African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision.African American Fraternities and Sororities
The terms "fraternity" and "sorority" (from the Latin words frater and soror : The Legacy and the Vision Edited by Tamara L. Brown, Gregory S. Parks and Clarenda M. Phillips University Press of Kentucky, March 2005 $39.95, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-813-12344-5 The compilation of essays in this book demonstrates my contention that we African Americans must step forward and write our own history. African American Fraternities and Sororities enables the casual or academic reader to understand a sociological phenomenon that continues to meet the social, political and spiritual needs of newly enrolled black students at America's universities and colleges. The essays explore the struggles, intentions, triumphs and setbacks of a determined group of nine black, Greek-Letter organizations (BGLOs) that emerged as African Americans began to attend colleges and universities in large numbers following Plessy v. Ferguson Plessy v. Ferguson, case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896. The court upheld an 1890 Louisiana statute mandating racially segregated but equal railroad carriages, ruling that the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth amendment to the U.S. . It contains recollections of the personal development of trailblazing men and women, and places their activities in a racial and national context. It contains conscience-tugging stories of attempts of members of the black civil society to win recognition and respect from white society within academia. And it shows how the mood of BGLOs changed from accommodation to white institutions to challenging the status quo. Gloria Harper Dickinson establishes the historical and social context of BGLOs in the first essay. Her chapter is followed by essays by distinguished scholars who have mined the presence of African Americans on campuses over the past hundred years. Of special interest to this reader, for whom membership in Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi (KAΨ) is the second-oldest collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership and the first black intercollegiate fraternity incorporated as a national body. was a source of meeting and making friends for life, was Andre McKenzie's chapter on the origins and evolution of "the Divine Nine," the nine black fraternities and sororities that "were to be the means of leading the Negro youth out of the slough of despond Slough of Despond bog enmiring and discouraging Christian. [Br. Lit.: Pilgrim’s Progress] See : Despair and raising him to a plane of intellectual and moral security." The editors move the reader along a continuum from the founding of fraternities and sororities in 1906 to an examination of the issues that confront contemporary BGLOs. This volume offers a variety of interpretations of the contributions and conundrums that constitute an important historical strand in the fabric of African American history African American history is the portion of American history that specifically discusses the African American or Black American ethnic group in the United States. Most African Americans are the descendants of African slaves held in the United States from 1619 to 1865. . Descriptions of courageous and steadfast men and women who labored long and hard to develop a spirit of cooperation among collegiates and a commitment to building "a better society for all" emblazon em·bla·zon tr.v. em·bla·zoned, em·bla·zon·ing, em·bla·zons 1. a. To adorn (a surface) richly with prominent markings: emblazon a doorway with a coat of arms. b. each chapter. These are stories of success in spite of American institutions and prejudices. This book is a resource that every college library and every chapter of every BGLO should own and circulate among its members to keep our history alive. Charles E. Wilson Charles E. Wilson may refer to:
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