During a virtual event hosted by the James Weldon Institute for the Study of Race and Difference, Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Professor of Law at Wake Forest University School of Law (N.C.) Gregory S. Parks discussed his book “A Pledge with Purpose: Black Sororities and Fraternities and the Fight for Equality” on April 4. His book, which Parks co-wrote with Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut Matthew W. Hughey, is about the historical and political significance of the Divine Nine, a group of nine historically Black Greek-letter organizations (BGLOs) that comprise the National Pan-Hellenic Council.
“A Pledge with Purpose” explores the role of BGLOs in changing the social and political landscape of the nation — from the Harlem Renaissance to the civil rights movement — by serving the community through philanthropy, civic activism and public policy.
Parks is an active member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity (APA), which was the first intercollegiate BGLO. APA was started in 1906 when Henry Arthur Callis realized the need for community and brotherhood for the Black student population after being ostracized by the mainly white student body of Cornell University (N.Y.).
“Society offered us narrowly circumscribed opportunity and no security,” Parks said, quoting Callis. “Out of our need, our fraternity brought social purpose and social action.”
Prominent members of BGLOs include civil rights lawyer, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice and APA member Thurgood Marshall, women’s activist and Delta Sigma Theta sorority member Dorothy Height and co-founder of the Black Panther Party and Phi Beta Sigma member Huey P. Newton.
There have been historic influences on these organizations, including the Black church, which Parks said was “the first institution of Black life in America,” and the Niagara Falls Convention, which inspired a founder of APA to start the fraternity. BGLOs drew elements from white organizations as well, particularly literary societies’ commitment to debate and dialogue, along with white fraternities’ spirit of brotherhood, Parks added.
He then outlined how BGLOs are detailed in the book. Chapters focus on different time periods and “the attention that the organizations and their members pay to our communities through philanthropy and community service, civic activism and shaping public policy.” One chapter, titled “Finding Their Way: Black and Greek in the Midst of the Harlem Renaissance, the Roaring Twenties, and the Adolescence of Jim Crow (1923-1929),” highlights key initiatives led by the BGLOs.
“Alpha Phi Alpha started a ‘Go-to-High-School, Go-to-College’ program in 1922 to encourage Black youth to matriculate through K-12 and then go onto college,” Parks said. “Kappa Alpha Psi started its Guide Right program the same year for educational and occupational guidance of youth.”
In “Black Greek-Letter Organizations as Social Welfare Nets (1930-1939),” Parks and Hughey focus on the 1930s and discuss litigation, voting rights, school desegregation and collaboration with other Black civil rights organizations. In 1938, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA) formed the National Non-Partisan Lobby on Civil and Democratic Rights, which was the first full-time congressional lobby for minority group civil rights.
The last period Parks discussed was in the chapter “Spreading the Word: Black Greek-Letter Organizations, Democracy, and the Great Migration (1940-1948).”
“Much of the effort here reflects the new tools and skill sets that members of the Divine Nine organizations developed — and that is utilizing the law,” Parks said.
In 19486, AKA formed the American Council on Human Rights with support from Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho sororities as well as Alpha Phi Alpha, Phi Beta Sigma and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternities. It served as a joint and cooperative non-partisan body through which member organizations could consider questions of domestic and foreign policy and civil rights-related legislation.
Parks closed his discussion with a comment on the current role of BGLOs.
“We’re in a moment, with the election of Donald Trump, the rise of white right-wing extremists and concerns about democracy in our own country, where I see these organizations becoming even more engaged on the kinds of issues they were focused on than they were more than a generation ago,” Parks said.
He recalled that President Joe Biden promised meaningful outreach to the Divine Nine community if elected, but Parks noted how nothing came of it beyond the Biden administration inviting the council of presidents of each organization to the White House to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, who is a member of AKA.
He added that although the increase in police brutality and right-wing extremism made BGLOs more concerned about such issues, they don’t know how to mobilize effectively, which has been a problem for over a generation. The organizations were most engaged with civil rights issues up to the 1960s. From the 1970s onward, their involvement shifted to more philanthropic activities.
“Some of those members go inactive because they want to have an impact,” Parks said. “They want to see our communities advance, and they don't see our organizations as the best vehicle for that.”
Parks added that the Divine Nine have the national programs of community service, civic engagement and social action that are required to make a difference but lack meaningful collaboration among organizations.
“My issue is — and you probably find this more pronounced in the Divine Nine organizations — the petty rivalries, the siloed thinking and action,” Parks said. “We could be far more effective in the work that we do if we pooled our resources, and those resources are simply financial.”
Parks later addressed audience members’ questions, including one inquiring on where the Divine Nine organizations stand on LGBT issues. He said that he was not optimistic and that most organizations steer clear of formal LGBT membership and the rights of LGBT individuals outside of the organizations. However, he added that APA hopes to start an initiative around diversity, equity and inclusion across the board, which he called “a bold step.”
“At the end of the day, it just boils down to ‘Are we out there doing the work?’” Parks said. “Are we out there trying to substantially advance our communities? And if we are, folks will notice. If we aren’t, they’ll notice too.”
Correction (4/13/2022 at 10:04 a.m.): A previous version of the article attributed a quote to Gregory S. Parks. In fact, Parks was quoting Henry Arthur Callis.
