[1] It was established at Howard University in 1959 as a non-exclusive alternative to the traditional black Greek letter organizations.

[2][3] Students Roy Brown, John Mason, and Allen Cherry established HUMS at Howard University on March 2, 1959.

[2][4] It formed from the social activism of the Civil Rights Movement and as an alternative to the "fictitious title of Black Greek".

[7][6] One of its stated missions was "to reunite lost and wondering minds back to Earthly Understanding".

[2] Wine Psi Phi continued to expand across the United States, mostly at historically black colleges and universities.

[12][7] In the early 2010s, there was a division in the organization, with the Chicago graduate chapter obtaining the copyright and trademark of the name Wine Psi Phi which had lapsed in October 2014.

[2] Wine Psi Phi was involved in campus activity committees and favored booking George Clinton's Parliament for events such as homecoming.

On April 5, 1975, a Northern Illinois University chapter's pledge, Richard A. Gowins, died after an initiation ritual that required him to drink a half gallon of mixed wine, tequila, and gin in an hour.

[30] At Virginia State University, pledge Robert Etheridge drowned while trying to rescue Norsha Lynn Delk, a pledge for the sorority Delta Sigma Theta; both were attempting to swim in the Appomattox River, fully clothed, as part of a quasi-baptism ritual on March 22, 1979.