Black Greek letter organizations known as the National Pan-Hellenic Council consist of nine organizations with differing customs, traditions, and colors but are unified on some core ideals.
Membership is revered and held with great pride and protected at all costs, as evinced by all nine organizations’ strict policy about making and wearing paraphernalia bearing the insignia of any of the Divine 9.
Scholarship, service, and initiated kinship are foundational to each group: 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.
After a rash of headlines about unauthorized and uninitiated people wearing paraphernalia bombarded the homecoming season, Atlanta Black Star reached out to various members of these organizations to discuss why it is so significant.
No one is permitted to speak officially on behalf of any of the Black Greek letter organizations except for their approved leadership. Atlanta Black Star spoke to several members of the Divine 9, who agreed to speak as long as their full names were not listed. The comments are casual communications from members with years of experience in their organizations and insight on the subject.
Restrictions on who can wear paraphernalia are a big deal because membership in these exclusive organizations has privileges. Wearing the colors and letters is not just a sign of being hip but also an act of responsibility.
According to Jasmine, a Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. member, paraphernalia is exclusive to a select few.
“Duly initiated members of D9 organizations should be the only ones wearing D9-specific paraphernalia,” said the Delta. “As these organizations have an outlined process within the guidelines of the National Pan Hellenic Council, many people need to understand the sacrifices of time, resources, and energy that members make to join before wanting to put on the T-shirt.”
Omega Psi Phi member Greg S., with over 30 years under his belt and initiated at an HBCU, says the gear means a lot to those in the groups, signifying a shared bond of friendship and commitment to the community.
“When we wear paraphernalia from our respective Greek organizations, there is a sense of pride we earned the letters on our chest,” he said. “When we see or meet people who are not members and perpetuating our organization, we feel it’s a sign of disrespect to the people who worked hard to join our beloved institutions.”
Greg G., a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, also said he sees it as a sign of disrespect, saying, “It makes me angry to know that they feel comfortable wearing them, knowing that they didn’t do anything to deserve to wear them.”
It is also an issue of representation. A code of conduct is mandated in some organizations that prohibit certain types of activities from taking place while wearing letters. Despite what many people believe, consuming alcohol and drugs are strictly prohibited while wearing para for many of the D9 organizations. Members who violate this rule in some of the organizations may face expulsion.
The organizations’ images, likenesses, and brands have been upheld with esteem for over 117 years in some cases. If someone who was not duly initiated wore the letters and did something dishonorable, it would reflect poorly on those thousands of members of that sorority or fraternity.
The national organizations go to great lengths to protect the colors and letters, implementing systems of disposal of para for when it gets old or when people die.
Organizations’ leaders have a protocol they encourage their members to abide by. This is done so that clothing is not shared with non-Greeks, donated to Goodwill, thrift shops, or given away to second-hand clothing stores that will most likely not check if the person who obtains the item is an initiated member of one of the D-9 organizations.
“When a member of the D9 passes away, it is important to share information via a will or instruction about how to give items to either a chapter, chapter members or specific members” in an effort to maintain the integrity of the item and organization, Jasmine noted.
She said Black Greeks have to have that conversation with their family members and loved ones in the case of their demise so that they ensure that the paraphernalia is returned inward to the organization or destroyed so that it does not end up in the wrong hands.
But frats and sorors cannot always stop that from happening.
Because stores do not mandate you are a Black Greek to purchase the items, anyone can buy a shirt, hat, jacket, etc.
Many people buy them for a plethora of reasons. Some say they just like the colors, like Lil’ Boosie when he wore a Kappa Alpha Psi sweater to a basketball game.
Most people wear them to pose as a member, like the young woman who went viral for not only rocking AKA paraphernalia on social media, out at parties, and the Black Greek Fest in Washington, D.C., but also attempting to stroll with real AKAs.
Then there are those people who just want to exhaust their right to do what they want.
This is the case of a defiant white substitute teacher who tried on the varsity jacket of the actual class teacher who was absent. The students told her not to wear the pink and green jacket, but she didn’t listen and did it anyway.
y’all why i’m in class and we got a sub and she gon grab our teacher’s AKA jacket and put it on😭 and then we tryna explain to her and tell her to take it off and SHE WONT DO IT LMFAOOOO pic.twitter.com/A6Qc7tR8Rd
— pillow princess 🎀 (@ursk1nnysavior) September 28, 2023
The woman immediately received backlash on social media from Black Greeks and GDIs, who simply respect the organizations. After a while, she was labeled “AKAren.”
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