Academic

Same Agenda, Different Race (or Religion or Sexual Orientation)

By Gregory Parks

A friend of mine sent me an interesting email about two weeks ago. It was about a young White woman, named Erica Schlemmer, who quit her White sorority to join Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.?s (a Black sorority) chapter at Vanderbilt University. ?Top Secret,? as Schlemmer was named by her sorority sisters, noted that she joined Delta not to make a statement but because ?it was where [she] felt comfortable.? In her effort to join, Schlemmer, maybe more than the young ladies who were Black, had to know precisely why she was seeking membership. Not only was she scrutinized by Delta members, Schlemmer was also questioned by family members as well. Though it is not clear whether Schlemmer identifies with the race-consciousness of Black Greek-Letter Organizations (BGLOs) generally, and Delta specifically, in an interview with Inside Vandy, she acknowledged that ?a huge part of NPHC is the pride in race and history? but ?she had no intention of standing in the way of that.?

The story of non-Black members in BGLOs is a pretty interesting one. To date, Matthew Hughey is the only person to add anything of substance to this discussion. But what may be more interesting is the attitude among BGLO members about their presence within these organizations. Moreover, given that these organizations are largely Black, Christian, and heterosexual, how do members more broadly embrace or reject those who are perceived to be outsiders? Can there be solidarity with ?others?? Alan DeSantis (and his former graduate student, Marcus Coleman) is the only person to take a look at homosexuality in BGLO fraternities; Tamara Brown, Kenneth Clarke, Jessica Harris, and Said Sewell are the only ones to have done any research on the issue of faith in BGLOs.

I raise this point within the context of BGLOs, but I think it has broader implications. For example, I just finished co-editing a book on the intersection of Critical Race Theory and psychology. My two co-editors (Shayne Jones and Jonathan Cardi) are White as are most of the contributing authors. With that said, what role is there for ?others? within our struggle for justice and social equality?

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Full post as published by BlackProf on February 26, 2008 (boomark / email).