June 4, 2025
The fraternity emulates similar customs as Divine 9 organizations.
Most sororities and fraternities focus on building up collegiate students through a lifetime bond. However, a new take on these traditional organizations offers the same fellowship just a few years earlier.
The Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity only allows high school boys to become members. Based in Birmingham, Alabama, its values of brotherhood and unity help keep these young men away from more dangerous activities. Allowing them to find upliftment and acceptance here can help lead them away from darker paths.
Jeremiah Hall, a high school senior, says the fraternity has allowed him to envision a better future for himself. Now, he has new brothers wanting to chase the same ambitions.
“It teaches you how to grow and how to bond for real…If it wasn’t for PKS, I think I wouldn’t be here right now. I had a rocky start through high school life, moving toward the streets, and having them around has helped me,” Hall, a senior at A.H. Parker High School, told AL.com.
PKS, founded in 1995 as a way to build community among adolescent boys, has grown to more than 1,000 members. While partaking in the fun customs of collegiate Black organizations, like stepping and strolling, they still conduct monthly community service and local HBCU tours.
“It’s an organization where you come and you look for brotherhood. We bond through the whole process…We uplift each other. We go to practice, do community service…We just try to make each other better,” explained PKS member president, Michael Pollard.
Teenage members also offer this guidance to those next up, mentoring Phi Gents, a tinier version of the fraternity for elementary and middle schoolers.
“It’s really helping build up my character. To become a better person and be a better man,” added high school junior Ryan Gray. “Sometimes young people can go astray and get around the wrong crowd, but PKS is trying to help change that narrative and help young people be around good, like-minded, young adults.”
PKS instills discipline, strength, and determination for its cohort, offering support while changing the perception on Birmingham’s “troubled” youth. The city tallied a record 151 homicides in 2024, 10 of them being children. PKS also aims to combat this by allowing young men a safe outlet to express themselves and gain the support they need to thrive.
“It’s giving Birmingham a different look. We’re trying to save the city…We’re giving back to the city and not destroying it…These are the kids that are working hard. It’s a representation, being an example of what we really should look like,” explained Bryan Jenkins, PKS’ advisor. “We’re giving back to Birmingham.”
The organization wants to amplify its mission toward the community through crowdfunding. It hopes donations will expand its opportunities and services, such as tutoring and scholarships, for the next generation of youth leaders.
