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African-American fraternities and sororities are social organizations that predominantly recruit black college students and provide a network that includes both undergraduate and alumni members. These organizations were typically founded by Black American undergraduate students, faculty and leaders at various institutions in the United States.
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Prince Hall Freemasonry (PHA) is the first historically Black fraternal organization. The first Greek Letter fraternal organization was Alpha Kappa Nu at Indiana University in 1903. Wilberforce University is where Gamma Phi was established in 1905. Sixty miles away at Columbus, Ohio in March 1905, Pi Gamma Omicron was founded at Ohio State University (formation originally reported in the Chicago Defender in 1905). CC Poindexter, a graduate of Ohio State University, went on to Cornell University, where he established the Alpha Phi Alpha Society. This society became Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Established on December 4, 1906, Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Black intercollegiate (having more than one college chapter) fraternity.[ citation needed ]
Alpha Phi Alpha's success inspired the founding of other intercollegiate Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). Today, these organizations (fraternities and sororities) are known collectively as the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), and emphasize public service and civil rights. Some non-NPHC Black fraternal organizations, such as the Swing Phi Swing and Groove Phi Groove fellowships, do not solely use Greek letters in their names.[ citation needed ]
The first professional Black Greek letter fraternity, Sigma Pi Phi, was established in Pennsylvania in 1904.[ citation needed ]
| Name | Year formation attempted | Incorporated | Collegiate | Greek lettered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha Kappa Nu | 1903 | No | Yes | Yes |
| Gamma Phi [1] | 1905 | No | Yes | Yes |
| Gamma Tau [2] : 34 | 1934 | No | Yes | Yes |
| Name | Founded | Incorporated | Collegiate | Greek lettered | NPHC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Hall Freemasonry | 1775 | Yes | No | No | No |
| Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World | 1897 | Yes | No | No | No |
| Sigma Pi Phi | 1904 | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Alpha Phi Alpha | 1906 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kappa Alpha Psi | 1911 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Omega Psi Phi | 1911 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Phi Beta Sigma | 1914 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Wine Psi Phi [3] | 1959 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Nu Gamma Alpha [4] | 1962 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Iota Phi Theta | 1963 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Phi Eta Psi | 1965 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| MALIK Fraternity | 1977 | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Phi Delta Psi | 1977 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Sigma Phi Rho | 1979 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Delta Psi Chi | 1985 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Beta Phi Pi [5] [6] | 1986 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Megisté Areté (Christian) [7] | 1989 | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Nu Gamma Psi [8] | 1994 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Phi Rho Eta | 1994 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Name | Founded | Incorporated | Collegiate | Greek lettered | NPHC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha Kappa Alpha | 1908 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Delta Sigma Theta | 1913 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Zeta Phi Beta | 1920 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sigma Gamma Rho | 1922 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Iota Phi Lambda | 1929 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Eta Phi Beta [9] | 1942 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Tau Gamma Delta [10] [11] | 1942 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Gamma Phi Delta | 1943 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Zeta Delta Phi [2] : 100 | 1962 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Kappa Theta Epsilon | 2009 | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Gamma Theta Xi [12] | 2024 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Name | Founded | Incorporated | Collegiate | Greek lettered | NPHC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groove Phi Groove - males | 1962 | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Swing Phi Swing - females | 1969 | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Malika Kambe Umfazi - females [2] : 107 | 1995 | Yes | Yes | No | No |
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The North American Interfraternity Conference is an association of intercollegiate men's social fraternities that was formally organized in 1910, although it began at a meeting at the University Club of New York on November 27, 1909. The power of the organization rests in a House of Delegates in which each member fraternity is represented by a single delegate. However, the group's executive and administrative powers are vested in an elected board of directors consisting of nine volunteers from various NIC fraternities. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, the NIC has a small professional staff.
The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a collaborative umbrella council composed of historically African American fraternities and sororities, commonly called the Divine Nine, and also referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The NPHC was formed as a permanent organization on May 10, 1930, on the campus of Howard University, in Washington, D.C., with Matthew W. Bullock as the active Chairman and B. Beatrix Scott as Vice-Chairman. NPHC was incorporated under the laws of the State of Illinois in 1937.
Stepping or step-dancing is a form of percussive dance in African-American culture. The performer's entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word, and hand claps. Though stepping may be performed by an individual, it is generally performed by groups of three or more, often in arrangements that resemble military formations.
Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. (ΙΦΘ) is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded on September 19, 1963, at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth largest Black Greek Lettered Fraternity. Members of the close-knit afrocentric fraternity proudly embrace the organization’s youth, uniqueness, individualism and modern idealism. As a contemporary organization, many members have had the great honor of meeting, fellowshipping with, and/or engaging in personal or virtual discussions with one or more of their founders. Today there are over 301 undergraduate and alumni chapters, as well as colonies located in 40 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, The Bahamas, Colombia, South Korea, and Japan.
The North American fraternity and sorority system began with students who wanted to meet secretly, usually for discussions and debates not thought appropriate by the faculty of their schools. Today they are used as social, professional, and honorary groups that promote varied combinations of community service, leadership, and academic achievement.
Clemson University opened in 1893 as an all-male military college. It was not until seventy years later in 1959 that the first fraternities and sororities arrived on campus. In the 1970s, they became recognized as national fraternities and sororities. The Greek life has now increased to 44 chapters on campus: fraternities and sororities from the National Panhellenic Conference, the North American Interfraternity Conference, the Multicultural Greek Council, and the National Pan-Hellenic Council.
Fraternities and sororities at the University of Virginia include the collegiate organizations on the grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. First founded in the 1850s with the establishment of several fraternities, the system has since expanded to include sororities, professional organizations, service fraternities, honor fraternities, and cultural organizations. Fraternities and sororities have been significant to the history of the University of Virginia, including the founding of two national fraternities Kappa Sigma (ΚΣ) and Pi Kappa Alpha (ΠΚΑ).
Pi Gamma Omicron (ΠΓΟ) was one of the first documented black collegiate fraternities which was founded in 1905.
The National APIDA Panhellenic Association (NAPA) is an umbrella council for twenty Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American fraternities and sororities in universities in the United States.
