In honor of black history month the students of shout invite you to explore the divine nine the nine historically black greek letter organizations that make up the national panhellenic council Black greek letter sororities and fraternities have been a pivotal part of black american history and culture since the early 20th century these organizations have been a central resource for support and service in the educational advancement and strengthening of social bonds among black students entrepreneurs and professionals especially when organizations expanded to majority white
Institutions of higher learning also they were a way to combat racism as many campus organization memberships were exclusionary to students and professionals of color at that time the pioneer black greek letter organizations have become known as the divine nine and among their ranks have been some of
The most influential leaders of color in health care fashion business global affairs civil rights politics and more among the ranks of the black fraternities are leaders from w.e.b dubois martin luther king jr and dr carter g woodson to hill harper al roker emmitt smith bob johnson and robert smith
And hundreds of thousands more and the sororities boast an impressive roster of star wars as well from vice president kamala harris maya angelou shirley chisholm and loretta lynch to nikki giovanni soledad o’brien m.c light aretha franklin and many more the national panhellenic council formed on the campus of howard university on may 10
1930 is a collective of the nine pioneering black greek letter organizations alpha phi alpha fraternity incorporated alpha kappa alpha sorority incorporated kappa alpha psi fraternity incorporated omega side 5 fraternity incorporated delta sigma theta sorority incorporated phi beta sigma fraternity incorporated zeta phi beta sorority incorporated sigma gamma rho sorority incorporated and iota phi
Theta fraternity incorporated since these nine were started and incorporated membership has spread globally with chapters in asia the caribbean europe and africa their impact is also widespread professionally and financially as they have contributed millions to uplift communities send students to college via scholarships and support professionals in both corporate america
And entrepreneurship via mentorship and sponsorship the following is a quick introduction of each of the fraternities and sororities in the national panhellenic council the first organization we’re going to talk about are the brothers of iota phi theta founded in 1963 iota phi theta was established just weeks after the famous
March on washington for jobs and freedom and for the past 57 plus years the brothers of iota have been working hard towards jobs and freedoms for all people in general and black people in particular next we have the sisters of sigma gamma rho founded in 1922 sigma gamma rho’s
Commitment to service is expressed in its slogan greater service greater progress for almost 100 years they have had a proud history of providing positive and proactive community outreach sigma gamma rho enhances the quality of life for women and their families in the us and globally next we’ll introduce you to the sisters of
Zeta phi beta established in 1920 the founders of zeta phi beta envisioned a sorority which would directly affect positive change raise consciousness of their people encourage the highest standards of scholastic achievement and foster a greater sense of unity among its members these women established its mission to fully address
The societal wars ills prejudices and poverty affecting humanity in general and the black community in particular next let’s talk about the brothers from phi beta sigma from its inception in 1914 the founders of phi beta sigma conceived their fraternity as a mechanism to deliver services to the general community
Rather than gaining skills to be utilized exclusively for themselves and their immediate families they held a deep conviction that they should return their newly required skills to the communities from which they had come this deep conviction was mirrored in the fraternity’s motto culture for service and service for humanity
Next we’re going to introduce you to the sisters of delta sigma theta delta sigma theta was founded in january 1913 by 22 women at howard university these students wanted to use their collective strength to promote academic excellence and to provide assistance to those in need in march of 1913 the founders of delta
Sigma theta sorority incorporated performed their first public act they participated in the women’s suffrage march in washington dc and because of their support women earned the right to vote in 1920 unfortunately black women didn’t get their right to vote until the voting rights act of 1965. Next i’d like to introduce you to the brothers of omega sci-fi in november 1911 omega sci-fi was founded at howard university located in washington d.c the name of mega sci-fi was derived from the initials of the greek phrase meaning friendship is essential to the soul that phrase was selected as the fraternity’s motto
Additionally manhood scholarship perseverance and uplift were adopted as the fraternity’s cardinal principles Next are the brothers of kappa alpha psi founded in january 1911 kappa alpha’s side was founded at indiana university at bloomington their fundamental purpose of the fraternity is achievement founded in january 1911 kappa alpha’s side was founded at indiana university at bloomington their fundamental purpose of the fraternity is achievement
Kappa alpha psi trains its members to become leaders throughout all walks of life kappa alpha psi sponsors programs providing community service social welfare and academic scholarship through the kappa alpha psi foundation and is a supporter of the united negro college fund and habitat for humanity Next like to introduce you to the sisters of alpha kappa alpha alpha kappa alpha the first black greek letter sorority was founded at howard university in 1908 bound by the bonds of sisterhood and empowerment by a commitment to servant leadership both domestic and international in scope the sisters of alpha kappa alpha have
Maintained their focus on two key platforms the lifelong pursuit of personal and professional development of each of its members and the galvanizing of its membership into an organization of respected power and influence consistently at the forefront of effective advocacy and social change resulting in equality and equity for all citizens of the world
And last but never least are the brothers of alpha phi alpha Alpha phi alpha the first black greek letter fraternity was founded at cornell university in 1906 by seven college men who recognized the need for a strong bond of brotherhood among african descendants in this country the fraternity initially served as a study group to support black students who faced racial prejudice at cornell
The founders and early leaders of the fraternity succeeded in laying a firm foundation for alpha phi alpha’s principles of scholarship fellowship good character and the uplifting of humanity which is encapsulated in their motto first of all servants of all we shall transcend all
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