but also in most of America.

Theta Pi Chapter, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., located in Vallejo, California, was recognized and honored as the 2006 Chapter of the Year by the Twelfth District, which includes the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.