The Failure of the Black Greek Letter Organization

Black Greek-letter organizations are some of the most influential organizations in the country. Collectively, these organizations claim approximately 800,000 members, with many coming from the social elite of Black culture (Parks, 2008). Each year, they offer countless scholarships and conduct thousands of service programs. Accordingly, many of the staunchest supporters of Black Greek-letter organizations not only insist that their existence is a valuable asset to society but also stress that these organizations, as well as their members, which include writers, social activists, educators, and civil rights leaders, are historically linked to the success of the African American community. Conversely, many of their harshest critics maintain that the activities of organizations that have included secret meetings, selective membership, and a preference for lighter complexions have allowed Black elites to create a separate privileged society based on snobbery and arrogance and have thus enabled these organizations to perpetuate the vicious cycle of racial prejudice and White supremacy (Hughey & Parks, 2011).

Consequently, it is the conformity to Western values and social norms that has created the controversy surrounding the initial purpose of the Black Greek-letter organization. Between 1906 and 1920, eight of the most prominent Black Greek-letter organizations were established. Many scholars have questioned whether these organizations were created in the hopes of unifying the Black community against the harmful effects of racial prejudice or whether they were formed by young African American students in order to gain acceptance into American society by emulating existing White organizations of the period (Brown, Parks, & Phillips, 2012).

In the past 5 years, there has been a resurgence of research surrounding the philosophy and mission of the Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). New African-centered theories suggest that BGLOs should be critiqued as social movements. Emerging from this research is the work of A. D. Chambers (2016), who suggests the rites of passage of the Black fraternity—which include ancestor veneration, rebirthing concepts, and dance performance—can mirror those characteristics found within traditional West African communities. Consequently, this new research asserts that, despite the many similarities of the BGLO to traditional West African organizations, this resemblance can be viewed as an unintended consequence of deep culture and not a product of direct design.

The creation of the Black fraternity had a dual purpose. First, these organizations were established for the greater purpose of pooling the resources of African Americans in the hopes of acquiring an education. Second, these organizations were formed as an attempt by Black students to gain acceptance into American society, that is, the campus community, by emulating or creating organizations that mirrored preexisting White organizations (Hughey & Parks, 2011).

From as early as the 1700s, Blacks in America have believed that there were conditions placed on them to justify equality or citizenship. These included acceptance of Christianity, participation in the military, obedience to Republican or Democratic principles, and economic development. Taken together, these can be encapsulated as the “be like us” theory of equality—that Blacks would be equal to Whites when they become like Whites. Another approach was an attempt to adjust all thought and action to the will of the greater group—assimilation into White culture and society. A third path was a conscious effort at self-realization and agency (Gaines, 1996).

Racial uplift was the Black elites’ response and challenge to White supremacy. It was both a contradictory position that sought to affirm that African Americans belonged to a racially subordinated caste while also serving as a model for African Americans aspiring to redefine themselves as members of a higher social class. Racial uplift was accompanied by a practical methodology of self-help. Self-help sought to refute the view that African Americans were biologically inferior and inassimilable by incorporating the Black community into ostensibly universal but deeply racialized ideological categories of Western progress and civilization. Generally, Black elites claimed to possess class distinctions from other African Americans. Moreover, the presence of a “better class” of Black people indicated racial progress. They believed that the improvement of African Americans’ material and moral condition through self-help would diminish White racism. Through racial uplift ideology, elite Blacks sought the cooperation of White political and business elites in the pursuit of racial progress.

Both W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were proponents of racial uplift. Although both of these individuals invested different levels of support in the theory, they initially validated its position within the Black community.

In his novel Up from Slavery Washington (1901) wrote,

The wisest among my race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremest folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing. (p. 223)

In The Philadelphia Negro Du Bois further elaborated,

Men have a right to demand that the members of a civilized community be civilized; that the fabric of human culture, so laboriously woven, be not wantonly or ignorantly destroyed. Consequently a nation may rightly demand, even of a people it has consciously and intentionally wronged, not indeed complete civilization in thirty or one hundred years, but at least every effort and sacrifice possible on their part toward making themselves fit members of the community within a reasonable length of time; that thus they may early become a source of strength and help instead of a national burden. (As cited in Du Bois, 1899/1967, p. 389)

In the first quarter of the 20th century, Black Greek-letter organizations became the vehicle used by the African American community to articulate their concerns and grievances regarding the unfair treatment and second-class status they were forced to endure. When the internal pressures and strains of segregation pushed the Black community to its limits, many within the community initiated the creation of new organizations, both formal and informal, whose purpose was to create new measures and tactics to alleviate the strain that had been exerted upon the community. The new tactic of the Black Greek-letter organization was seen as both a traditional and unorthodox method of direct action to bring about social change in American society. The Black fraternity was traditional because it was already a cultural mainstay found at mostly White colleges and universities. However, in the eyes of many Whites, the Black fraternity was also seen as an unorthodox organization for those who had never seen Black men organize themselves in such an elaborate manner for the purpose of improvement in their communities.

Black Greek-letter organizations were patterned after Eurocentric organizations. In 1776, Phi Beta Kappa, the first Greek-letter fraternity, was established at William and Mary College. It was this organization, which evolved over time to become the standard for excellence in collegiate academics that spurred the formation of other fraternal organizations. Accordingly, Greek-letter fraternities soon became a common sight at many colleges and universities around the nation.

Helen Horowitz (1987), author of the book Campus Life, wrote,

The fraternity had great appeal. For those undergraduates with the wealth, inclination, and leisure to join, the new Greek-lettered organizations gave a new area of privacy away from college eyes. In colleges founded by protestant denominations that demanded abstinence and self-denial, members could break the official code among trusted brothers. Fraternities provided the economic and social basis for feasts, strong drink, loose talk about women, card playing and gambling. (p. 57)

Over time, as Greek-letter organizations became more common, they evolved out of the image of Phi Beta Kappa. Just as White students created Greek-letter organizations as a means of securing and maintaining their position of wealth and prosperity, Black students, in an attempt to conform to the standards of White America, also modeled their own Greek-letter organizations after many of these existing White organizations. Accordingly, the assimilation of elite African Americans into the White community complicated the issues of class and color consciousness. Furthermore, those African Americans who were members of these organizations internalized racial prejudice and created a hierarchy based upon Social Darwinist attitudes.

Lawrence Graham, author of Our Kind of People, indicated that the elitist African American fraternal organization known as the “Boulé” was considered an elite men’s club by many, and its membership has included the most accomplished, affluent, and influential Black men in every city for nearly 100 years. Graham (1999) further elaborated on this issue by writing,

The Boulé selects its national membership strictly on the basis of professional accomplishments rather than popularity among a certain local group. Conducting all of the their official activities and social gatherings in black tie attire with formal ceremonies, Boulé members are men who are attracted to the fraternity because of intellectual discussions and its interests in promoting scholarship among a group of black professional men. (p. 45)

In the end, Graham contended that although the upper classes of the Black community may set themselves apart with their clubs, fraternities, and sororities while denying membership to the majority of the Black community who will never achieve their social standing, they perceive their reasons for forming such exclusive groups as perfectly honorable. In Graham’s view, the members of the Black elite are creating these exclusionary communities only as a reaction to the force of exclusion they have experienced through White supremacy.

Although these organizations had the specific aim of liberating the Black community from inferior positions as second-class citizens, many viewed these organizations as a means for the Black bourgeoisie to create and maintain privileged status and recognition within the Black community. Noted African American sociologist E. Franklin Frazier (1979), in his book Black Bourgeoisie, wrote,

Although the original aim of the society was to bring together the aristocracy of talent, it has become one of the main expressions of social snobbishness on the part of the Black Bourgeoisie. (p. 94)

In his book Black Greek 101 Walter Kimbrough (2003) documents that in 1948, social activist W. E. B. Du Bois commented on the course and function of the Black Greek-letter organization. During a speech delivered at the Nineteenth Grand Boulé Conclave of Sigma Pi Phi, Du Bois, who himself was a member of the Boulé, declared, “What the guiding idea of Sigma Pi Phi was, I have never been able to learn. I believe it was rooted in certain exclusiveness and snobbery, for which we all have a yearning, even if unconfused” (p. 25).

Moreover, Du Bois felt the Boulé did not represent the needs and desires of the Black community. When Du Bois delivered his speech, almost half of the members of the Boulé were physicians, dentists, and pharmacists. The other half consisted of educators, clergy, and social workers. Du Bois was not only critical of the Boulé, he also openly condemned other Black fraternities. During a 1930 commencement address at Howard University, Du Bois (2001a, b) stated,

Our college man today is, on the average a man untouched by real culture. He deliberately surrenders to selfish and even silly ideals, swarming into semiprofessional athletics and Greek letter societies, and affecting to despise scholarship and the hard grind of study and research. The greatest meeting of the Negro college year like those of the white college year have become vulgar exhibitions of liquor, extravagance, and fur coats. We have in our colleges a growing mass of stupidity and indifference. (p. 92)

This outright objection to the strategies, tactics, and overall mission of the Black fraternity was a key concern of many civil rights leaders within the Black community, who tried to encourage members of these organizations to distance themselves from aligning their overall mission and goal from that of the White community. However, acceptance into mainstream American society demanded that many Black leaders disregard the criticisms of social activists and adopt the values and social norms of White America. This acceptance of White values also included the acceptance of White prejudice, which also became a part of the social agenda of the Black fraternity.

When reviewing the history and mission of other prominent social movements of the Black community, the issue of skin color and complexion has often played a significant role in the overall function and outcome of the organizations’ goals, aims, and philosophy. As a result of this internal prejudice, many Black institutions and social organizations often accepted African Americans with lighter complexions into their ranks with more ease than dark-complexioned African Americans. Additionally, many prominent African American colleges and universities, social organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and fraternal organizations preferred the idea of allowing only lighter-complexioned Blacks to join their ranks (Ware, 2013). Organizations such as the Blue Vein Society made it quite clear that its members hoped to interact only with those who were light enough to pass the series of tests set forth by the organization.

Admission to the Blue Vein Society required an applicant’s skin color to be light enough for the veins in the wrist to be visible. Additionally, the paper bag test was sometimes employed to determine admission to mulatto churches. Under that test, individuals seeking to join a congregation would be required to place their arm inside a brown paper bag and could attend church services only if the skin on the arm were lighter than the color of the bag (Kerr, 2005).

Charles W. Chestnutt (1898) author of The Wife of His Youth described the process used by the Blue Vein Society and elaborated on the origins of the term Blue Vein:

Some envious outsider made the suggestion that no one was eligible for membership who was not white enough to show blue veins. The suggestion was readily adopted by those who were not of the favored few, and since that time the society, though possessing a longer and more pretentious name, had been known far and wide as the “Blue Vein Society,” and its members as the “Blue Veins.” (p. 1)

In many cities, mulattoes lived in separate residential communities, formed separate professional and business associations, and denied membership to darker-complexioned African Americans. These differences were reflected in the leadership of the Black community at the turn of the century, when mulatto elites dominated the intellectual and political life within the Black community (Keith & Herring, 1991). Although the mulatto elite were generally in a higher socioeconomic class than the Black masses, they were nonetheless rejected by the White community because of their African heritage.

In Black Bourgeoisie, Frazier argued,

[M]ulattoes, blacks with white progenitors, led a more privileged existence when compared with their “pure black” counter-parts. During slavery, these fair-skinned blacks were at times emancipated by their white fathers. After slavery, their kinship ties to whites gave them an advantage over other blacks in obtaining education, higher-status occupations, and property. (p. 159)

Within many Black Greek-letter organizations, it is the psychological outlook and attitudes of the organization’s core members that set the precedent for the organization’s activities. For instance, if the core members or inner circle of an organization are preoccupied with acquiring an education, consequently the organization and its membership may focus its energies on providing educational opportunities for all of its members. This idea of an organization’s philosophy being guided by the attitudes and actions of its core membership is not a foreign concept, as many organizations are fueled by the prevailing attitudes of their core members.

Sociologists often refer to the small, self-perpetuating elite that control most organizations as an oligarchy. An oligarchy arises because leaders wish to hold on to their positions of power, either for psychological reasons or because the positions provide them with economic rewards and social status that they would otherwise lose were they to return to the ranks of the membership (Michels, 1962 [1915]).

This inner core of members tends to dominate the organization by consolidating their attitudes and philosophies into a congruent stream of thought whose purpose is to validate the power of the oligarchy (Mayhew & Levinger, 1976). In most situations when an oligarchy develops, many people are subsequently excluded from leadership because they do not reflect the values, background, or core membership. Therefore, the culture of the organization contains hidden values that create a self-fulfilling prophecy that affects the social position and status of all the individuals involved. The elite have an image and an ideological identity that they project; hence, those members who wish to gain status, respect, or prominence within the organization must first embrace these ideals if they wish to succeed. Consequently, those individuals whose backgrounds and characteristics are similar to those of the elite are singled out and provided with better access to information and networking, and more prestigious positions. Thus, those who are given opportunities to advance are more committed to the values of the organization.

The hidden values of the oligarchy create a self-fulfilling prophecy that can be rooted in either Afrocentric or Eurocentric attitudes. Accordingly, it is the agency of the organization’s members that guides its aim and social agenda. Although a Black organization can exhibit both African and European cultural characteristics, it is ultimately the oligarchy that creates a philosophy for its members. Therefore, the most critical step in the process of cultural solidarity is the agency or personal orientation of the organization’s members. Thus, the cultural orientation of the Black organization is determined primarily by the actions of the oligarchy, and is then reflected by its subordinate members.

Due to the social constraints of society, individuals seeking political, social, or economic advancement may choose to either embrace or deny a relationship with a particular community or culture. This denial or acknowledgment of culture can lead to either a dislocation or unification with one’s traditional culture. The dilemma that arises within the Black Greek-letter organization has to do with the affiliation and direction of its core members. When an organization’s oligarchy abandons its traditional culture in pursuit of greater social ranking, the organization loses its focus—it becomes stagnant and no longer resembles its traditional cultural identity. Rather than adhering to their own traditions and cultural attitudes, many members of Black Greek-letter organizations, particularly those at colleges and universities, have abandoned traditional African views and adopted the views of the dominant Anglo-Saxon culture.

While it is true that BGLOs were social organizations that utilized some elements of traditional African culture and combined them with elements of European culture, these organizations, in the end, used their power and influence to create a self-perpetuating Black oligarchy. The Black Christian church, like the BGLO, was also created from preexisting White organizations and was then molded into an institution that catered to the needs of the Black community. Both the Black church and the Black fraternity served a dual function within the African American community. Not only did these institutions create a safe haven for many within the community to challenge the laws of discrimination, but they were also seen as traditional institutions that were already accepted by White society.

In his work, The Negro Church, W. E. B. Du Bois (1903) provides a rich social history of African American religious development. For many within the Black community, the Black church is not merely a house of prayer, nor solely a center for spiritual awakening, but a communal center for socializing and human bonding. Du Bois (1978) elaborates that

[t]he Negro church is not simply an organism for the propagation of religion; it is the centre of the social, intellectual, and religious life of an organized group of people. It provides social intercourse, it provides amusements of various kinds, it serves as a newspaper and intelligence bureau, it supplants the theater, it directs the picnic and excursion, it furnishes the music . . . it serves as a lyceum, library, and lecture bureau—it is, in fine, the central organ of the organized life of the American Negro. (p. 228)

The Christian church was a place where people could feel a sense of social solidarity, security, and communal refuge in an often hostile world. This insight is not limited to the Black churches, but is common to other institutions within the Black community. In this respect, both the Black church and the Black Greek-letter organization became cultural incubators that, at times, served the Black community as a means of connecting people and preserving cultural practices, but also grew to mirror the White community’s preoccupations, prejudices, and desires. To this end, the Black Greek-letter organization became an oppressive organization that was used to suppress African American agency and uphold the ideals of White supremacy.

This adoption of Anglo-Saxon culture has created a disruption of traditional African culture and has perpetuated many of the myths and stereotypes that surround the Black Greek-letter organization. As such, many Black Greek-letter organizations have allowed for a falsification of their true consciousness. The stereotypical views embraced by these organizations have been influenced by racist philosophies and White supremacist attitudes. As a result, many Black Greek-letter organizations have adopted and embraced racist attitudes that stem from the oligarchy’s willingness to gain social standing in White society.

As a means of gaining acceptance and social mobility, the Black Greek-letter organization attempted to emulate the attitudes, characteristics, and actions of the Anglo community. Thus, in order to acquire the needed access to the “American Dream,” African Americans were often compelled to reflect the attitudes and philosophies of Anglo-American culture. By accepting the mannerisms and attitudes of Anglo culture, the Black Greek-letter organization also internalized the prejudices of this group. Although the Black Greek-letter organization provided its members with a safe haven to create oppositional cultural attitudes, these organizations often perpetuated the views of the elitist and privileged classes. Accordingly, the social access afforded to the members of Black Greek-letter organizations was not used for the advancement of the entire Black community, but rather for the improvement of a small cohort of individuals. This view created a dichotomy within the Black community where one group expressed cultural, economic, and social dominance over another and led to the establishment of class conflict. With greater access to resources and greater social mobility, the existence of an elite Black class placed different elements of the Black community in direct competition with one another.

As such, African Americans living under the regime of White supremacy found themselves working in partnership with their oppressors to maintain the status quo in order to preserve their privileged status. Although this relationship enabled one group to have cultural dominance over another, nevertheless, all members of the Black community found themselves firmly subjugated by those who controlled the resources of society. As a result of this, those who were members of the Black Greek-letter organizations had power and social clout within the Black community, but were powerless within American society.

Although the Black Greek-letter organization did provide its members with a free space of Black creativity, these organizations used this safe haven as a means to perpetuate the views and attitudes of the Black cultural elite. As such, racist mores were allowed to dominate, and White supremacist attitudes dictated much of the organizations’ actions. In this regard, the Black Greek-letter organization remained, sadly, a group whose actions did not benefit the Black masses, but rather their own affiliates.

Despite their use of elitism and snobbery, the popularity of the Black fraternity was furthered by both the exclusivity of these organizations and the notion that they helped to produce a better class of Black people. However, by limiting the access to these organizations to include only the Black upper class, the leadership of the Black Greek-letter organizations ultimately failed to transform the Black fraternity into a revolutionary organization. Enticed by the seduction of bourgeois attitudes and the hopes of full assimilation, the Black Greek-letter organization became reactionary to White supremacy. Without the potential of the Black educated elite to introduce radical challenges to the structure of segregation and White supremacy, the status quo of inequality remained. As such, the contradiction of the Black Greek-letter organization and their quest for elite status in the midst of group oppression remained an ongoing problem.

Although the Black Greek-letter organization has served as a safe haven for Black thought and allowed for new attitudes regarding the future of the Black community, these organizations were conceived within Western culture, which over time reflected the views of a racist society and thus became a hindrance to the furtherance of the Black community. In this respect, the Black Greek-letter organization became a cultural incubator that mirrored the White community’s preoccupations, prejudices, and desires. As a result, the Black Greek-letter organization became an oppressive organization that was used to suppress African characteristics and uphold the ideals of White supremacy.