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Originally posted by sigmadiva
I respect your reason.
My only point is that by virture of NPC membership for a period in their history they were all White. Just as my alma mater, Texas A&M, was all male, all White from 1876-1965. Look in any yearbook during that time period and that is the only type of student you will see. Is Texas A&M referred to as a HWCU? No, but it does not take away from the fact that it was.
I, myself, am not trying to be offensive. But, I do think acknowledging (?sp) a time period in history should not be offensive. If your sorority / fraternity is about sisterhood / brotherhood, then the bonds you make should be colorblind.
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I can only speak for myself but when I hear/read NPC sororities referred to as white or historically white I feel like a person might as well say I'm a racist and member of the KKK.
Yes, there was a time when the NPC sororities were all white. It's a fact.
As you point out, your alma mater was all male and white until 1965. Do you tell people that you went to a white college or historically white male college? Or do you just tell people that you went to college? I'll guess that you don't feel compelled to clarify that a college is "white" but I do understand the reasoning behind saying a college or GLO is historically black. Much like if I had attended an all women college I would likely point that out because it would be a different experience than a co-ed school.
In regards to Barbara Delany, as my sister has already pointed out nobody was initiated in 1956. I checked and there was no Barabara initiated in 1955 but two in 1954 (maiden names Brodie and Ries).
The quote from Mr. Graham's book doesn't actually say that she was initiated.
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"The girls in the sorority were very nice to me, but the officials at the national headquarters were furious, and they told the students that they had better reject me or headquarters would shut down the sorority's chapter at Cornell, " says Delany, who still corresponds with some of those classmates. "When the white students refused to kick me out, headquarters shut down the sorority."
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It saddens me to think that this could be true. However, I also take into account that the mid 50s was not the age on enlightenment and that greek men and women have never been considered to be "ahead of their time" when it comes to accepting anything outside of the socially accepted norm. I feel pity for the women that made the decision to close that chapter, assuming that was the real reason behind the closing. For all I know the chapter was well below total and could have been on the brink of having the charter pulled before the members decided to bid Ms. Delany.