Editor’s Note: Here is the modified transcript from Diverse’s web chat on the state of Black Greek-letter Organizations, held Nov. 14. We’ve organized the transcript around certain themes to make it more user-friendly. But, it has not been edited for grammar and style. The comments of panelists are in bold.
Moderator: On behalf of all of us here at Diverse: Issues In Higher Education, we would like to thank our esteemed panelists for joining us today for a provocative discussion on the current state of Black Greek-letter organizations.
Joining us today we have:
Dr. Ricky L. Jones, associate professor and chair of the department of Pan-African Studies at the University of Louisville, is the author of Black Haze: Violence, Sacrifice, and Manhood in Black Greek-Letter Fraternities. He is a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Dr. Gregory S. Parks is editor of the new book Our Fight Has Just Begun: The Relevance of Black Fraternities and Sororities in the 21st Century. A life member of Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc., Parks received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Kentucky and is a JD candidate at Cornell University.
Dr. Deborah Whaley is an assistant professor in the department of American Studies at the University of Iowa. Her research and teaching fields include American cultural history (19th century to the present) and comparative American and ethnic studies. She has published widely on the subject of Black Greek Letter Organizations, Black cinema and popular culture, and her first book project concerns the cultural and public sphere work of a historically Black sorority.
