The University of Alabama’s Greek system, which dates back to the late 1840s, is one of the largest and oldest in the country. With its lengthy track record of dominating student government, which for nearly 100 years has served as a training ground for many of the state’s leading politicians, the system has one of the highest profiles in the country.
The overwhelmingly White system is also one of the most controversial for famously refusing to accept Black members. The system’s determination to exclude Blacks has been a source of controversy for decades and has been the subject of stories in several prominent national news outlets, including Esquire magazine and NPR and a major embarrassment to a university with a turbulent racial history.
The system may soon put that dubious history behind it. Prodded by University of Alabama President Judy Bonner, some White sororities offered bids to several Black students last month. The developments came following a story in the university’s campus newspaper that alumni and advisors of some White sororities had pressured the chapters to deny bids to Black members. The revelation was another black eye to the university, which is commemorating the 50th anniversary of its integration this year, and which has struggled to live down its reputation as a racist institution. A student and faculty march on campus that attracted attention from the national media further fanning demands for change.
But many observers and experts on Greek life point out that stories of racial exclusion among White Greek-letter organizations are not just an Alabama phenomenon. They note that Black fraternities and sororities are actually more likely to accept people of other races.
“First you have to consider that many White fraternities and sororities had Whites-only clauses until the ’70s, so you’re seeing the legacy of that historical racism,” says Dr. Matthew Hughey, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut in Storrs and a member of the university’s Institute for African-American Studies. “Alabama has been called out for years for this semi-secret group [of fraternities and sororities] called the Machine. But this happens all over the United States. It’s easy to call out flagship schools in the South. But they function in the same way all over the country.”
He points out that a fraternity and sorority at Dartmouth recently got in trouble for holding a Crips and Bloods-themed party over the summer. According to published reports, racially insensitive language was used at the party.
