ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Atlanta News First is shining a spotlight on the “Divine Nine″.
The “Divine Nine″ represents black fraternities and sororities. Many of which have been around for over 100 years.
From the outside looking in, Black Greek life might look like one big party, and most people will tell you it’s a lot of fun.
There are a total of four African-American sororities and five fraternities that make up the National Pan-Hellenic Council, together known as the Divine Nine.
The Divine 9 organizations are Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc.
ADVERTISEMENT
Each organization has its own colors, symbols, and unique display of body movements and calls that you’ll hear during social gatherings.
But Black Greek life is also a serious matter because these groups serve not only their respective organizations but the community in which they live too.
“Our focus this year is a chips program to help reduce food insecurity for children. The children are school-aged kids, we are working to ensure that they are in an environment where it’s safe, but also those things that are demoralizing as it relates to just who they are,” said Valencia Bean with the Nu Lambda Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
“We’re working with city council now and Michael Julian Bond on reparations for Black Atlantans, something that will be a widespread benefit to all Atlanta,” said Andrea Morgan with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.
“One of our national initiatives is called “Operation Big Bookbag”. And so, we provide school supplies, book bags, sometimes we do computers, and other items that the children may need in the Atlanta community,” explained Sharon A. Wilson with Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Incorporated.
ADVERTISEMENT
With each group celebrating nearly 100 years of service, they say, their mission is to inspire a new generation to continue their work.
“We are helping be the voice for the people who are not at the table, and over 100 plus years of all of these organizations were at every stage. And if we continue to be at that stage, you will continue to have to deal with us from a different perspective, from the White House all the way down to the street corner, because we are present and we plan to remain present,” Bean added.
“Well, with Atlanta being such a diverse area, I feel like we’re able to reach out to all the populations. We’re not just for African Americans, we reach out to all the populations. We are city-wide,” said Mary Green with the Epsilon Zeta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated
“It’s just very important to be aware and to be educated. And to always remember the strength and endurance that we have had not only with our sister and brother organizations but as a people to see how far we’ve come into 2023,” Wilson said.
And part of understanding how far they’ve come, these ladies, know how to strut and stroll. Alpha Kappa Alpha incorporated the stroll to the polls event, which is used to increase voting strength.
“If you’re a native Atlantan you will remember the ebony fashion fair. Every little girl put on their Sunday best and came out to see Delta Sigma Theta and Ebony magazine as they put on the Ebony fashion show. So, on April 16 of this year, we’re going to recreate that fashion show,” Morgan explained.
“We have one of the long-standing debutante balls in the Atlanta community. And so, one of the things that Ada Simone wants to continue to do is to maintain consistency in the community,” Bean explained.
The male fraternity members round out the divine 9 as these chapters keep high-stepping in Atlanta.
The Divine Nine (National Pan-Hellenic Council)
ADVERTISEMENT
- Founded in 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
- Established as the first African-American intercollegiate fraternity
- More than 700 chapters
- Prominent members include Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., W.E.B. DuBois, Rev. C.T. Vivian, Duke Ellington, Thurgood Marshall, Jesse Owens and Andrew Young
- Founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
- Established as the first African-American intercollegiate sorority
- More than 1,000 chapters
- Prominent members include Kamala Harris, Maya Angelou, Wanda Sykes, Toni Morrison, Star Jones, and Bernice King
- Founded in 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington
- Similar to other D9 members, the fraternity’s leader is known as the Grand Polemarch
- More than 700 chapters
- Prominent members include Cedric “The Entertainer” Kyles, Charles M. Blow, Tavis Smiley, Marion Brown, Booker T. Jones, Robert L. Johnson, Tom Bradley, Truman Gibson, Hakeem Jeffries, and Johnnie Cochran
- Founded in 1911 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
- Was the first fraternal organization founded at a historically black college or university (HBCU)
- More than 750 chapters
- Prominent members include Langston Hughes, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Michael Jordan, William “Count” Basie, Shaquille O’Neal, Bayard Rustin, and Earl Graves
- Founded in 1913 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
- Has become one of the largest sororities founded in the U.S.
- More than 900 chapters
- Prominent members include Cicely Tyson, Joy-Ann Reid, Loretta Lynch, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Aretha Franklin, Mara Brock Akil, and Sherrilyn Ifill
- Founded in 1914 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
- Is the only fraternity to hold a constitutional bond with a sorority, Zeta Phi Beta
- More than 700 chapters
- Prominent members include George Washington Carver, Frank Marshall Davis, James Weldon Johnson, Kwame Nkrumah, Elijah Cummings, John Lewis, and Harry Belafonte
- Founded in 1920 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
- Was the first Greek-letter organization to charter a chapter in Africa in 1948
- More than 850 chapters
- Prominent members include Alice Dugged Cary, Lillian E. Fishburne, Zora Neale Hurston, Dionne Warwick, Vivica A. Fox, Chaka Khan, and Sarah Vaughan
- Founded in 1922 at Butler University in Indianapolis
- Is the only one of the four historically Black National Pan-Hellenic Council sororities to be founded at a predominantly white university
- More than 700 chapters
- Prominent members include Marilyn McCoo, Joyce Carol Thomas, Ruth Whitehead Whaley, Renee Powell, Eugenia Charles, and Vanessa Bell Armstrong
- Founded in 1963 at Morgan State University in Baltimore
- As the youngest of the D9, the organization takes pride in the fact that members can meet and interact with founders
- More than 300 chapters
- Prominent members include Terrence C. Carson, Webster Lewis, Harry C. Alford, Tommie Frazier, Melvin Lister, J. Keith Motley, and George Nock
Copyright 2023 WANF. All rights reserved.