The Fraternities And Sororities

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02 Nov 2017

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Cameron Coleman

Professor Lyn

English 102 1 p.m.

Fraternities and Sororities (title in work)

The Black Greek letter organizations came into existence there once stood another "organization" that uplifted the African-American community. The need to provide a substantial amount of educated women and men was first realized by a young William Edward Burghardt Du Bois. Du Bois was the most significant black leader in America during the start of the twentieth century, and is considerably the greatest scholar-activist in American history. Du Bois was well read, extraordinarily versed in words and ideas, adamant in staying true to his beliefs and determined to mold the Negro Soul into a better and truer form. Living in an era of political warfare between the Negro and American race, Du Bois knew that the advancement of black people was left in the hands of those he deemed The Talented Tenth, the upper 10 percent of Black Americans

The Talented Tenth were charged with the title of being "Elite" leaders of thought and missionaries of culture among people. They were leaders of rationality sent on a mission to reeducate America, more so Black America of its rich, royal and celestial ancestry. The talented tenth were the only ones who could bear the burden of the fallen 90 percent and strive to bring them back to greatness. The Salvation of the Negro race was vested upon the shoulders of its exceptional men and women. Among the black elite were Fraternities and Sororities whose goals included improving the quality of life for themselves and other blacks and meeting the need to produce educated black leaders to lead the race. How have these fraternities and sororities uplifted the African American community? What have members of these organizations done to propel the African American community to success?

Between the civil war the early 20th century during what was considered a period of reconstruction, institutions for educating the black population were established in the south. In the northern cities, middle class African Americans attended white institutions, but they were faced with many forms of discrimination, and only made a small percent of the student body. On many campuses it was illegal for black students to congregate in groups larger than 2 or 3 people. This discrimination and isolation had a profoundly negative impact on the social lives of black students. With that being said, this prohibited black students from forming relationships and bonds that could prove useful to them in their future professions as well as lives. In order for them to legally socialize and associate themselves amongst one another, they had to create their own groups. Their solution to this dilemma was the creation of the Black Fraternity.

In the early decades of the 20th century the creation of Greek fraternities rose exponentially, and black students contributed to this growth. Several of the founders of the first black fraternities were working their way through college by holding jobs at white fraternities, thereby allowing them to observe the benefits of such organizations, as well as what did and did not work.

Alpha Phi Alpha was the first incorporated fraternity for African Americans, founded in 1906. Following the creation of the first black fraternity, the first black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, was formed at Howard University in 1908. The second African American fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, spawned in 1911, was formed at Indiana University by ten black students who were the only African Americans on campus. These organizations served both as a source of support on a frequently hostile, predominantly white campus and as a means of achieving the ideals of brotherhood. It promoted self-help as well as racial solidarity.

The next several fraternities and sororities originated at one of the most renown historically black colleges, Howard University in Washington, D.C., because of this the school was deemed the "cradle" of Black Greek Letter Organizations. Two other fraternities formed at Howard: Omega Psi Phi (1911), Phi Beta Sigma (1914). Iota Phi Theta, the newest fraternity, began at Morgan State University in Maryland in 1963. Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Sigma, and Iota Phi Theta, the five fraternities in conjunction with four sororities of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sigma Gamma Rho, Delta Sigma Theta, and Zeta Phi Beta form what is commonly known as the Divine Nine. These nine organizations banned together form the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), the umbrella organization for BGLOs. The black fraternities were not allowed to join the National Interfraternity Conference, the umbrella organization for white fraternities. As a result they saw fit to create the NPHC in 1930 to meet their needs.

 

Alpha Phi Alpha Incorporated

Since its founding on December 4, 1906, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. has supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African-Americans and people of color around the world.

As previously stated Alpha Phi Alpha was the first incorporated fraternity for African Americans, founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York on December 4th 1906 by seven men who realized the need for creating bonds of brotherhood and comradery. The founders of this fraternity, known as the "Jewel" founders, are Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, and Vertner Woodson Tandy. Originally, the fraternity served as a study group for minority students who were faced with educational and social prejudice. The Jewels and other leaders of the fraternity were successful in constructing the foundation of scholarship, fellowship, good character and the uplifting of humanity; all of which are A-Phi’s principles. While staying true to its beliefs, Alpha Phi Alpha also recognized the need to help correct the educational, economic, political, and social injustices faced by African-Americans. This is evident in the fraternity’s position during the African American community’s fight for civil justice and equality with prominent leaders such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall and Paul Robeson just to name a few.

Baptist minister, civil rights leader and proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Martin Luther King Jr. is the most renowned African American of the twentieth century. All over the world, his life and legacy epitomize the black struggle for freedom and equality. The years from King's rise as a civil rights in 1955–1956 to his world moving "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963 and death on 4 April 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, are considered to be the turning points of the civil rights movement. The Jim Crow system was dismantled by his nonviolent direct action and mass protest. In public memory, his martyrdom has made King into a larger-than-life figure. However, his elevation to the status of a worldly saint has often inhibited a clear understanding of his contribution to the black struggle. He, Doctor Martin Luther King Junior, a prominent civil right activist and brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, revolutionized the African American community like no other. Through peace and reason King was able to mobilize the African American community into an unbreakable unit of self-pride.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Incorporated

Alpha Kappa Alpha was established by a group of college educated African American women on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC in 1908, making it the oldest sorority. The women who organized the Sorority was conscious of a privileged position as college-trained women of color, just one generation removed from slavery. They were resolute that their college experiences should be as meaningful and productive as possible. Alpha Kappa Alpha was founded to apply that determination. As the Sorority grew, it kept in balance two important themes: the importance of the individual and the strength of an organization of women of ability and courage. As the world became more complex, there was a need for associations which cut across racial, geographical, political, physical and social barriers. Alpha Kappa Alpha’s influence extends beyond campus quads and student interest. It has a legacy of service that deepens, rather than ends, with college graduation. The goals of its program activities center on significant issues in families, communities, government halls and world assembly chambers. Its efforts constitute a priceless part of the global experience in the 21st century

Civil rights activist who is considered the mother of the civil rights movement because of her role as a major catalyst in the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955. Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, Rosa Louise McCauley was the older of two children. After her parents separated, she and her younger brother, Sylvester, grew up on their grandmother's farm in Pine Level, Alabama, near Montgomery, where Rosa attended a rural school. Encouraging her daughter's education, Rosa's mother enrolled her in the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls, a private institution, at age eleven. Later Parks attended the high school at the Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes, where, despite the setbacks of several family tragedies, she persevered to receive her diploma in 1934. She married Raymond Parks, a barber, in 1932.

On 1 December 1955 when Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a crowded city bus to a white man, public outrage within the black community prompted an organized protest. A citywide bus boycott began on 5 December. During the boycott, blacks in Montgomery walked or carpooled, refusing to ride the city buses, a significant act considering that blacks accounted for nearly 75 percent of the bus company's patronage.

Omega Psi Phi Incorporated

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. is the first international fraternal organization to be founded on the campus of a historically black college. Omega Psi Phi was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The founding fathers were three undergraduate students at Howard University, Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman. The fourth founder was their faculty adviser, Dr. Ernest Everett Just. The name Omega Psi Phi was derived from the initials of a Greek phrase meaning, "friendship is essential to the soul." Manhood, Scholarship, Perseverance and Uplift were adopted as Cardinal Principles. On November 23, 1911 in Thirkield Hall, Love became the first Grand Basileus (National President). Cooper and Coleman were selected to be the Grand Keeper of the Records (National Secretary) and Grand Keeper of Seals (National Treasurer), respectively. Eleven Howard University undergraduate men were selected to be the charter members. Alpha Chapter was organized with fourteen charter members on December 15, 1911.

Born in Virginia to former slaves, Carter G. Woodson worked in coal mines until he entered high school at the age of nineteen, finishing in less than two years. Over the next several years, he taught high school and obtained a BL degree at the interracial Berea College (Kentucky). From 1903 to 1906 Woodson worked as supervisor of schools in the Philippines. In 1908 he received both BA and MA degrees from the University of Chicago and began teaching high school in Washington, D.C. He earned a PhD in history from Harvard University in 1912, becoming, after W. E. B. Du Bois, the second African American to receive a doctorate in history. From 1919 to 1922 he taught at Howard University and West Virginia Collegiate Institute, and served in high administrative posts at both institutions.

In 1915, Woodson, with several other scholars, founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). ASNLH's publishing subsidiary, Associated Publishers, was for many years the leading black-owned press in the United States. The following year he founded the Journal of Negro History, the premier professional journal of African American history. He retired from the academy in 1922 to concentrate on the journal and ASNLH, both of which he headed until his death, as well as his own historical writing. He also worked on stimulating popular interest in African American history, initiating Negro History Week (which later became Black History Month) in 1926, and founding the Negro History Bulletin (for use in primary and secondary education) in 1937.

When an Alpha looks in the mirror,

Looking back he sees,

A man of Vision, Stature and Integrity.

When an AKA looks in the mirror,

Looking back she sees,

A woman of Virtue, Education, and Dignity.

When a Kappa looks in the mirror,

Looking back he sees,

A man of Intelligence, Service, and Possibility.

When an Omega looks in the mirror,

Looking back he sees,

A man of Strength, Heart, and Masculinity.

When a Delta looks in the mirror,

Looking back she sees,

A woman of Sophistication, Love, and Excellency.

When a Sigma looks in the mirror,

Looking back he sees,

A man of Honor, Purpose, and Ability.

When a Zeta looks in the mirror,

Looking back she sees,

A woman of Trust, Action, and Ingenuity.

When a SGRho looks in the mirror,

Looking back she sees,

A woman of Care, Soul, and Humility.

When an Iota looks in the mirror,

Looking back he sees,

A man of Distinction, Progress, and Utility.

When a Greek looks in the mirror,

Looking back they see,

A long line of struggling brothers and sisters,

To ensure our freedom and equality.

When a Greek looks in the mirror,

Looking back they see,

The ability to change the world

In each of their founders' dreams.

When a Greek looks in the mirror,

Looking back they see,

The eyes of a nation focusing

On what this world was meant to be.

When a Greek looks in the mirror,

Looking back they shouldn't see,

Colors, calls and symbols

Misused to fracture and degrade a community.

When a Greek looks in the mirror,

Looking back they should see,

The collective gathering of the Divine Nine

To unite and encourage

A nation in need…

Because…

When a Non-Greek looks at a Greek,

Looking back they should see,

A helping hand,

An encouraging heart,

And a vision to succeed.

Neumann, Caryn. "Fraternities, University and College". Oxford African American Studies Center. Oxford University Press USA. N.d. Web. 5 Mar 2013.

This article is about the roles and purposes that fraternities had in the lives of African Americans. This article also provides a little known fact that the founders of the first black fraternities were working their way through college by holding jobs at white fraternities, but it is because of this that they were allowed to observe the benefits of fraternities. With male fraternities as the main focal point, the article highlights each organization’s practice, rituals, what each group stands for, the meaning of the colors, and the origin of Greek step. It also features the many pro-black programs founded by Greeks that very little people know about. Did you know black history month was founded by Omega Psi Phi? Who knew? The main reason for the creation of each organization was to give back to the African American community via community service, and provide the world with young educated black women and men. This article is critical to the development of my article because it approaches every aspect of being Greek and what they stand for but also provides the reader with achievements made by the organizations at the time.

Terborg-Penn, Rosalyn. "Sororities Movement". Oxford African American Studies Center. Oxford University Press USA. N.d. Web. 5 Mar 2013.

This article is about the history of the Devine Nine Greeks with a focal point on the development of each organization. The article begins by providing a brief history of the four black women’s organization, and then later provides an in-depth synopsis for each one of the divine nine. This article also tells of each sorority’s development over the decades, their involvement in the world that surrounded them at the time, and their stride to meet the need for a substantial amount of educated women and men to fight for political equality. For instance a section about Greek activity post World War I is provided that describes their struggle to prove that blacks possessed the intellectual capacity to learn and apply the liberal arts during an extremely racial time period. This article provides a lush source of history for each one of the nine organizations by telling of the success in becoming nationally known, the struggle of dealing with racism, surviving through warring times and the significance among African Americans.

Hutcheson, Philo & Kimbrough, Walter. 1998. The Impact of Membership in Black Greek-Letter Organizations on Black Students' Involvement in Collegiate Activities and Their Development of Leadership Skills. The Journal of Negro Education. Vol. 67. No. 2. pp. 96-105. Published. Journal of Negro Education.

This article is about the effect that involvement in Greek life has on a student’s involvement in collegiate activities and leadership skills. Hutchenson and Kimbrough believed that Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLO) have been, and are still key in the development of a student’s leadership skills. In the article Hutchenson and Kimbrough prove their claim by breaking it down into a simple equation where an involved student that devotes considerable energy to studying, spends time on campus, participates actively in student organizations, and interacts with the school’s faculty and other students, equates to academic success, lower dropout rates, and the development and enhancement of leadership skills. With the student’s ability to lead enhanced, the Greek organizations can then harness that leadership. They also go so far as to include statistical data in form of surveys from black students (male, female, Greek, and unaffiliated) from both Predominantly White institutions and Black colleges. The data showed that most of the students who participated in the six major student life opportunities were Greek. This article is useful to my research because it provides me with credible demographic and statistical data. It also sheds light on another angle of how the BGLO uplifted the African American community.

Kilgore-Kimble, Donna. "Sororities, University and College." Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-first Century. Ed. Paul FinkelmanNew York: Oxford UP, 2008. Oxford African American Studies Center. Fri Mar 22

This article focuses on the four sororities of the Devine nine. African American sororities arose on college campuses with the intent of improving academic, social, economic, and professional conditions for African American women. Starting as women’s clubs, these groups began to evolve by involving themselves in American society by providing a support system for women suffering from sexism and racial discrimination, raising funds, improving employment opportunities and so on. For a short time, the relevance of BGLO was questioned because those with Greek status seemed more concerned about socializing instead of uplifting the African American community. The importance of black organizations is also recognized because of how they create bonds for life, help people emerge from their shells, up lift the black community, and ultimately create leaders. This reading is useful to my article because it describes how these organizations hold relevance to the African American community



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