Quote:
Originally posted by zchi2
The mother might of been "racist," but my cousin's father and aunt told her that they wouldn't help her financially if she joins the sorority that I'm apart of now. They didn't say that they were going to pay for her tuition, but they made it clear that they didn't want her to join my sorority. It wasn't because it wasn't a black sorority, but it was because it wasn't in the divine nine. The divine nine has a lot of historical significance and prestige in the black community and there aren't many black students entering college that never heard of at least one black sorority or fraternity. So when black people step out of what what is known, many black people have a problem with it. Besides that, why would you want you child to join something that has history of discriminating against your race? Even though things have changed a lot, most parents haven't been on campus recently to know that.
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IMO, the Divine Nine is VERY significant historically in African American society. It was the beginnings of the "Divine Nine" that gave African Americans an opportunity for brotherhood/sisterhood and comraderie and support for each other at a time in which it was difficult to survive in the "white" education system. For example, African Americans at some institutions, if not all during the early 1900's were not allowed to take advantage of a school's educational amenities and resources available to white students - they could not stay on campus and had to spend hours traveling back and forth, where white students were able to live on the campuses and had resources readily available to them. The first African-American fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, started out as a study and support group for the students at Cornell University to aid in keeping the few African-American students left in school because they were constantly faced with educational and social racial prejudices. The success of this fraternity blazed trails and paved the way for the other eight org's that were developed after it.
With that said, I don't believe that there is a double-standard here. I have seen (and in a few cases, actually know) white members of NPHC organizations, male and female. These organizations, in most cases that I have read, indicate that they are predominately black - this does not mean that they do not accept white members, or are racist membership is open to ANY QUALIFIED MEMBER, and being African American is not a qualification. As far as Julius' mother, I believe that her time and effort in helping continue the legacy of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity by aiding in starting a chapter has a deep significance to her, as well as the HISTORY of all of the NPHC orgs. I'm sure that if Julius decided on any of the "Divine Nine" fraternities, she would have been satified just as well. Now threating to not pay the tuition is extreme, however I think that she said that just to show how strong her feelings were on the subject, not because she didn't want her son to join a "traditionally white" fraternity.
With the significant strides and trails blazed by these NPHC organizations for the almost last 100 years or so, who WOULDN'T want to be a part of that, or at least EXPLORE the option?
Sorry for the long post...
