And I think to the outside world the fun is really what they see and what they attach to sororities and fraternities oh I want to go to the step show oh I want to wear the paraphernalia oh I want to do the call I want to have line sisters
And line brothers it’s the work in the communities that keep us going you can’t party forever but you can serve your community forever black Greek life for some it is a means to an end for others it is a way to be a light for me it is an opportunity for service
Sisterhood and a chance to make a difference in the community where work and limb I’m Kelly Swoope a member of the divine knife tonight we take a look at a piece of black history that is bridging the gap all over the world nine different organizations all with the same goal in mind Alpha Phi Alpha was the first intercollegiate Greek letter fraternity established for african-american men founded at Cornell University in 1906 the seven founders came together recognizing the need for a strong bond of brotherhood among African descendants in this country understand most of us were created just at the turn of the century
Think about what most of our people were facing they were facing segregation in a way that is probably unimaginable to this generation they had to survive in that environment and not only did they survive they thrived so we’re talking about Harlem Renaissance time we’re talking about WB Dubois we’re talking about Marcus Garvey
You’re talking about people speaking up about their identity and that trickles over into college campuses that trickles over into the consciousness of 18 19 20 year olds one generation removed from slavery life for african-americans was still extremely harsh slavery had been abolished but there were new laws on the
Books called Black Codes these laws often referred to as Jim Crow laws restricted the freedom of blacks and ensured they would be available for labor in 1905 the boy started the Niagara movement an assembly of well learned blacks who led a charge to end racial segregation and in Jim Crow the
Movement was short-lived but was the precursor for the n-double-a-cp and the divine 9 organization it would soon follow African American Greek organizations were literally founded because they wanted to move critical policy or they wanted to get rid of the oppression that was being faced in the African American communities we
Mobilized our organizations to change history and that came out of being deprived from our basic human rights the organization spawned in college men and women so that when they completed their four-year matriculation they were still involved in organizations they went back to their homes wherever they were from
And could continue activities almost all of the divine nine I’m sure somewhere in their tenants is service scholarship and commitment to the community and those premises in college graduates going back to their communities wherever they were from were important in moving forward issues that were common to African Americans throughout the country
Iota Phi Theta was came about during the height of one of the most violent years in recent history I mean in 1963 we had Birmingham we had mega ever shot we had the four little girls bombed in the church down south and a week after
That iota Phi Theta came to be and the things that were important then I feel is still important now the organizations are ever-evolving and continuing to change so although all of our organizations were founded in the early 1900s we’re still facing some of the same issues and reasons that the
Organizations were founded in the first place there’s power in numbers and traditionally the organizations have collaborated and bonded together in many efforts throughout history and that continues to be the same and now more than ever we will need to be united as one although we’re separate organizations we were founded at
Different times we all have a common mission and as to better african-american communities both within the United States and abroad and it’s quite apparent in our current climate that that relevance is I’m going to continue to be the utmost priority to all of our organizations when we come
Back we’ll take a look at the organization’s purpose and the personal benefits of joining the divine [Applause] But one of our major tenets of scholarship and we have various programs across this country to deal with that one of our major programs is called a boatless people is the hopeless people Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority was founded on the campus of Howard University on January 15th 1908 our mission is to
Cultivate high scholastic standards to promote sisterhood to promote service and to collaborate with other organizations to for the betterment of black communities Kappa Alpha cypher Trinity was founded on January 5th 1911 at Indiana University the fundamental purpose of CAP outside is achievement in every field of human endeavor and that’s
That goes across you know school to athletics I think one of the things that we concentrate a lot on mentorship Omega sci-fi fraternity was founded at Howard University on November 17th 1911 think about the opportunities about uplift in the community it’s about mentoring a lot of young african-american men in
Considering the Thompson how trying these times are think about the kind of message that you want to send in a common exploration that you want to provide this return of the appear – all of that Delta Sigma Theta was founded on the campus of Howard University on
January 13 1913 and Delta Sigma Theta we stand on the pillar of service sisterhood and scholarship and we focus on up building the African American community Phi Beta Sigma was founded on january 9th 1914 at Howard University I believe the founding fathers really saw a need to establish a brotherhood
That was very sincere about working with the common man they really want to put forth a movement that would utilized the skills of regular men from all walks of life to utilize in the communities all across the world that they envisioned at that time Zeta Phi Beta Sorority was founded on
The campus of Howard University on January 16 1920 our tenants involve the same sisterhood service scholarship and finer womanhood our focus has been for many years on children Sigma Gamma Rho sorority was founded on November 12th 1922 at Butler University Sigma Gamma Rho sororities tenets are also sisterhood scholarship and service and
As an organization that was founded by schoolteachers education is very important to what we do we spend a great deal of our time cultivating our youth iota Phi Theta was founded on September 19 1963 at Morgan State University iota Phi Theta our mission focuses around our five stars which are citizenship
Leadership scholarship fidelity and Brotherhood one of the things that Delta Sigma Theta is focusing on is the 2020 census we want to make sure that we’re educating our community on the importance of being involved in the importance of being counted we want to be for the greater good and I think
That’s what all of us are about we want to be about the greater good not so much about you know whatever little niche group that you have but at the end of the day I know that it’s not about us it’s about the people who follow us and
How do we get there not just to where we are but to where they should be and we want more people who not only look like us but can speak with a degree of validity you might join your organization while in college maybe you’re on that campus
Three or four years in my case I joined in 1976 1976 which means I’ve been a Zeta 43 years certainly longer than four years that I was on the campus of the University of Maryland Baltimore County and I’ve been active in that sorority in various grad chapters as I traveled and
Continued to be active I remember getting my first scholarship in high school before going on to college from the local chapter near my house and seeing other young women on campus who were members of Alpha Kappa Alpha and saying okay I want to be like you I want
To do what you’re doing not just because you know you look nice and you’re pink and green and you’re very cute but actually you have you know some of the highest GPAs in on campus you’re a science major you’re going to medical school you’re interning with someone in
The White House it was those reasons that really appeal to me and I said oh you can do all of this and no and look good at the same time I’m about I’m about that it’s and looked good doing it I’m like it was flawless and I think we
Could all speak to having those experiences like wow like just being amazed by people who did it before us our organizations want to make sure that the individuals that come through our doors are going to be committed not only for a lifetime but are committed to the values that are in place
We’re looking for the best and the brightest that have demonstrated that they can make an impact in their community and that they are going to make an impact in the community once they join the organization we have one group of people who like to join organizations because they use it as a
Way to identify themselves as an identity I mean you have another set of people who they already know who they are they know what their purpose is and they use the organization as a vehicle to already move the needle for something that they care about and those are the
Types of people that the organizations typically look for because the work is hard black Greek life is for life yes we have graduate chapters where we all pay dues we all continue to go to our organizations conferences locally regionally and internationally we’re still out here serving our communities
It doesn’t end on the college campus or when you walk across that stage with your degree it is a commitment for life I think about the the lifelong friendships that IVA gained in the organization I’ve been in cap off south for almost 20 years now and what it did was it brought me
Together with a bunch of like-minded young men that we all had a goal we want to be a part of the fraternity and I know that we know there are certain things that we had to do and even when we became Kappas we continued to move forward I have a turtle brothers now
That you know I knew when I was 18 that our judges now doctors and like what you said the network is humongous but when you have a niche of guys that you had that goal to keep moving forward to keep achieving with it it does something for
You it lets you know you know we all came from humble beginnings but here this is where we are now and we’re still moving forward as grown man so I think I’m like Chris I I be I was 19 years old when I became an iota and I’ve really
Never functioned in an ecosystem of scarcity I pledged it alpha chapter my first job and I owe to help me get my first job and I owe to help me with the career that subsequently happened all the way until retirement out of the homes that I’ve purchased two or three
Of them the eye odors were the Realtors currently I passed a church in the city of Baltimore and iota helped me coefficient my oldest daughter’s wedding and I will co officiate with him his daughter’s wedding in about two or three months so this whole network I’ve heard the word network
When you bring something to a to a group of people that you choose to spend time with the the dividends the benefits of what that provides it’s just it just happens it’s just it’s organic I don’t care what organization you belong the network itself for your own personal
Growth and career achievement is beyond amazing it allowed me to get introduced into spaces I probably wouldn’t be in if I did not join the organization so I will say the network in itself is one of the most beneficial things for me in addition to the networking it’s being a
Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha has afforded me the opportunities to embark on my passion so I’m a pediatrician I’m trained as a service provider and that’s what I do day in and day out when I serve in my sorority with my sword Wars it doesn’t feel like an additional job
For say everything bleeds over and rightly so so I’m very involved especially in our mentoring programs that’s one thing that drew me a lot into the sorority and when I’m doing the work of Alpha Kappa Alpha I feel like I’m doing the work that I’ve personally
Wanted to do all my life and being in a sorority it just gives me another arm another outlet the network is very large and very beneficial and the network goes across organizational lines as well there have been opportunities to lead programs to interact with the community to interact with public officials that I
Would not have been afforded just as Lori but as a member of Sigma Gamma Rho these doors are open to me these women have seen things in me that I would never have seen in myself and they have confidence in me and let me lead the way
And they follow willingly I was raised in a family too much is given much is expected you always give back to your community and so as I progressed in my career I moved physically moved from one jurisdiction to once to a different City and many times
Didn’t know anyone when I arrived but if I open the newspaper or flyer and I saw an event involving mother-daughter luncheon for the Zetas I would show up and suddenly I had a room full of women who were like my sister and I am was able to get involved immediately in the
Community this benefited me because as I went to a new place I didn’t always feel alone but I felt that okay I just find some Zetas and I have a bunch of sisters that I can not only socialize with because we do have social activities but
I also can get involved in the community and give back like I was raised to do let me talk about the elephant in the room most of us are normally the only black person in environments that people don’t expect us to be and what our organizations have I believe instilled
In all of us is we belong there not because someone said well we need as I doing like I said we need another colored person no we don’t need any more colored people we need people who are competent we need people who are smart we need people who are prepared to take
On the reins of leadership because all of us have been that person I know in my work I’m a political report then a political reporter and you know in the old days it used to ask why is Charles here no the new question is why is it
Charles here what we all know is I have the educational background that says I I need to be here but I bring with me whatever my fraternity brothers my sorority brought the sisters came with and all the people who put me here at this point in time because that’s where I should be
We’ve heard about the works and the benefits when we come back we’ll get their take on the front that comes with being a member of the divine line [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] we’ve talked about the service aspect but is there any fun going on really what floats your boat you know we one of my chapters events we have a relationship with a Senior Center it’s a assisted living facility and we go once a month and we sit and we have
Activities but the activities we make a fun sometimes we go and we sit around and paint the lady’s fingernails you know we do manicures now you think okay it’s just about the manicure it’s not when you’re holding someone’s hand and you’re talking to them for the resident they’re having interaction with another
Human being that they may not be getting any any other place in my book that’s one and I agree fun and service don’t have to be in two separate worlds I think we’ve all we mentioned service a lot that we’re organizations that are built on the premise of serving our
Communities but in doing that you build friendships you build bonds in my chapter oops aunts on omega chapter of Baltimore County some of my tightest friendships and closest bonds have come in service so while I’m serving I’m developing relationships with the sores by my side Sigma Gamma Rho has a
Signature program where we are partnered with USA Swimming called swim 19-22 where we make sure that young African Americans know how to swim and that’s fun for us to see young people get in a pool for the first time when they’re from the inner city and actually learn
How to swim that’s fun most of us saw the part and that’s where it kind of sparked our interest the color is the the toilet of the Kanes that’s the stuff that intrigued me I would save my 12 grade year at high school there are certain things I need
To do so I can be a part of this organization I know that most of us like we say you have to be involved in order to have the fun fun is kind of baked into the black Greek experience but even having fun is work iota puts on a
Black-tie event generally draws hundreds of people and we give away scholarships but it’s work and we enjoy ourselves we really do enjoy ourselves have a great time fun fuels and funds the community service project right you know we raise money having fun only to turn that money over to scholarship service projects
That’s how we get to do those projects we raise money we sell tickets and next thing you know we have our signature event we party with a purpose for somebody who has a certain set of values and wants to express and use their values in a positive way I look at
It as nine different well nine different organizations be you male or female nine different opportunities for you to examine how you can best make your impact with a group of people and that’s why these local organizations are so valuable because we each have our other own little niche of activities and
Things that we do and you might hear the Zetas are doing one thing and the deltas are doing something else and Sigma Gamma Rho is doing another thing and IKS we’re doing yet one other thing and and that’s the whole point of what we’re trying to share with you about the divine nine
There are nine of us and we do different things we wear different colors you know and we think our colors are the best are in our songs are the best and our signals our calls we think they’re the best they’re all the same really fundamentally maybe not truly and I
Think that’s important that your listeners know that we are committed individuals to serve our community and we do it because we want to do it we choose to do it [Applause] I hope you were inspired and enlightened by the work being done in the community by the divine I as Black History Month comes to a close remember to ask yourself the question how alive bridge the gap thanks for joining us tonight
source
