In recalling my fraternity’s humble beginnings I think about the climate of the world in 1911. You have 3 undergrad friends who all attend Howard University together. First, I wonder why did they go to Howard and the truth is that in those days… not many black students were getting into higher education institutions such as The Ohio State University. With 2 of them being from D.C. it was also a natural trajectory to go Howard for those fortunate enough to attend college. Politically the world is beginning to recover from World War I which economically devastated the country and the world for that matter. Then I think about Jim Crow and the issues my founder’s had to deal with back in those days. They couldn’t eat everywhere they wanted to, drink from every water fountain, or use every bathroom. I think our generation forgets how hard life really was for black folks back then. We’ve came a long way but the truth of the matter is we need these organizations now just as much as we did back then. The fraternity was a way for them to be able to fellowship together and share a common bond with men of high ideals and like attainments. At first, they were even denied the permission to assemble as a fraternity with statements from the president of Howard like “why don’t you just join the fraternity already established on campus.” They had their reasons why they felt something else was needed. Not to supplement but to create an organization on the basis of friendship.
The relevance and growth of fraternities and sororities is directly correlated to the relevance and growth of people of the African Dispora is this great democracy we call the United States. When you want to know where the fraternities fit in society and where we’re going you have to analyze what black people are doing and where we’re going. Back in the days they called people who are a cut above the rest a member of DuBois’ “talented tenth.” This was a small percentage of folks who knew where they were going, understood the wisdom and character traits it took to get there, and is adamantly tried to lift up those who were not as fortunate. People like this are the reason our orgs carry such a great legacy. We’re talking about people like Dr. King (alpha), Carter G. Woodson (Omega), and Huey P. Newton (sigma). We are still doing great things in the community and continuing to shape young men and women to be the best contributors to society they can be.
On the PWI’s we are definitely still needed. When you go to a big ole white school like OSU it is so easy to see you are the minority whether it’s being the only black person in your class or the only black person on USG you will know you’re black (if you didn’t already) if you spend a week here as a student. Our orgs make our black community tighter, make a big school smaller, and make the struggles and challenges all worth it in the end. Our relevance is relevant and quite evident but now our biggest challenges lie within ourselves and our commitment to uphold tradition and uphold our people as a whole.
