During the height of the Civil Rights Movement the Pen and Scroll Military Fraternity was founded in 1964 under the auspices of the New York City Mission Society Cadet Corp (NYCMSCC). The Fraternity was designed for African American and Latino male senior officers of the cadet corps. The program functioned primarily as a supplemental training apparatus to the already successful officers’ corps of NYCMSCC. The new organization with the explicit purpose to guide, to build character, with the enhancement of an ethical value system, aligned with cultural education and leadership development, succeeded under the tutelage of the originating founders.



Prior to the age of “benign neglect” our alleged “disadvantaged youth”, trained to give service to the community were impacted by devastating social dysfunction, i.e. substance abuse, alarming increase in school drop-out rates, lack of quality education, teenage pregnancy, incarceration, related violence, and homelessness, etc… thus ushering in the extinction of any possibility of natural growth of African American and Latino males, and the same for females. 

With the covert onslaught of ‘benign neglect, youth since, still suffer the residue of that policy whereby psychological, sociological, and spiritual deprivation hampers their development today.

(Subsequently,)In 1965, the creation of Pen and Scroll Sorority was the next a logical step to service African American and Latina females within NYCCMCC who also were officers. Following along the same course, constructing a viable female program, the originating founders of the sorority understood the maladies female youth in our community were exposed to. Thus, they created a parallel organization with the same goals, objectives, methods, results and evaluation modalities as the fraternity. 

 For four decades after creation, the two entities: P.S.M.F. and P.S.S.thrived for the betterment of all  participants involved. Unfortunately, although NYCMCC was an incredibly viable youth program, however, as time would have it, the program suffered a period of programmatic and  organizational dormancy, succumbing to federal government national race policy whereby government did not enhance the social programs of the ‘great society.

 Considered the prevailing attitude during ‘our’ dormancy was, the ideology of, “government paternalism” was no longer needed, simply because if re-enacted those policies, i.e. Head Start, HARYOU, YOUTH IN ACTION, COLLEGE DISCOVERY, to name a few, created perpetual dependency on the government, in other words: our youth would be placed in an  everlasting ‘trick bag” simply because as a community we could and would not – at least this was the thought – be able to sustain the sovereignty and growth of our most precious commodity: our youth. Thus, the two entities were the lynch pin of our continued existence as an organization.

Circa, 2001, after the PSMF &PSS dormancy period ran its full course, between 1980 through 2001 the Pen and Scroll Organization, Inc. was born under the stewardship of dedicated brothers and sisters refusing to allow the legacy of the ‘Scroll’ to go quietly into the night.

After, twenty plus- years of reconstructive rehabilitation, our beloved organization devoid of governmental assistance forged ahead as a self-sustaining corporation in its infancy.

Considering the ‘trick bag’ formerly established after the 1964, and 1965 founding the  new organization learned the lessons of dependency. Specifically, the best way to go ‘would be under our own steam: independent of outside influences carrying prerequisites we could not adhere to.

Presently, we are at the crossroad, whereas our failure or success is our sole responsibility. However, one thing remains the same: “progress never proceeds in. as straight line”

So, we are at the crossroad protecting the sovereignty of our youth at all cost and, for those who want the best for yourself and the Pen and Scroll, you must present your best in an effort toward a viable future.