Quote:
Originally Posted by MsDGP007
I believe that the main reason that MCGLOs were started we because when you pledge; you are joing a sisterhood or brotherhood -- not just an organization. Therefore, you and your sister/brothers essentially share some common ideals.
Most MCGLOs were formed from the 1980s forward. American society during that time changed. American neighborhoods became more multicultural and more accessible to people of diverse backgrounds. It is in that environment that "some" people grew to acknowledge that while their own culture is important...they saw the profound effect that functioning in a multicultural environment had on them as people. Of course, this is not the case always; MCGLOs DO have some members who grew up in more culturally homogenous environments...but they probably possess a desire to place themselves into that sort of environment eventually.
In my case, if there were no such thing as a MCGLO, I would not have pledged a social sorority. My father is Jamaican and my mother is African-American; but I grew up in a very small town where the population was probably 30% Black, 60% White, and 10% everything else (but no Hispanics). The surrounding areas seemed about 80 to 90% White. Therefore I was involved in a lot of activities and situations where I was the only Black person. And in my school...which did have a sizeable Black population, no one was West Indian/Carribbean. I remember when I had to go to Jamaica for 3 weeks because of my Grandmother's funeral and a subsequent wedding; classmates and even teachers acted like I went on an expedition to Anartica or something -- some even commented that they were surprised I looked the same! (WTF?  ). So I've ALWAYS had to explain either myself, my family to others who weren't familiar with my culture. To make things even more interesting, I converted to Judaism when I was 16. That opened up a whole new can of worms I must say...especially in college (where I was the only Black member of Hillel...surprise, surprise).
So for me to join a historically Black organization wouldn't have fit me; not because that is not my culture; but because that is not my ONLY culture. I am Black, West Indian, Jewish, and Female and I wanted to be a part of something where all of that would not only be accepted...but celebrated. I could have also joined a historically White sorority, but I needed something with more flexibility in it's membership (most MGCLOs work a bit differently with their membership types). |
What a fascinating story! I'm interested to know how you became interested in Judaism....jewish friends? As for the culture thing, I think white people don't understand minorities' need for maintaining their cultures because we don't think we do the same thing. I once commented to a gay friend of mine that my family's culture was just american...we don't have any real traditions or cultural identity. He gently reminded me that American culture is white culture. Everything we do is based on our traditions. We don't have to perserve it because it's so pervasive. If you don't live in an area that has neighborhoods for the Italians, Polish, German, etc, you probably don't remember that those "white" people hold hard to their traditions and culture. I think there is plenty of room under the Greek umbrella for all groups....shoot it's not like we have a one size fits all situation in NPC since there are 26 of us!
P.S. AOII may have been founded by a group of women including a Jewish woman, but our traditions are Christian in origin. Just thought I'd set the earlier discussion straight. Stella (our Jewish founder) is my favorite...I'm sure she's a lot of AOIIs' (how should I make this pleural possessive?) favorite!
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