Okay folks, I'm stepping away (pun intended) from my usual subject matter and turning towards something dear to my heart, my sorority and affiliation with the Divine Nine. While many might argue that being a Black Greek is oxymoronic (save it for the comments, my Afrocentric brothers and sisters) a hot topic amongst my circle of friends is the state of our BGLOs (Black Greek Letter Organizations). What's hot in them streets right now is the inclusion of greek step teams in every music video, live performance, and film (those bootleg movies like The Sisterhood and The Brotherhood or the wildly popular Stomp the Yard). If you talk about an HBCU (historically black college or university) their existence is not validated without the inclusion of Black Greeks (c'mon, keep it 100, when you went to freshman orientation there was some sort of BGLO demonstration). What strikes me as most peculiar about our insane popularity (we know, we know, you want to be one of us lol) is not only the marketability surrounding the Divine Nine organizations, but the increasingly delapidated image that represents us.
If one were to gain an understanding strictly from our representation in the media as of late, we're just Gangland: the Bougie Edition. The rash of bad publicity about acts of violence, embezzlement allegations, and focus on our extracurriuclar activities takes away from our original intent - the uplift of our commmunities and our civic responsibility.
Question one:What would (insert founders' names here) do?
Question two: if there wasn't stepping and parties, what would there be?
Feel free to weigh in.
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DEEP!!!! You better preach! What WOULD (insert name here) do! ha. BGLO's days are numbered....sad to say...
ReplyDeleteThe founders would be disappointed, but what has occurred was inevitable. The selection process is nt that hard and the organizations have become money driven.
ReplyDelete2) A bunch of people in colorful t-shirts! Not all greeks are steppers and party people, but the masses are.
*sigh* Let me say my piece...From my personal experence and understanding of events which have transpired during my time as an undergratuate member I would have to say that Ethel would be disappointed. I come from a campus divided over "made" vs "paper" status, a chapter From my personal experence and understanding of events which have transpired during my time as an undergratuate member I would have to say that Ethel would be disappointed. I come from a chapter guided through emotional motivations and my organization became infamous last year because of questionable leadership. I honestly believe that without stepping,strolling,chanting and the other "fun" things about Black Greekdom, we would have a lot less member and a lot more accomplishments. I'm not saying those things are all bad, but for the perpetuality of the organization and her standards those activitites haven't done much. This is no way means that I don't respect the African roots and traditions of stepping,etc. However community service and academic excellence will ensure that we will have a future.
ReplyDeleteThe memory that sticks out to me most is when I went to see Stomp the Yard. All of the Greeks sat in the back and the "lay folks" sat in the front. By the end of the movie, most of us Greeks were like "did we miss something?" and everyone else was like "that's such a cool organization! All they do is party and step and fight at probates!" Major fail.
ReplyDeleteQuestion one: What would OUR Founder's do?
ReplyDeleteI would imagine that all of them are at yet another Supreme NPHC Caucus preparing to return to this era to strip so many of their Letters for false impersonation....
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Question two: If there wasn't stepping and parties, what would there be?
Simple. Low membership numbers and/or non-existence for many of the Organizations.
--MD. Hairston
And "undergratuate"? Hmmmm...lol
If there weren't stepping and parties and the fancy colors, it would be like taking the sugar out of cool-aid, the taste out yo mouth, bland, bland, and more bland. Membership would be waaaaaaay down...the street at the underground step shows and parties sporting fancy colors,lol
ReplyDeleteWhat would Ethel do? LOL! I have not heard that question in years. Yes...It's been raised many times before. The answer lies in recruitment(of the best & brightest)w/o concern for lowered intake stats, programming(exciting yet uplifting), follow-through, and expectations & consequences. Neos can't be expected to excel if the prophytes are lack-luster themselves(esp. when there is no hands-on approach from a vibrant & actively-involved graduate chapter). Many don't know because they haven't been taught & the lines before haven't either. It's just the blind leading the blind. We must also consider the fact that times and values have changed. Many undergrads are simply unconcerned about the true mission & work of the BGLO. My conclusion...I think Ethel would call Nellie and have her get on the job!!!
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