An Introduction to Greekdom
An Introduction to GreekdomI was first introduced to the black greek system by my cousins, both of whom are members of my fraternity. I remember being about 7 or 8 years old and one of my cousins had just finished pledging. He had a paddle in the corner of his room with all of his information on it (date and time of initiation, name of his line, his number, etc.) and I thought it looked like a cool toy so I picked it up and started swinging it around like a baseball bat. My cousin walked into the room and immediately snatched the paddle out of my hand and threw me on the bed and very sternly told me that I could not touch that paddle until I earned the right to touch it. I went crying to my mother and she had no sympathy for me. She only said, "You shouldn't have touched it." She understood. I didn't. She was greek. I wasn't.
It's over 20 years later. Now I understand. I began to understand on a rainy Sunday night in April when I became a Sphinxman, when I became a pledge. That process altered my life forever. The process of pledging a fraternity.
The idea of a fraternity is neither a recent nor a unique idea. The motivation behind what is modernly called fraternity has been around for thousands of years. Derived from the French word for "brotherhood," it is a concept that can be traced to as far back to the building of the pyramids of Giza, when the ancient stone masons formed their own groups to provide a system of support among their own groups.
In the early 1700's, the notion of a fraternity took on a different turn, with the re-emergence of the Freemasons. The Freemason's were on the verge of extinction when four lodges from the area around London, England helped to revitalize Masonry into what it is now. Ever since then, Mason's have played an important (if not sometimes negative) role in both the American and British societies.
In the late 1700's, the first greek letter organization arose, Phi Beta Kappa, and started a trend that has lasted to this very day. Even though it would eventually abandon it's secretive nature, other greek-letter organizations begin popping up like wildfire.
Hence, in 1904, Sigma Pi Phi became the first black fraternity. However, it was not created for black college students. The purpose of this fraternity was geared more towards the mature students. But the fact remains that contrary to what others may say, it was the first black fraternity.
However, on December 4, 1906, seven young men laid the foundation for what would eventually be called the "grandfather of all black greek organizations." Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was born at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, for the express purpose of catering to and providing support for black college students who had no actual...
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