Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents an alphabetized list of some African American influences on the creation and developement of historically Black Greek letter fraternity/sorority stepping.
Article/book excerpts are included in this post after the entries on this list.
While I've included specific entries such as "Calkwalk" and "Military Drills", other cultural influences such as tap dancing and marching bands are also mentioned in some of those article/book excerpts.
The content of this post is presented to help debunk the widely repeated notion that the source of historically African American stepping is (or only is) South African gumboot dancing.
The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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Click the tags given below for more pancocojams post about this subject.
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DISCLAIMER: This pancocojams post isn't meant to be a comprehensive listing of all the African American influences on historically Black Greek letter fraternity and sorority stepping.
Additions and corrections are welcome.
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LIST OF SOME AFRICAN AMERICAN INFLUENCES ON HISTORICALLY BLACK GREEK LETTER FRATERNITY/SORORITY STEPPING
These entries are given in alphabetical order.
CAKEWALK
From Tamara
L. Brown, Gregory S. Parks, Clarenda M. Phillips, "African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision" (originally published in 2005)
Google Books
"The Cake-Walk originally was a kind of shuffling dance that
evolved to a smooth walking step with the body held erect…the movement became a
prancing strut. The cakewalk is one of
the earliest cornerstones of stepping, not only in terms of its prancing gait
but also in terms of the idea of ritual challenge, where performers compete to
see who has the most control, the most coolness."...
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FRATERNITY OR SORORITY SIGNTURE CALLS/HAND SIGNS
From http://www.afa1976.org/Portals/0/Membership_Intake_Guide_NPHC.pdf NPHC National Membership Intake Guide
"Hand Signs & Calls
Much like calls, the exact origin of hand signs cannot be pinpointed. According to Kimbrough (2003), pictures from college campuses of Black fraternities and sororities indicate that hand signs became a part of the Black fraternal experience during the 1970’s. Although it is not clear how calls and hand signs evolved, these traditions are long standing.
These universal symbols can be seen as exclusive outward expressions of pride and of strong organizational identification."
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The word "slaves" in this excerpt refers to enslaved Black people in the United States.
NPHC - The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), colloquially known as the “Divine Nine” (D9), is a collaborative umbrella council composed of historically African American fraternities and sororities [was]founded in 1930." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Pan-Hellenic_Council
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* As a matter of information, I crossed over as a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. in 1967(Gamma Zeta chapter, New Jersey, 1967). I definitely remember hearing and performing that organization's signature call "Skee Wee". I also definitely remember seeing and doing the organization's secret handshake.
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/black-fraternity-sorority-calls.html for the 2013 pancocojams post entitled "Black Fraternity & Sorority Calls (Information & Comments)"
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JAZZ DANCES, INCLUDING THE LINDY HOP
From Elizabeth C Fine, Soulstepping: African American Step Shows (University of Illinois Press, originally published in 2003)
Page 162
“Stepping in Omega Psi Phi fraternity may have been influenced by the lindy hop. According to Stephon D. Henderson (interview 25 May 1995), stepping began “at the Rho Chi chapter at Tennessee State –anywhere between 1941 and 1956” and was called “hopping” here. Brothers at Tennesee State and in that middle Tennessee area still refer to it as hopping, because it was first referred to as hopping.” A photograph captioned the “Omega Bop” in the 1969 Bison (221) shows Omega brothers standing on their right legs and kicking to the side in a movement reminiscent of the kicks done in the lindy hop... Rouverol (“ 'Hot’, ‘Coo;’ and ‘Getting Down’”, 100) observes that the emphasis on unity, precision, and competition in tap, buck and wing, and chorus–line dancing “may have influenced stepping as we know it today”. Other possible influences, she notes, “include cakewalking, and in recent years, even cheerleading and party walks”.
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"Party walks" = fraternity/sorority "strolling" which originated with historically Black Greek letter organizations
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MILITARY DRILLS / CADENCES, & OTHER MILITARY CUSTOMS
Excerpt #1
From African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision edited by Tamara Brown; Google Books, p 327-329
"The military has played a large part in the formation and continuation of BGLO chants and steps. One might even say that the performance behaviors of both the military and BGLOs exist in a type of symbiotic relationship.... As a result of blacks entering the military before, during, and after attending college, one find BGLO behavior in the military, and military behavior in BGLO system.
The brothers of Omega Psi Phi with their paramilitary garb, trace stepping back to the military influence of the 1900s. Ex-soldiers attending college would incorporate marches and drills into their BGLO performance…Shannon Rawls of Kappa Alpha Psi elaborated: “Members of black organizations, brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi...who went to the military for World War II in the late ’30s and early ‘40s would come back home and incorporate some of the same cadence and military style back into....the stepping style, or into the dancing style that they did.”
Stepping during that early period was called lining, descriptive of the formation in which soldiers march. Some Omegas and other BGLO members still refer to stepping as marching on account of this early military influence.
This military behavior is further observed in the clothing, stance, and marching of BGLO members. Part of the basic working military wardrobe consists of camouflage pants, or fatigues, and combat boots. These garments, though found in all fraternities, are especially prevalent in brothers of Omega Psi Phi..."
[page] 328
The position of “attention” and “at ease” are often found in BGLO step performances. When at attention, the steppers face forward with their feet placed together, their eyes directed slightly above the crowd, and their arms either at their sides or slightly parallel to the earth with both fists meeting in the middle of their chest. When given the call for at ease, the performers spread their feet shoulder length apart, clasp their hands behind their backs, and turn their heads first to the side, then forward to face the crowd. Between the various segments of the performance, the steppers stand at attention or at ease as a method of showing readiness. The precision marching of the military is also found in steps such as Alpha Phi Alpha’s “Parade”, in which steppers form a tight group, and using cadence, execute sharp turns and coordinated hand and arm movements that are paired with the calls of the step master.
Alpha brother Reginald Love III states, “When we step, it’s got cadence to it. I learned that being in the military, a lot of [fraternity] cadence is military related.”
Versions of the chants found in BGLOs are also found in military jodies, commonly known as cadences. It is unclear which came first, but this dual
[Page] 329
presence suggests a close relationship between the two organizations.
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BGLO= Black Greek letter organizations
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Excerpt #2
From https://hbcustory.wordpress.com/2015/05/22/this-is-why-we-step-a-history-of-stepping-in-black-greek-lettered-life-culture/ This is Why We “Step” | A History of Stepping in Black Greek-Lettered Life + Culture, Posted on May 22, 2015 by Crystal A. DeGregory, PH.D.
Comments:
Martez Moore says:
May 25, 2015
"The hop was first done with perfection at Tennessee State University, an ROTC student on line for Omega Psi Phi “Mighty” Rho Psi Chapter combined words and a military style March to create the first hop. This was in the early 50’s as your time line indicates. Stepping is different from hopping and not practiced by Omega’s, however hopping was the origin of this practice among greek letter organizations."
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This excerpt points out that members of the historically Black Greek letter fraternity Omega Psi Phi, Inc. refer to their performance activity as "hopping" and not "stepping". That said, they perform those activities during "step shows".
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Excerpt #3
From https://ausdance.org.au/articles/details/from-gumboots-and-greek-letters From gumboots and Greek letters: Preserving African American heritage through stepping by Jennifer Uharriet originally published on 18 July 2008 in
Dance dialogues: Conversations across cultures, artforms and practices under
Transcultural conversations
..."Although gumboots seems an obvious relative of stepping,
African American stepping shares ties with several African dance forms. For example,
upon witnessing his first step show, a scholar of Bakongo culture, K. Kia
Bunseki Fu-Kiau, was positive that the students could not possibly have learned
those movements without a trainer who had studied in the Kongo area. The
slicing motions of the dancers’ hands and arms, as well as their playful
chanting, matched that done near Kinshasa. According to Fu-Kiau, "Using
the body as a drum" is also "fundamentally Kongo" (in Malone,
1996, pp. 190 – 91).
Had any of these Howard University performers been to
Kinshasa? No. Had any seen the gumboots dances of South Africa? Probably not.
So how could they be so strongly influenced by dances they had never seen?
Gerhard Kubik explained that even if oppression and slavery
attempted to stamp out a specific cultural trait such as African drumming, the
trait would not truly disappear but would retreat into the bodies of the
people, into their human psyche. The drum patterns, though perhaps never heard
again, would be "transformed into a set of motional behavior," and
then would "continue to be transmitted from mothers and grandmothers to
their children, from father to son during work, non-verbally, as an awareness
of a style of moving." Then when the time was right, "the drum
patterns [would] surface again, perhaps on other instruments" when the
youth "suddenly ‘invent[ed]’ something new" (ibid., p. 191). Stepping
has proven to be one such manifestation of the drumbeat of black Africa.
Though most definitely "animated by the style, spirit,
and social and aesthetic organisation of sub-Saharan Africa," stepping
itself is the unique creation of African America (Abrahams, in Malone, 1996, p.
189). A more direct ancestor of stepping than the bloodlines of Africa is the
military marching of the World War II era. In the 1940s, many students were
returning from the war and others were participating in the Student Army
Training Corp (Trotto). Many African American students were part of black
college marching bands as well. At that time, initiation into a black
fraternity or sorority often required marching around campus in military style
(Fine, 2003, p. 46). It was in these black Greek-letter organisations that
stepping truly evolved."...
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-military-influences-on-historically.html for the 2016 pancocojams post entitled "The Military Influences On Historically Black Fraternities & Sororities - Book Excerpt & Phi Beta Sigma Website Excerpt"
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PATTIN JUBA, RING SHOUT, AND OTHER PRE-19TH CENTURY DANCES
Excerpt #1
From Elizabeth C Fine, Soulstepping: African American Step Shows (University of Illinois Press, originally published 2003 )
Pages 83-84
"The characteristic clapping and stomping movements of stepping have their earliest counterparts in African American dances that emerged during slavery. Pattin juba, perhaps the best known of these dances, may have originated in an African dance called guiouba and grown in popularity after slaveholders outlawed drums for fear they would be used to communicate revolts...
The juba dance was done in a counterclockwise circle with "both the words and the steps" in call-and-response form. It involved improvisation, the shuffle, and clapping...
Early circular stepping routines reflect the influence of pattin juba as well as another early African American dance, the ring shout, which still exists in small areas of the South...
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Excerpt #2
From https://ausdance.org.au/articles/details/from-gumboots-and-greek-letters From gumboots and Greek letters : Preserving African American heritage through stepping by Jennifer Uharriet, originally published on 18 July 2008 in Dance dialogues: Conversations across cultures, artforms and practices under Transcultural conversations
"According to scholar Elizabeth Fine, "Stepping is a complex performance that melds folk traditions with popular culture and involves synchronised percussive movement, singing, speaking, chanting, and dram[a]"’ (in Soulstepping: Folk Roots, 2005). It focuses on body percussion with stomping and body slapping. Today stepping may even include hip-hop moves, gymnastics, and advertising jingles" (Fine, 1991, p. 39).
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In addition to pattin Juba and the ring shout, I believe that two other 19th century dance forms -the cakewalk and the Grand March- should also be considered as early influences on the performance arts now known as stepping and strolling.
I also believe that the walkabout dance also influenced what is now known as fraternity & sorority stepping and strolling. "Walkabouts" also became part of the Chicago dancing known as the Bop and what is now known as Chicago Stepping. In the 19th century walkabouts -with its cakewalk dance- were lifted from African American dancing and were featured as part of blackfaced minstrel shows.
I also believe that the popularity of strut (dances) as documented in the 1924 African American Ragtime song "Strut Miss Lizzie" and other "strut", "walk" and "hop" dances such as The Lindy Hop abd The Camel Walk also significantly contributed to historically Black Greek letter[ed] organizations' stepping and its related performance movement strolling. (I believe that forms of strolling i.e. marching in line occurred before "stepping")
In addition, a believe that church processions have also influenced the development and evolution of historically Black Greek letter stepping and strolling.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/cakewalk-grand-march-usa-canada.html for a pancocojams post on the 19th century African American originated dances called the cakewalk and "The Grand March". That posts also includes film clips of that dance.
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PRINCE HALL MASONS / ORDER OF EASTERN STAR INFLUENCES
Pancocojams Editor's Note: Whether or not historically Black Greek letter fraternities/sororities have borrowed elements from Masons/Easter Stars secret societies is a very controversial topic.
Read excerpts from this 2019 pancocojams post: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/09/excerpts-from-2005-2006-hbcusportscom.html "Excerpts From A 2005-2006 hbcusports.com Forum Discussion About Prince Hall Masonry & Historically Black Greek Letter Fraternities And Sororities"
RHYTHM & BLUES MUSICAL GROUPS & THE PERFORMANCE STYLES OF 1960s R&B GROUPS
Excerpt #1
From Elizabeth C Fine, Soulstepping: African American Step Shows (University of Illinois Pressoriginally published 2003)
Chapter 3: Stepping Out An African Heritage
p. 77
...Darryl R. Matthews, Sr., a former executive director of Alpha Phi Alpha who pledged in the Delta Rho chapter at the University of Missouri at Kansas City in 1972, wrote in an e-mail debate with a younger brother:
When my big brothers did it in the 60s, it was to the doo-wopping style of the r&b artist of the day. There was nothing deliberately African about that. In the 70s we modeled ourselves after the Temptations and the Dramatics. It was syncopated harmony with show business choreography, pure and simple. It was not about anything African."
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Excerpt #2
From https://www.ba1935.com/history-of-stepping [retrieved April 7, 2022]
"The History of Stepping according to the Temple of Blue
... Other elements of stepping formed after the return of brothers from World War II. Various elements of military marching and line formations were implemented into fraternities with the end of the war and the advent of peacetime. These, along with the founders influence, are some of the origins for the use of the cane by Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. in many regions. To this day the military influence as well as Masonic influences can still be seen in the step process as well as the pledge process of most Black Greek Lettered Organizations. It is through these and many other factors that stepping began to become an intimate part of Black Greek Lettered Organizations.
For Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, in many regions, canes were used due, in part, to the influence of the founders, but for the most part by the military drill sergeants who were members. In the late 40's and early 50's, for the purpose of identification, many black drill sergeants carried canes. These canes allowed other black soldiers to identify with their rank, which was necessary on many bases where racism was prevalent. Of course there were some drill sergeants that were members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
Stepping evolved with groups of guys singing acapella, and when groups like the Temptations and the Four Tops were popular in the 50's and 60's brothers started mimicking their steps. This is part of the reason why it is called "Stepping" now. Brothers would try to come up with the best steps while they were singing to please the ladies. If you got the ladies you got more recruits. Much like it is today.
Others say that stepping replaced the doo woop sounds and cardigan sweaters of the 50's. At around the same time as the "Black Power" Movements and Africa centered movements of the 60's, stepping started to flourish with the incorporation of some traditional African ritual dancing and the incorporation of other elements like cheer leading, tap, gymnastics, etc. Over the years stepping has become very intricate and demanding incorporating props, high levels of gymnastics and other elements found in team sports. Please note that some people want to give the credit to the South African Boot Dance, but it would be unfair to ignore everything that stepping was in the beginning and it is now."
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The complete reprint of this article is included in this 2021 pancocojams post http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/10/what-are-fraternity-sorority-strolls.html "Debunking The Myth That Black Fraternity/Sorority Stepping And Strolling Came From South African Boot Dancing"
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