Black Greek-lettered organizations carry on the legacy to uplift their communities
Black Greek-lettered organizations carry on the legacy to uplift their communities By Brandy McGill | February 24, 2021 at 5:36 PM CST - Updated February 24 at 7:01 PM
BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - More than 100 years ago, young African American women strived to uplift their community in a positive way. Black Greek-lettered organizations known as the âDivine Nineâ allowed them to do that.
Here on the Gulf Coast, there are many people involved in those organizations that serve their community and carrying on the history. You hear the chants mainly on college campuses and you see the strolls, but most importantly for the organizations, itâs the service Black Greek-lettered sororities provide to communities nationwide.
Just off Fountain Mall sits a peaceful garden plot, complete with gorgeous landscaping and bold granite markers. The space is Baylor’s National Pan-Hellenic Garden, a place to recognize historically Black Greek-lettered groups on campus. The markers represent fraternities and sororities within the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), often referred to as the “Divine Nine.”
The NPHC was founded in 1930 at Howard University during an era in which Greek organizations founded by African Americans were, sadly, often banned from being affiliated with Greek organizations founded by whites. The first NPHC organization at Baylor, the Nu Iota chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., was chartered in 1972; other organizations followed over the years, and today, Baylor has active chapters for seven of the Divine Nine organizations.
Historically Black sororities and fraternities are on the forefront of social justice.Vice President Kamala Harris made it clear: Howard University, one of the nation s Historically Black Colleges and Universities, played a major role in shaping who she is. Her candidacy also propelled her sorority into the spotlight.Harris Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sisters cheered her on during her run for vice president. Kamala Harris success throughout her career really kind of spotlights the foundation of leadership building that the Divine Nine has done, said Edwin Johnson, a historian and special assistant to the provost at Morgan State University.Alpha Kappa Alpha is one of several historically Black sororities and fraternities called the Divine Nine, the organizations that fall under the national Pan-Hellenic Council. Most of them share the same theme or mission of service to community, scholarship and other positive attributes that you find common on college campuses, Johnson said.
Louisiana School Teachers Wore Shirts Honoring Kamala Harris And Were Reprimanded
The superintendent said the “Chucks & Pearls” T-shirts were political.
January 22, 2021 at 9:27 pm
The leaders of a school in Louisiana are under fire for reprimanding nearly a dozen teachers because they wore T-shirts with the words “Chucks & Pearls” in honor of Vice President Kamala Harris, who was inaugurated as the first woman vice president in the country s history on Wednesday.
Joy Trahan, a teacher at Breaux Bridge High School, and other teachers in the St. Martin Parish Schools district joined hundreds of other women across the country who celebrated the historic inauguration with the pearls and sneakers, local news outlet KLFY reported.
Fellow members of Alpha Kappa Alpha celebrate Kamala Harris inauguration
By Mitti Hicks
Twin Cities members of the sorority of Kamala Harris celebrate historic inauguration
The sisters of the now Vice President were thrilled to see one of their own sworn in Wednesday.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Wednesday marked an emotional day for many women across the Twin Cities as Vice President Kamala Harris made history as the first woman, Black and South Asian woman to hold a highly elected position. I woke at four in the morning, Pamela Weems, the founder of the Minnesota Chapter of Wear Pearls told Fox 9 during a socially distanced celebration at the Gold Room. I’ve got joy in my heart […] Just to see a woman in the White House and as the Vice President.