The Bonds of Friendships in Black Sororities Fraternities
The Bonds of Friendships in Black Sororities, Fraternities Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.
Harris’ feelings about her sorority aren't unique. Trent's continued relationship with the Delta sisterhood, even after graduation, “gave me one of my life's greatest blessings,” through “the lasting bonds I formed with older women that have endured throughout my adult life.”
Ross, 54, joined the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity while a student at the University of California, Berkeley. He first noticed the fraternity during student protests targeting apartheid and aimed at getting corporations to divest from South Africa. While the fraternity has some notable members, “I was less impressed by the famous names,” Ross says. “I was more interested in how I could see myself in the organization and what it could do for me and what I could do for it.” A sense of belonging to an evolving extended family radiates through those who pledge. Darlena Ricks, 52, joined the AKAs in 1989 when she pledged at James Madison University. Every summer, Ricks travels with five or six of her line sisters (people who pledged with her in college) who live in the mid-Atlantic region. They go to beaches or casino resorts and always leave husbands, boyfriends and children behind. "We've been with each other through marriages, divorces, remarriages, babies, high school graduations, college graduations,” says Ricks, who teaches marketing at a high school in Reston, Virginia. “I have sorority sisters that I'm closer to than members of my own family." AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe are often left on campus. "I have friends who are Zetas, Deltas,” said Ricks. “The colors might be different but at the end of the day, for the sisterhood and the betterment of the race we are all in sync."
Enduring Bonds of Black Sororities and Fraternities Last a Lifetime
Relationships forged through Black Greek life span generations professions and personal lives
The Washington Post / Contributor; Paras Griffin / Contributor; The Washington Post / Contributor; Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images; Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images; Cory Clark/NurPhoto via Getty Images on May 9, eight months shy of her 100th birthday. Webb joined Delta Sigma Theta at West Virginia State University during World War II, and remained an active “soror” throughout her life, mentoring younger members even in her later years. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Webb monitored Deltas’ careers, penned notes of encouragement and sent care packages, noted Kim Trent, 51, a Delta who was a beneficiary of Webb's friendship. “She never wrote the words ‘I'm proud of you,’ but she didn't have to,” Trent wrote in “I knew." Frances Webb (seated), with her daughter Carole Watson (left), was an active Delta Sigma Theta until her death at age 99. She was a mentor to many, including Kim Trent (right). Courtesy Kim Trent For many members of Black Greek life, bonds formed at fraternities and sororities in college span generations, geographies, professions and personal lives. Alums take their roles to heart, supporting each other in ways that in other spheres only the closest of friends would take on. The strength of these relationships was on full display last year, after Kamala Harris, a Howard University alum and Alpha Kappa Alpha member, was The AKA sisterhood took a vocal and strong role in supporting and cheering Harris. Individual members raised money for her campaign, and used their collective power to get out the vote. The New York Times called the sorority — which Harris has indicated is a major influence in her life — Harris’ “secret weapon.”Harris’ feelings about her sorority aren't unique. Trent's continued relationship with the Delta sisterhood, even after graduation, “gave me one of my life's greatest blessings,” through “the lasting bonds I formed with older women that have endured throughout my adult life.”
The Divine Nine
Black Greek-lettered organizations belong to the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), whose mission, in part, is to “foster cooperative actions of its members in dealing with matters of mutual concern.” , of Georgia Iota Phi Theta (Iotas) Spencer Christian, former weatherman for ABC's Good Morning AmericaSororities
Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKAs) Vice President Kamala Harris Delta Sigma Theta (Deltas) Shirley Chisholm, first Black woman in Congress Zeta Phi Beta (Zetas) Comedian Sheryl Underwood, who served as the sorority's international president Sigma Gamma Rho (SGRhos) first African American to win an Academy Award Black sororities and fraternities provide college activities and opportunities similar to those offered by white Greek organizations—friendships, parties, networking opportunities and community service. Black Greek members take great pride in identifying with their organization's colors, which are worn like calling cards. But the ties that bind are well-known for remaining intertwined beyond graduation, says Lawrence Ross Jr., author of The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities. "One of the threads within our organizations is that we continue,” Ross says. “You don't just get your college degree and leave."Ross, 54, joined the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity while a student at the University of California, Berkeley. He first noticed the fraternity during student protests targeting apartheid and aimed at getting corporations to divest from South Africa. While the fraternity has some notable members, “I was less impressed by the famous names,” Ross says. “I was more interested in how I could see myself in the organization and what it could do for me and what I could do for it.” A sense of belonging to an evolving extended family radiates through those who pledge. Darlena Ricks, 52, joined the AKAs in 1989 when she pledged at James Madison University. Every summer, Ricks travels with five or six of her line sisters (people who pledged with her in college) who live in the mid-Atlantic region. They go to beaches or casino resorts and always leave husbands, boyfriends and children behind. "We've been with each other through marriages, divorces, remarriages, babies, high school graduations, college graduations,” says Ricks, who teaches marketing at a high school in Reston, Virginia. “I have sorority sisters that I'm closer to than members of my own family." AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe are often left on campus. "I have friends who are Zetas, Deltas,” said Ricks. “The colors might be different but at the end of the day, for the sisterhood and the betterment of the race we are all in sync."