In light of recent posting of individuals who have become members of a Black Greek Letter Organization only to later denounce theorganization and resign from it I would like to revisit this article that was written in 2020 with updates given the current social media furor. This is a question I have heard over the years. It appears to be based on incomplete or partial knowledge of Christianity and incomplete or partial knowledge of black Greekdom. So before I respond to the question, let’s perform a general overview of Black Greekdom and then review possible conflicts with Christianity.
BRIEF HISTORY OF BLACK GREEK LIFE
Imagine a time when African Americans are second-class citizens.
Very few white institutions of higher learning admitted black students.
The vast majority of black doctors, lawyers, dentists, teachers, nurses, and scientists were graduates of historically black colleges. Also, consider the fact that most historically black colleges were founded by slaves through their church affiliation. The students of these historically black institutions were a mix of legacies–students whose parents attended the college-, the first in the family to attend, older students who worked their way through school, self-pay students–parents had the money to pay cash for the tuition, room, and board. It’s the early twentieth century. The first African American fraternity was Alpha Phi Alpha, which began on the Ivy League campus of Cornell University in
- Within 16 years, they were followed by the first African American sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha on the campus of Howard University in 1908; Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity on the campus of Indiana University and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity at Howard University in 1911; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority at Howard University in 1913; Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity at Howard University in 1914; Zeta Phi Beta Sorority at Howard University in 1920; and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority at Butler University in 1922. Finally, Iota Phi Theta at Morgan State University in 1963.
In the early twentieth century, these organizations were founded to create a community of like-minded individuals to prepare for a life of service to their communities. The main criterion for membership was status as a full-time student endeavoring to obtain a college degree. The goal was to take the education and leadership skills obtained in college and use them to benefit the communities, many of which were segregated, to which most students would return. Also, remember, these were college students of various levels of maturity. As a result, other criteria for consideration varied based on the individual group, and those criteria became the archetype of their membership. In those early days, some may have to pass the brown bag test for the newbies. Grocery bags were made of paper and were a uniform brown shade across the nation. You were eligible for membership if you were the shade of the bag or lighter. If you were darker, you needed to look elsewhere. Others used criteria that were not about you but about your parental status. If your parents were somebody, you were welcome. If they were just regular people, you should look elsewhere. Some set themselves apart by using them as criteria of what you could bring to the organization and not about the superficial criteria of looks, social status, or heritage. While each group has its closely guarded secrets, there are no allusions to mysticism, as found in some of the Masonic fraternal orders.
PERCEPTIONS OF CONFLICT WITHCHRISTIANITY
The first conflict that occurs is usually upon acceptance of membership in the organization. Candidates are required to swear their loyalty to the organization and maintain the secrecy of the knowledge imparted. To be the President of the United States, you must swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States and protect it from all enemies, foreign and domestic. To enter the military, you must swear an oath. The organization is symbolic of a set of guiding principles. The oath is a public announcement of your commitment to those principles. In Matthew 5, verses 33 – 37, Jesus is documented as speaking against the swearing of oaths. However, in the text, he extolls the virtue of being consistent in your daily walk, that you speak with integrity such that
there is no need to swear an oath to determine the veracity of your statement.
The second conflict is in the level of allegiance to the organization. In the Mosaic law found in Exodus 20 2 – 4, God tells Moses, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt and the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven
image, or any likeness of anything that in heaven above, or that I in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. This speaks to those who would worship the letters of their organization and what they represent. These are the individuals who spend more of their time displaying their colors and wearing the colors than they do living up to the tenets of their organization. God asks why one would worship the creation rather than the creator. This
behavior can be symptomatic of one who lacks spiritual maturity. In John 13:35, Jesus states by this, shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. If we learn to truly love one another within the body of Christ, extending that love to others in our lives becomes a natural extension of our personal growth. That we “love” our Sorors or Fraters is manifestation of our Christian love. When members look down on others who are not in their organization or think they are better than others not, they show their spiritual immaturity.
As such it can be counterproductive to the success of the organizations programs as well as their own spiritual development. The third conflict is in the “branding” of oneself to show their allegiance. The Mosaic Law found in Leviticus 19:28 states Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord. God was taking what was once a family and shaping it into a nation of chosen believers. He is calling them
to not follow the practices of the pagans to cut and paint themselves
as a means to gain “favor” with the powers that be. The problem is what prompts an individual to get branded. Is one trying to gain favor or doing it as a body fashion statement. One imperative above all things as Christians, we live by faith, we are not shackled by our past indiscretions and missteps. As such, we should not hold others’ past indiscretions against them, either.
MY JOURNEY
One thing I must state up front is that I obtained it by burning before I got what I learned. That is to say that I had established a relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior before I went off to college. As such, I always knew God had a plan for my life, and I sought ways to fulfill that objective. I did not join my fraternity to become somebody, I joined Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. to serve my community.
In the next installment, I will discuss how church and black Greek letter organizations are similar and how they suffer similar problems from their respective congregants.
COMMONALITY OF BLACK GREEK LIFE AND BLACK CHURCH LIFE
Culturally Rich experience – The genesis of both Black Greek life and black church life grew out of the need to be more and do more than social norms of the day allow. Though born in segregation, both provided for its members that which the general society of the day would not allow – the full development of individuals of African descent. In the church, this loosened the limitations of who would be allowed to ascend to the ranks of the church hierarchy and where they could serve. In addition, it provided for the evolution of the perspective from which the gospel was taught and preached, from 9 slaves obey your masters, to that of liberation theology. Lost in the annals of time is the fact that many of the early denominations that are no longer existent, did not hamper the movement of women into the ranks of church leadership. The church was not just a one day a week operation. Rather, it was an integral part of the communities of color. Before public education, churches were the only institutes of education for the masses. These were the places that runaway slaves would go so they could become productive citizens of the community. A century after black churches were instituted, Black Greek letter organizations sprouted for two reasons. Black Greek life began as a means to call collegians of African descent to a higher purpose then their own personal gain. The realization that being black with one or more college degrees meant little or nothing in the general American society particularly in the south. So, developing a network of Fraters and Sorors provided a communication network of opportunities for employment and/or academic advancements. Leadership development opportunities abounded within these organizations as their goal was to make each member an asset to the community to which they would join upon
graduation. Part II article will appear appear in the August/September issue of Upstate NY Gospel Magazine.
