A step forward to have a discussion about the black male secret society known as sigma pi phi uh acronym the boule b-o-u-l-e yes these brothers that we are pushing up against the wall have taken a sworn oath that they will never expose the whites that they know actually run the world So [Applause] for more than a century black greek organizations have made their voices heard on college campuses and in communities across the country the founders of these organizations they understood that the pathway forward for us was together through unity house democratic caucus chair hakeem jeffries joined kappa alpha
Psi fraternity at the age of 18. and it really was the first time in my life that anyone of importance and authority suggested to me that they saw some leadership qualities and attributes within me and it’s a moment that i’ve never forgotten moments like that shared by many in the divine nine the
Nine black sororities and fraternities that comprise the national panhellenic council vice president kamala harris has been outspoken about the impact her sorority has had on her and along the way you find people who help you become your true self for me that was my beloved alpha kappa alpha sisters in an
Election cycle marked by historic first it’s hard to ignore the role these organizations have played georgia elected its first black senator and america sent a black woman to the white house both members of the divine nine when i look at what alpha kappa alpha sorority incorporated and other
Members of the divine nine are doing now we’re seeing that they are dedicated to voter education mobilization and participation we’re also seeing that even during a pandemic the service never stops ground breakers and trailblazers have always in so many different ways been connected to the black fraternity and sorority organizations including the
Great shirley chisholm who was a proud member of the delta sigma ada sorority i have always been a catalyst for change the founders of these organizations are they perhaps could never have envisioned that one day we would ascend to the highest levels of power and authority in the land
Including within the congress and now the white house but i certainly know they dreamed it and believed that they were laying a foundation for great things to occur but because of my hbcu and divine nine family i know i’m never the only person who looks like me or has had my life experiences
Even today we are 113 years after our founding that is a strong legacy and we’re still able to see the ways in which the united states does not treat all of its citizens equally have they gotten better definitely they have definitely improved from where they may belong to different houses but we’re
All a part of the same trusted family we may belong to different houses but we’re all a part of the same trusted family cornell west i’m bringing a monty perry i’m bringing eddie glaude i’m bringing michael eric dyson i’m bringing some folk with me who can challenge the president and inform the conversation
Otherwise you’re just being trusted why are you saying oh my god so you were so you’re at the meeting you heard and saw everything i don’t understand how anything i said would prompt that question unless unless steve harvey turned into a policy analyst in in in the behind the
Scenes meeting then it doesn’t matter what i was there i’m saying that you want to name karl marx I am demarco morgan a proud member of cap alpha psy fraternity incorporated my name is des lee mcneil my name is samuel crenshaw the name of my fraternity is the omega sci-fi fraternity incorporated and we do like this i am blaine alexander i’m one of the
Reporters at 11 alive and i am also a dynamic diva a proud member of delta sigma theta So do That is uh no uh fraternity guys yes nobody else oh stop it excuse me yeah you play did you play you got smacked if he couldn’t jump it fraternity go go okay maybe he did [Applause] is [Applause] Just Foreign Northwestern university student is suing a sorority she blames for her daughter’s suicide nineteen-year-old jordan henkins died in january of 2017. the lawsuit against alpha kappa alpha alleges that hazing caused her severe anxiety and depression which led jordan to take her own life now her parents are opening up to cbs
This morning in their only television interview erika duncan is outside the sororities headquarters in chicago jerica good morning good morning as a result alpha kappa alpha was suspended from northwestern’s campus in 2017 in a statement to cbs this morning they say they were deeply saddened by the death
Of jordan hankins but still the parents of hankins believe the sorority made up of nearly 300 thousand members nationwide should be held responsible for their daughter’s death she had a smile that would brighten up a room if you were feeling low or feeling down you know jordan just had this way
Of making you forget from a young age jordan hankins had a passion for helping others and a gift when it came to playing sports she won a full ride to northwestern university on a basketball scholarship going forward i hope that we like keep the same energy her sophomore year she told her parents
Felicia and walter hankins she wanted to join a sorority as a way to serve others did hazing even cross your mind when she first told me that she had an interest i think most importantly my concerns were that they were genuine in their mission we know her as a revelation henken’s mom remembers
Watching the ceremony in which her daughter became an official member of alpha kappa alpha what was going through your mind as you’re watching her pride a sense of pride a sense of relief you know because the process was over but just seven weeks later the 19 year
Old took her own life in her dorm room i couldn’t reach her so that was my concern so then i just started trying to call continuously no answer no answer and so you know ultimately you know she was found the next day even if you are part of sorority or
Fraternity it could happen to your family it could happen and it did a lawsuit against the sorority and nine members alleges that during post initiation pledging jordan was subjected to physical abuse including paddling financial exploitation sleep deprivation and other forms of hazing intended to humiliate and demean her
The court documents say the hazing was triggering her ptsd causing severe anxiety and depression and that she was having suicidal thoughts according to the lawsuit she expressed that to her sorority sisters it’s unclear what her ptsd stemmed from brandon vaughan is the family’s attorney you believe that if the sorority hadn’t hazed
Jordan hankins would still be alive today that is what’s alleged in the lawsuit yes she sounded the alarm that the initiation practices that they were subjecting her to were causing harm and they didn’t do anything about it she told sorority members i’m feeling suicidal did she ever express that to
Any family or friends i’m not going to comment on that it is a dirty secret in america that the problem is pervasive and extensive in sorority life just as it is in fraternity life tom klein represents the family of timothy piazza the penn state sophomore who died in 2017 after a
Hazing ritual involving heavy drinking the unique challenge in the case of course for a lawyer is linking the suicide to the actual hazing but it does not take a quantum leap of imagination to understand that a young person who is deprived is subjected to physical hazing
Turns on herself so this is eighth grade two years after their daughter’s death felicia and walter hankins say it’s the happy memories with jordan that keep them strong and fighting for change it’s important that i speak out you know whether it was the first day after she passed away
Or today so that hopefully someone else won’t suffer the same fate alpha kappa alpha says it has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to hazing a spokesperson also tells us that it consistently educates its members about the dangers of hazing and the repercussions including suspension and expulsions now the organization declined
To comment any further on the matter citing the sensitive nature of jordan hankins death you don’t get killed for any other reason than jeopardizing the whites of the whites that run the world martin king who was a boulet met the bullet not for the civil rights thing before the international war thing
That got two kennedy boys killed also in july 17 1990 july 18th 1990 the los angeles times did a front page story on the left column about elite fraternity of black men excuse me brother all right i should go i saw that one get away i just shaved myself i stand back here
Uh this elite fraternity of black men were described in the article as being influential as being somewhat like skull and bones in yale and as it said these things i was little in awe as the others brothers and african minds united and the coalition against black exploitation as we all were intrigued by
The fact that this group of men could have been in existence and we not know about them bnn
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