Scipio Africanus Jones was an American educator, lawyer, judge, philanthropist, and Republican politician from the state of Arkansas. He was most known for having guided the appeals of the twelve African-American men condemned to death after the Elaine Massacre of October 1919. More than one hundred African Americans were indicted in the aftermath of the riot, although an estimated one hundred to two hundred Black Americans were killed in the county, along with five whites. No whites were prosecuted by the state. The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which in Moore v. Dempsey (1923) set a precedent of reviewing the conduct of state criminal trials against the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on February 19, 1864. The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded by Justus H. Rathbone, who had been inspired by a play by the Irish poet John Banim about the legend of Damon and Pythias. This legend illustrates the ideals of loyalty, honor, and friendship that are the center of the order. Membership in the organization was restricted to whites only. African Americans were excluded so they formed their own organization, the Knights of Pythias of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.
A benefit society, fraternal benefit society, fraternal benefit order, friendly society, or mutual aid society is a society, an organization or a voluntary association formed to provide mutual aid, benefit, for instance insurance for relief from sundry difficulties. Such organizations may be formally organized with charters and established customs, or may arise ad hoc to meet unique needs of a particular time and place.
The International Organisation of Good Templars, whose international body is known as Movendi International, is a fraternal organization which is part of the temperance movement, promoting abstinence from alcohol and other drugs.
The Pythian Temple is a historic Knights of Pythias building at 135 West 70th Street between Columbus Avenue and Broadway in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1927 to serve as a meeting place for the 120 Pythian lodges of New York City, and later for many years housed a recording studio. Today it is an 88-unit luxury condominium building known as The Pythian.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Performing and Cultural Arts Complex is a historic building in the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It was built in 1925 as the Pythian Temple and James Pythian Theater, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places and Columbus Register of Historic Properties in 1983. The building was renovated into the King Arts Complex in 1987, and was vacated in 2019. Community leaders restored the building's use as an arts center in 2021.
The Knights of Pythias Temple in Louisville, Kentucky, also known as Chestnut Street Branch-Y.M.C.A., was built in 1914–15. It was designed by Henry Wolters. It is a buff-colored brick building with limestone trim.
The Pythian Castle Lodge, also known as Crystal Palace, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, was built in 1927 by the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization. In 1988 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Walter Thomas Bailey was an American architect from Kewanee, Illinois. He was the first African American graduate with a bachelor of science degree in architectural engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the first licensed African-American architect in the state of Illinois. He worked at the Tuskegee Institute, and practiced in both Memphis and Chicago. Walter T. Bailey became the second African American that graduated from the University of Illinois.
The Philadelphia Pythians was one of the earliest Negro league baseball clubs, founded in 1865. African-American leaders Jacob C. White Jr. and Octavius V. Catto established the team. The Pythians were composed of primarily business and middle class professionals from the surrounding areas of Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City. Just two years after the Civil War ended, in 1867, the Pennsylvania State Convention of Baseball, located in Harrisburg, denied the "Pythian Base Ball Club" out of Philadelphia. The team dissolved after Catto's death in 1871 and a new team formed under the Pythian name in the National Colored Base Ball League in 1887. The new team's first season went 4–1. However, due to financial troubles, the team folded after only one season.
The New Granada Theater, which is located at 2007 Centre Avenue in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was built between 1927 and 1928.
The Knights of Pythias Temple is an historic Knights of Pythias building located at 2551 Elm Street in the Deep Ellum neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. Now operating as the Pittman Hotel, and previously also known as the Union Bankers Building, it was designed by African-American architect William Sidney Pittman and opened in 1916. Current renovations by Perkins + Will date to 2020.
The Pythian Sisters is a fraternal order with members throughout the United States and Canada. Although affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, they are not an auxiliary group as they have their own charter.
Jacob C. White Jr. was an American educator, intellectual, and civil rights activist. Born to a successful and influential businessman, White received the finest education afforded to African-Americans of the time and became intertwined in the dealings of Philadelphia's most prominent black leaders. The first black man in the city to be appointed as a school principal, White is recognized for his position at Roberts Vaux Consolidated School. During his tenure between 1864 and 1896, White reformed the institute and became the leading figure in the field of urban education in Philadelphia. Alongside his academic endeavors, White was significant in the sports field: he helped establish the Philadelphia Pythians, an early black baseball club. Following the shooting of his friend and fellow activist Octavius Catto in 1871, White became the top civil rights activist in the city, and remained active in the community until his death in 1902.
Chester W. Keatts (1854–1908), a former slave, co-founded the Mosaic Templars of America in Little Rock, Arkansas. He worked for the railway mail service, federal court, and as a lawman. He campaigned for two offices as a member of the Republican Party and initially received the majority of votes, but was not formally elected due to ballot interference by the Democrats.
Samuel W. Starks was an African American community leader who achieved national prominence through his leadership in the fraternal order the Knights of Pythias of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Starks was the first African American to serve as a state librarian when he was appointed as the West Virginia state librarian in 1901.
Thomas W. Stringer (1815–1893) was an American Christian minister in the A.M.E. Church, state senator in Mississippi, Prince Hall Mason, and the founder of the Knights of Pythias of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. He helped organize churches, schools, and fraternal organizations. He was elected to the Mississippi Senate in 1869 and served from 1870 until 1871.
Oscar William Adams Sr. was a journalist and publisher in the United States. He published the Birmingham Reporter. His son Oscar William Adams Jr. became an Alabama Supreme Court Justice.
The Order of Calanthe, originally titled the Independent Order of Calanthe, is a fraternal benefit society for African American women. It was established in Louisiana in 1883 as an auxiliary to the Knights of Pythias of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Calanthe was the wife of Pythias in the Greek legend Damon and Pythias. The membership was originally opened to family members of the Knights but was later widened to any woman sponsored by a Knight. The organization provided life insurance, sick, and death benefits. The organization's motto was "Fidelity, Harmony, and Love."
