Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs) are a crucial part of Black History, and they continue to play a vital role in trying to uplift people who look like us. Yeah, some of the members of these organizations can be a bit…much. (Full disclosure, I am a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated founded on…never mind. I know we can be annoying. Sorry.)
But we should give these organizations and their members the flowers they deserve. Because while there may be names you know, there are also a number of things that the organizations they joined do to try and make life better for Black folks.
Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court Justice, was an Alpha. But that (my) organization is also responsible for millions of people being registered to vote. Alphas also introduced the “Go-to-High School, Go-to-College” campaign in 1919, which led to generations of Black teens getting a college education.
And, of course, there is the great Shirley Chisholm. She was the first Black woman to be elected to Congress, and she was a member of Delta Sigma Theta. But we should not forget that DST advocated fiercely for there to be anti-lynching laws and played a pivotal role in getting Black woman to support the women’s suffrage movement.
Carter G. Woodson, a historian and founder of Negro history week which later became Black History Month, was an Omega. But we should celebrate how members of that organization, people whose names many of us won’t remember, made significant contributions to organizations like the Southern Negro Congress and the National Urban League.
Many of us know that Vice President Kamala Harris is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. And yeah, the stereotype is that they are pretty. Yet, don’t know that they were the first organization to have a life membership with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and that organization goes to great lengths to draw attention to the health of Black women.
We have to put some respect on the name of Kappa Alpha Psi who don’t just shimmy on stage, but when a member of their organization stood up for Black folks by kneeling on a NFL field, the fraternity sent a letter of support to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell then protested outside of NFL games, and in front of the NFL headquarters in New York.
We can poke fun at men who call themselves pretty, but that’s admirable. Let’s also not forget the women of Sigma Gamma Rho who were vocal supporters of President Johnson’s Anti-Poverty Program and implemented nationwide initiatives like the Vocational Guidance Workshop Center.
Phi Beta Sigma and Zeta Phi Beta are constitutionally brother and sister organizations, and both had an outsized roles in Black social movements. Of course, Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton, founders of the Black Panthers were Sigmas, and writer Zora Neale Hurston and actress Esther Rolle were Zetas.
But let’s not miss that it was dudes who have an affinity for blue that proposed the famous March on Washington of 1963 and that their sisters have for years had an initiative called “Get Engaged,” that tries to strengthen the relationship between the community, law enforcement, and teachers. Then, of course, I have mad respect for the men of Iota Phi Theta. I don’t love their colors, but any organization that is unapologetic in their advocacy for Pan-Africanism and Black nationalism, is cool with me.
Really, this is just a love letter to Black Greek Letter Organizations for Black History Month. They role they played and continue to play in the lives of Black people needs to be celebrated. We may fight over who is best (clearly Alphas), but we should celebrate the way each organization genuinely loves and fights for Black people.