Legacy 2016 Miami: Black History Month Issue | Page 4

4BB

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MIA MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS GROUP TO MIAMI HERALD

By Dr. Denise St. Patrick-Bell
Civil rights in African-American history
have primarily been promulgated and
achieved by activism within the Black
churches, Black social service organizations
and Black fraternal organizations. The
purpose of this article is to give recognition
to some of those fraternal organizations and
to celebrate their longevity, social
consciousness, and commitment to building
social capital and upholding the strong
ideals of education, integrity, public service
and activism.
Black Greek fraternal organizations
began as a direct defiance against two
societal views. First and foremost, they were
excluded from White Greek-letter groups.
Second, many initiated them during a time
in history when a societal view of academic
education for African Americans seemed
impractical. Furthermore, sororities were
birthed at a time in history when the
traditional roles of women were being
challenged. The formation of African
American Greek-letter societies challenged
the view that Blacks were incapable of
understanding Greek life.
There are nine historically Black Greek
letter organizations also known as the Divine
9 that make up the National Pan-Hellenic
Council (founded in 1930 at Howard
University, Washington, DC.) All have
projects that mirror each other in the areas
of political action\voter registration,
education and cultural awareness, and
physical\mental health programs.
• Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated,
Founded 1906, Cornell University +