The Crimson White Print Edition - October 12, 2023

2B
culture
The Divine Nine and the creation of a more inclusive campus
Brandon Smith
Race and Identity
Reporter
Zara Morgan
Contributing Writer
The National Pan-Hellenic
Council, also known
as the “Divine Nine,” is a
group of nine historically
Black sororities and
fraternities, eight of which are
represented at the University.
The Divine Nine has a
rich history, starting even
before the NPHC’s founding
at Howard University. While
the NPHC was founded in
1930, member organizations
such as Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority, Inc. and Alpha Phi
Alpha Fraternity, Inc., were
founded in 1908 and 1906,
respectively. The Divine Nine
serves as an agent to raise
“community awareness and
action through educational,
economic and cultural service
activities,” according to the
NPHC website.
The founding sororities and
fraternities were Alpha Kappa
Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc., Zeta Phi Beta
Sorority, Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi
Fraternity, Inc. and Omega Psi
Phi Fraternity, Inc..
In 1931, two fraternities
were added to the NPHC,
Alpha Phi Alpha and Phi
Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
In 1937, Sigma Gamma Rho
Sorority, Inc. was added to
the roster and the NPHC was
incorporated under Illinois
state law.
The youngest member
of the Divine Nine, Iota Phi
Theta Fraternity, Inc. was
added in 1997.
The University of Alabama
gained its first chapters of the
Divine Nine in 1974, which
was also the same year that
the majority of the NPHC
sororities and fraternities
began at The University.
The NPHC starts its year
off with a convocation that
all interested members are
required to attend. From
there, each sorority and
fraternity has its own process
for membership intake during
various times throughout the
school year.
Car’Liz Mims, a senior
majoring in management
information systems and a
member of Zeta Phi Beta, and
Jade McGee, the vice president
of Delta Sigma Theta and a
management information
systems major, spoke about
the NPHC’s three pillars:
scholarship, sisterhood and
brotherhood, and service.
“Education is a
requirement to be a part of
the organization,” Mims said.
“Any student should at least
be pursuing a bachelor’s
degree at the bare minimum.”
Mims and McGee
emphasized the importance
of sisterhood and
brotherhood by looking back
at the origins of the NPHC.
The organization was created
to unite the Black community
and organize social action as
they faced the “problems of
history,” referring to American
segregation, racism and
gender inequality.
It was because of
brotherhood that the first
Black SGA president was
elected. Cleophus Thomas
was a member of Kappa
Alpha Psi. His election was
made possible by the support
of his fraternity and NPHC
brothers and sisters.
The Divine Nine has played
a major role in the Civil Rights
Movement. On the national
level, Alpha Phi Alpha has
notable alumni who helped
change the civil rights
landscape, including Martin
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The Theta Sigma chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. was one of the first Black Greek
organization on campus. CW / Caroline Simmons
Luther King Jr., Andrew Young
and Jesse Owens.
The NPHC also has various
programs that promote
higher education within the
Tuscaloosa area.
“We have our ‘Go to
High School, Go to College’
program, which promotes
secondary education and
college education amongst
our communities to younger
children in elementary,
middle and high school,”
Kenneth Kelly, a junior
majoring in news media and
a member of Alpha Phi
Alpha, said.
Another historic tradition
for the Divine Nine
fraternities and sororities
is the annual step show, a
celebration that is at least
40 years old. According to
McGee, the event serves as a
recruiting effort, and students
and alumni are encouraged to
attend. Stepping and strolling
is a traditional art form that
has origins in the African
diaspora.
“It was an art form
amongst the tribes that lived
over in the West African
region, to use their body
to make different types of
sounds and movements to
communicate with each
other,” Kelly said. “That was
one of the various things that
have been passed down from
what survived the Atlantic
Slave Trade, and it has been
passed down throughout
generations of slavery.”
Service is the social action
and philanthropy that NPHC
organizations do to give
back to the local community.
Delta Sigma Theta hosts
educational forums in
Tuscaloosa, and members do
service projects for Tuscaloosa
and the surrounding areas.
Every year, the NPHC has a
“give-back” event, usually
a gala to fundraise for the
American Heart Association.
Malea Benjamin, a senior
majoring in political science
and communication studies
and a leadership fellow for
Alpha Kappa Alpha, said
she takes a lot of pride in
being a member of the NPHC
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and enjoys being in Alpha
Kappa Alpha because of
the educational and service
opportunities that it provides.
Some of the opportunities
that Benjamin has come
across include donating
women’s sanitary products,
educating high schoolers
on voter registration, and
community service at the
Salvation Army.
To Benjamin, having a visible
presence, especially on
sorority row, is an important
part of showing the progress
that the University of
Alabama has made toward
making all students feel seen
and heard.
“Not that it’s as bad as it
used to be, but I still think it’s
important to show how much
things have changed and the
strides that we’re making to
make Black students feel seen
and heard and uplifted, and
to be authentically Black,”
Benjamin said.
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