by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action
I never joined a fraternity during college. My sister and brother pledged, but I was too broke to afford the expense of joining any organization other than the "Broke Negroes of America" club. Also, I was concerned that spending six weeks being mistreated, awakened in the middle of the night and yelled at would cause two unfortunate outcomes: 1) My GPA would drop, and 2) I'd end up going to jail for issuing a couple of beat downs.
But even though I chose not to pledge during college, I gained a degree of respect for many of those who decided to do so. Quite a few members of the African American community are proud of the black greek tradition and find it to be one of the cornerstones of cultural, economic and political power within our society. While the college students get a bad rap for using their greek identity as an excuse to wear matching clothes and have more parties, there are more mature members who see their involvement as an avenue for political and social engagement.
Black America is in consistent need of organizations designed to pursue our collective purpose. Our community lacks the economic and political infrastructure necessary to lift us from the bottom of America's racial caste system. Delta Sigma Theta is part of that tradition, as are other African American sororities and fraternities.
