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In this short documentary, black women talk about the challenges they face in society.

The scholarly source I chose for this sixth blog post is the same as the previous week, but from the section entitled “The Mature Years: Producing and Sustaining”. In this section, authors Roberts and Wooten examine how community-based programs serve as a way for Black Greek Leadership Organizations to remain active. Among these programs were joint community service initiatives with well established organizations like Habitat for Humanity, March of Dimes, the United Negro College Fund, and the United Nations. Examples of these partnerships include Sigma Gamma Rho working with March of Dimes to create a Healthy Start program for African American children. Additionally, Iota Phi Theta created a program to mentor boys from the ages of eight and thirteen, Phi Sigma Beta created a campaign to help curb teen pregnancy rates. Black Greek Leadership Organizations also work beyond the borders of the United States, with service projects focused within Africa and the Caribbean. Sigma Gamma Rho and Alpha Phi Alpha organized a project which provided needed grain grinders for African female farmers. Partnerships like these exhibit how BGLOs are open to getting involved in matters that serve both their local, and global communities. At the heart of the service work done by BGLOs, there has always been a focus on how to empower the black community. The Divine Nine use programs like these to sustain their organizations’ intentions to commit to social change within their communities.

#afam200 #findings

The scholarly article I chose for this post was a part of the written text “Black Greek-letter Organizations in the Twenty-First Century: Our Fight Has Just Begun”, edited by Gregory S. Parks for the University Press of Kentucky. In the section entitled “the future: organizational resilience and renewal”, Laura Morgan Roberts, and Lynn Perry Wooten examine the changing environments of the divine nine, that affect these organizations both internally and externally. They note how social justice issues aren’t as fervently fought for by students in the contemporary culture, compared to those who were students during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. Moreover, the African American community has seen a dispersion across the socioeconomic spectrum in the past fifty years, furthering the threads of community and presenting new challenges to sustain these organizations. Wooten and Roberts propose that the BGLOs respond to the growing lack of involvement, and potential extinction, with a plan for resiliency. They stress that it is important to keep those threads of community tightened, in order to sustain the life of these BGLOs. Among their propositions are things like a relocation program, where graduates who relocate for a new job can link up with fellow brothers or sisters of their organizations. Additionally, they believe that regional and national conferences can be a way to bridge the chapters and generations within an organization, together. Wooten and Roberts also believe that a revising of the mission statements of these black greek letter organizations, is essential to their survival. It is imperative that the organizations are sure that they are aligning their processes with their founding intents, and that they are molding them to remain relevant in the twenty-first century.

#afam200 #scholarly

Interesting to think about these two Ta-Nehisi Coates posts in relation to what we’ve learned about convict leasing, and how that’s trickled into contemporary times.

Politicians are suddenly eager to disown failed policies on American prisons, but they have failed to reckon with the history. Reconsidering Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s report on “The Negro Family,” 50 years later.

The article chosen comes from the NAACP’s webpage, and served as an informative piece on the creation of the Black Greek Letter Organizations. The article notes that the organizations were created as a safe space for African Americans who were matriculating into higher education institutions. On these campuses, black students found transitioning into campus life especially challenging, because they were often excluded from organizations within student life. Because of this, black students decided to come together to create a place where they could create a sense of community, in an external environment that was less than welcoming. All of the organizations a part of the “Divine Nine” were not the original BGLOs created. Among the first ones was Alpha Kappa Nu which was created in 1903, but later was forced to be discontinued due to the lack of “steady membership”, as the article notes. Schools like Cornell University and Howard University were birthplaces of a few of the BGLOs, including Alpha Phi Alpha, and Omega Psi Phi. Each organization was created in response to some social injustice the founding members were dealing with, or could relate to, in their lives and in their communities. Iota Phi Theta was created as a political response to the civil rights movement. Delta Sigma Theta was inspired by the Woman’s Suffrage movement. All of the BGLOs were constructed to be spaces where black students could feel welcome in a local community, and galvanize support to champion for social justice issues.

Link to article: http://www.naacpconnect.org/blog/entry/from-the-burning-sands-of-the-divine-nine

#afam200 #newspaper

In his October cover story, Ta-Nehisi Coates explores how mass incarceration has affected African American families.

Brilliant video.

#afam200

HuffPost Live is a live-streaming network that attempts to create the most social video experience possible. Viewers are invited to join discussions live as on-air guests. Topics range from politics to pop culture.

BLOG POST #7: The Uncertain Future of Black Greek Organizations, moderated by Marc Lamont Hill for HuffPostLive.

This video is significant because it includes a debate about the issues impacting BGLO membership and engagement. Among the debated issues, was the topic of hazing. Ultimately the discussion was veered toward trying to understand how BGLOs can move forward in the 21st century.

http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/black-greek-letters-uncertain-future/534920a5fe34444fa10004c9

#afam200 #video

Statement of Purpose:

We chose the hashtag #WhereDayaAtDoe, to pose the question about student engagement in Black Greek Letter Organizations on George Mason University’s campus. With this project, we hope to inform our classmates about the history of BGLO’s, and current obstacles facing these organizations today. When we present the evidence found through our research, we hope to help students understand the reasons for the lack of involvement. We also hope to attain our project goal through interviews with individuals apart of the Black Greek Letter Organizations, and our own research obtained from both academic and media sources. We will aim to present different viewpoints on this topic, in order to inspire them to critically think about the obstacles currently facing these organizations, and form their own opinions. With this research, we will investigate whether or not the initial intent of these organizations are still in practice today, and allow students to come to their own conclusion about what this means for the future of BGLO’s and the Black American community.

#afam200 #statement

Where ya at?

The chosen hashtag for our group’s racial justice project is #WhereDayAtDoe. We intend to facilitate change with this hashtag, by using the hashtag to spark inquiry. When we say “where”, we are referring to the lack of presence of black greek life on Mason’s campus. Where are they? Why don’t they have a strong presence? What are the obstacles to full engagement? Our project aims to inquire, understand, and then act. We’ve created this hashtag to pose the question (primarily) to the Mason student community, in the vernacular that students would commonly speak to each other (black or not). This vernacular is called African American Vernacular English (AAVE), also known in slang terms as “Ebonics”. Phrases like “doe”, “tho”, and “where ya at” are often used among students who are engaged in youth culture. This expounds on our aim to engage with the student community in an easy and accessible way. By employing this language, we are able to connect with them in a way that is natural and familiar, so we can a greater understanding about the lack of involvement.

#afam200 #hashtag

#WhereDayAtDoe

The intent of our racial justice project is to understand the history of black greek life in the United States of America, and to shift that focus locally to George Mason University and its dwindling chapters on campus. Upon building a foundational base of understanding of their origins, our group will aim to learn how these establishments function as spaces for black excellence, accountability, and responsibility in both social and political spheres, on and off campus. Additionally, we will do our best to come up with a practical solution to the decreasing engagement in black greek life on campus, and aim to employ easy and accessible ways to increase community engagement and awareness.

Our reason for this topic is simple. Greek life on campuses serve as a crux of community and character building. These are spaces in which students can live, grow, and learn together. As minorities, it is especially important for marginalized communities to preserve spaces that enable those within it to inquire, understand, and take action on important social and political matters that affect them. The dwindling presence of black greek life serves as a threat to not only black GMU students, but the surrounding communities as well.

#afam200 #why #AFAM200 WHY

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