During the time of their inception, the purpose of Black Greek-letter organizations was clear. Amid racial oppression and segregation, these elite groups of educated Blacks assumed the charge of activism, scholarship, social uplift and service.
With each periodic revelation hazing persists – in an incident brought to light last spring, three members of a Black sorority are accused of striking a prospective member who they also allegedly forced to eat garbage — the ongoing community service projects, leadership endeavors and other laudable activities of BGLOs get overshadowed. Many wonder if these founding principles have given way to violent hazing, or the stylistic stepping Black Greeks are widely known for, rendering them irrelevant.
The five Black fraternities and four Black sororities that compose the “Divine Nine” were established in the early 20th century as a response to White Greek-letter organizations that denied Black students entry. Today, as Black Greek life pervades American pop culture via film and music videos, the membership numbers for BGLOs continue to surge. Cloaked in their distinctive colors and signature Greek-letters, fraternity members have become as regal as the mythological characters they emulate and many students will endure unfathomable hardships to join their ranks.
Every year Black college students “rush” to join the Greek-letter organizations of their choice oblivious of danger that may lie ahead. Marcus Jones was no exception. The former Florida A&M University student hoped to follow in the footsteps of his father, who is a Kappa Alpha Psi.
But after a hazing incident in 2006 that left Jones with a ruptured eardrum, surgery-requiring injury of the buttocks and subsequent psychotherapy, he is suing Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity for damages. The civil lawsuit could cost the fraternity millions and send a stark message to other BGLOs: the hazing must stop.
Although two of the five fraternity members charged with felony hazing reckoned with their abuse of Marcus in a Florida criminal court, for Marcus, however, the hazing persists — on an emotional level, says his father, Mark Jones.
“He has problems. He lives in a bubble. He doesn’t leave the house often. He is very different from the young man who left for Florida A&M four years ago,” Jones told Diverse. But, he added, “Marcus is one of the lucky ones. He lived.”
