OUR FOUNDERS
Our foundation – On October 12, 1962, 14 men with a purpose and vision for a better world started Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship Incorporated on the campus of Morgan University (formerly Morgan State College). Today, our Social Fellowship has active chapters operating in the United States and Ghana. We continue to look toward our founders to provide us guidance and leadership especially in more challenging efforts.
Woodrow Anderson Williams, Jr. (“Woody”) was born on June 20, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was raised by his grandparents, Edward and Estelle Woodland, in Glassboro, New Jersey. With the exception of attending fifth grade at P.S. 186 in New York City, Williams attended Glassboro public schools and graduated from Glassboro Senior High School in June 1960. He entered Morgan State College in September 1960, majoring in Physical Education. Williams excelled both in academics and in sports. He was a starter on and captain of the Golden Bears championship swim team for four years and inducted into the Golden Bears Hall of Fame in March of 1974.
Honorable Founder
Woodrow Anderson Williams
Robert E. (Bob) Simpson (“Tennessee”) was born on July 3, 1943 in Earle, Arkansas, and was raised in Memphis, Tennessee. He completed his primary and secondary education in Memphis and graduated from Manassas High School in 1961. He went on to attend Morgan State College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965.
After graduating from Morgan State, Simpson went on to serve as an officer in the United States Army from 1965 to 1968. He also held several managerial positions with Sears for 17 years, from 1965 to 1983.
Honorable Founder
Robert E. Simpson
Harry Payne was born on October 26, 1940 in Lakeland, New Jersey. He attended Lakewood High School, where he played football, threw the javelin, and was a trumpet player. After graduating in 1958, he went to Morgan State College, where he was a member of the Pershing Rifles and an athlete who excelled at wrestling.
After graduating from Morgan State College, Payne entered the military as a second lieutenant and was sent to Korea from 1964 to 1968. Upon leaving the military, he continued to serve in the U.S. Reserves as a captain.
Honorable Founder
Harry Payne
Nathaniel Parham, Sr. (“Spider”) was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on November 17, 1942. He graduated from Catonsville High School in 1960 and then went to Morgan State College. Parham’s reasons for participating in the founding of Groove Phi Groove were to form an organization that was inclusive, to develop friendships among the founders, and to help people get through the turbulent 1960s.
Parham graduated from Morgan State in May 1965 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education. To further his formal education, Parham later attended Coppin State College and graduated in 1972 with a Master’s degree in Correctional Education.
Honorable Founder
Nathaniel Parham Sr.
David Nesbitt (“Cha Cha”) was born in New York City on August 18, 1941. He graduated from Flushing High School in Flushing, New York, and then attended Morgan State College, where he was a two-sport athlete, playing both football and basketball. Nesbitt served as Groove Phi Groove’s first secretary in 1962. He helped to start the Fellowship because of the strong friendship that existed among the founders.
Nesbitt graduated from Morgan State in January 1965, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a minor in English.
Honorable Founder
David Nesbitt
Nathaniel Monroe (“Money”) was born on August 12, 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland. A product of the Baltimore City school system, he graduated from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in 1960. A competitive athlete, Monroe was a member of both the tennis and swimming teams in high school. He then attended Morgan State College where he was a member of the basketball team.
Monroe graduated from Morgan State with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education in 1965. Since then, Monroe’s life has revolved around athletics, with a particular focus on young people.
Honorable Founder
Nathaniel Monroe
Charlie Johnson was born on September 10, 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland. Attending Dunbar Senior High School in Baltimore, he studied business and was a member of both the school’s band and baseball team. After graduating in 1960, he attended Morgan State University.
Upon graduation from Morgan State, Johnson became a combat medic with the United States Army. He was stationed in Germany with the 8th Infantry Division and held the rank of Special 4th Class before being discharged in 1967.
Honorable Founder
Charlie Johnson
James L. Hill (“Hilly”) was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, on August 6, 1941. As a youth, Hill lived in several different places, including Richmond, Virginia, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before he settled in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1959, he graduated from James Hillhouse High School in New Haven. At Hillhouse, he was an outstanding athlete, excelling in basketball and track. His prowess on the court earned him a basketball scholarship to Morgan State College in 1959. While at Morgan State, Hill continued his outstanding athletic career, remaining in good academic standing at the same time.
Honorable Founder
James L. Hill
Walter Goodwin was born in 1941 at Harlem Hospital in New York City. He later moved to New Jersey and graduated from high school in Plainfield in 1960. He attended Morgan State College in the fall of 1960.
Goodwin graduated from Morgan State with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965. He furthered his education beyond the undergraduate level by receiving a Master’s degree in Counseling and Student Personnel Services from Kean University in Union, New Jersey. He earned his Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Minnesota in 1974.
Honorable Founder
Edwin Goodwin
John Edward Conquest (“Johnnie C”), the youngest of nine children, was born on January 5, 1940 on Gallo’s Duck Farm in East Patchogue, New York. He attended primary and secondary school in the Patchogue School District, graduating from high school in 1957. An athlete, Conquest was accepted to Morgan State College on a football scholarship. He proved to be competitive in several sports, including football, basketball, and wrestling.
In October 1962, Conquest was one of several young men who founded Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship, Inc., an alternative to the existing African-American fraternities.
Honorable Founder
John Edward Conquest
Raymond Clark, an influential figure and visionary leader, is best known as the one of the 14 founders of Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship, Inc. Born with a profound commitment to social justice and community empowerment, Founder Clark established this esteemed organization in 1962, during a time of great social and cultural transformation in the United States. His creation of Groove Phi Groove Inc., was a response to the need for a supportive community that would not only celebrate African American culture and history but also actively engage in promoting education, leadership, and social responsibility.
Honorable Founder
Raymond Clark
Glenn Brown was born on March 9, 1941 in Baltimore, Maryland. He completed his primary and secondary education in Washington, D.C., graduating from Spingarn High School in 1959. He entered Morgan State College in 1960.
Brown graduated from Morgan State with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology in 1965. He put his degree to good use, enjoying a long career in rehabilitative services, particularly with youth. In 1965, Brown moved to Chicago to be a caseworker in the Cook County Department of Public Aid. Later, he served as a probation officer for Cook Court Juvenile Court and as a parole agent for the Illinois Youth Commission.
Honorable Founder