Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs) are an important a part of Black Historical past, and so they proceed to play a significant function in making an attempt to uplift individuals who appear to be us. Yeah, a few of the members of those organizations is usually a bit…a lot. (Full disclosure, I’m a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Included based on…by no means thoughts. I do know we may be annoying. Sorry.)
However we should always give these organizations and their members the flowers they deserve. As a result of whereas there could also be names you already know, there are additionally quite a lot of issues that the organizations they joined do to attempt to make life higher for Black people.
Thurgood Marshall, the primary Black Supreme Courtroom Justice, was an Alpha. However that (my) group can also be answerable for tens of millions of individuals being registered to vote. Alphas additionally launched the “Go-to-Excessive College, Go-to-School” marketing campaign in 1919, which led to generations of Black teenagers getting a university schooling.
And, in fact, there may be the nice Shirley Chisholm. She was the primary Black lady to be elected to Congress, and he or she was a member of Delta Sigma Theta. However we should always not overlook that DST advocated fiercely for there to be anti-lynching legal guidelines and performed a pivotal function in getting Black lady to help the ladies’s suffrage motion.
Carter G. Woodson, a historian and founding father of Negro historical past week which later turned Black Historical past Month, was an Omega. However we should always have a good time how members of that group, folks whose names many people gained’t keep in mind, made vital contributions to organizations just like the Southern Negro Congress and the Nationwide City League.
Many people know that Vice President Kamala Harris is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. And yeah, the stereotype is that they’re fairly. But, don’t know that they have been the primary group to have a life membership with the Nationwide Affiliation for the Development of Coloured Individuals (NAACP), and that group goes to nice lengths to attract consideration to the well being of Black ladies.
Now we have to place some respect on the identify of Kappa Alpha Psi who don’t simply shimmy on stage, however when a member of their group stood up for Black people by kneeling on a NFL discipline, the fraternity despatched a letter of help to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell then protested outdoors of NFL video games, and in entrance of the NFL headquarters in New York.
We will poke enjoyable at males who name themselves fairly, however that’s admirable. Let’s additionally not overlook the ladies of Sigma Gamma Rho who have been vocal supporters of President Johnson’s Anti-Poverty Program and carried out nationwide initiatives just like the Vocational Steerage Workshop Middle.
Phi Beta Sigma and Zeta Phi Beta are constitutionally brother and sister organizations, and each had an outsized roles in Black social actions. In fact, Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton, founders of the Black Panthers have been Sigmas, and author Zora Neale Hurston and actress Esther Rolle have been Zetas.
However let’s not miss that it was dudes who’ve an affinity for blue that proposed the well-known March on Washington of 1963 and that their sisters have for years had an initiative known as “Get Engaged,” that tries to strengthen the connection between the group, regulation enforcement, and lecturers. Then, in fact, I’ve mad respect for the boys of Iota Phi Theta. I don’t love their colours, however any group that’s unapologetic of their advocacy for Pan-Africanism and Black nationalism, is cool with me.
Actually, that is only a love letter to Black Greek Letter Organizations for Black Historical past Month. They function they performed and proceed to play within the lives of Black folks must be celebrated. We might battle over who’s finest (clearly Alphas), however we should always have a good time the way in which every group genuinely loves and fights for Black folks.