Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents an overview about historically Black (African American) Greek letter fraternity and sorority strolling that I initially wrote in 2021 but revised on February 22, 2025.
The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.
I'm publishing this post because I couldn't find any detailed history and/or descriptions online about this subject. Also, it appears to me that there's quite a bit of confusion online between the performance art of fraternity/sorority stepping and the performance art of strolling.
Additions and corrections to this essay are very welcome.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/02/pancocojams-posts-about-historically.html for the pancocojams post entitled "Pancocojams Posts About Historically African American (Black) Greek Letter Fraternity & Sorority Strolling".
Also, click the tag below to find pancocojams posts about fraternity and sorority stepping. .
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AN OVERVIEW OF HISTORICALLY AFRICAN AMERICAN GREEK LETTER FRATERNITY AND SORORITY STROLLS by Azizi Powell, latest revision: February 23, 2025
"Strolls" are loosely or tightly choreographed processional (vertical line) dances that are usually performed by a group of people that are members of the same Greek letter organization, or -in the case of unity strolls- by members of different Greek letter organizations. Strolls originated with and are still mostly associated with members of the historically Black (African American) Greek letter organizations (members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, informally known as "The Divine Nine".https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Pan-Hellenic_Council).
The Performance Art Of Fraternity & Sorority Strolls Came From "Death Marches"
Contemporary historically African American fraternity and sorority strolls are derived from those fraternity's and sorority's tradition in the 1940s or earlier of "death marches". Here's an excerpt of a Google search AI (Artificial Intelligence) result for fraternity and sorority death marches (retrieved February 23, 2025)
"AI Overview
In the context of fraternities and sororities, a "death march" refers to a highly demanding and physically strenuous ritualistic march performed by new members (pledges) during the final stages of their initiation process, often involving synchronized steps, chants, and intense physical activity, signifying the "death" of their old selves and rebirth as full members of the organization, particularly within historically Black Greek organizations
[...]
Cultural significance:
"Death marches" are particularly prevalent within
the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), a group of historically Black Greek
organizations, where it's considered a crucial part of the initiation process."...
-end of quote-
Here's an excerpt of an online article historically Black Greek letter fraternity and sorority death marches" in the 1980s and 1990s:
https://neworleanshistorical.org/items/show/1515 "Keep Marching On: Black Greek Organizations Performances on
Leon C. Simon Drive" By August Darbonne & Kathryn O’Dwyer, Editor
"The half mile stretch of Leon C. Simon Drive, that forms the
front boundary of the University of New Orleans’s campus, was a central
performance space for Black Greek letter organizations in the 1980s and 1990s.
The stretch of sidewalk was the sight of “death marches,” artistic and
synchronized marches performed by new initiates of Black Greek letter
organizations. These marches took place when new members “came out”, announcing
their status as official members of their organizations after weeks of studying
fraternity/sorority history, organization, and purpose.
[...]
Marches brought out huge audiences, many of these onlookers
belonged to the UNO community, including members of predominantly White Greek
organizations. Marches were a rare instance when predominantly white greek
organizations interacted with historically Black Greek organizations.Joan Brown-Staidum, a charter member of Zeta Phi Beta at UNO (a historically Black organization, discussed her death march during an oral history interview conducted with her by the author in 2018:
“The only thing they [predominantly White Greek
organizations] came to was when we were going over, we had the death march.”
This stretch of Leon C. Simon Drive was a space
where members could be unapologetic and celebrate their membership in
organizations that forged bonds between members and provided a support system
to uphold them throughout their academic career. This performance officiated
and solidified their membership, and conferred their membership into a very
important and needed
bond."
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The term "going over" (also given as "crossed over"; "crossed over the burning sands") is an old school (beginning around late 1960s or so) term for officially becoming a member of an historically Black Greek letter organizations.
Since at least the 1990s, historically Black (African American) Greek letter strolls may be performed at indoor or outdoor competitive or non-competitive events. Strolls can occur with prior notice or spontaneously. In the case of competitive stroll events (known as "stroll-offs"), members of the Divine Nine fraternities compete against each other and members of the Divine Nine sororities compete against each other.
Certain non-competitive strolls (referred to as "unity strolls") are also performed to recorded music on the yard (a centrally placed university courtyard), or in a university gymnasium during half-time of a basketball game, or at other formal and informal events and gatherings. "Unity strolls" usually consists of multiple fraternities or sororities performing strolls in their own (separate) lines at the same time. Alternatively, unity strolls may consist of members of multiple Greek letter organizations strolling together in one vertical line, in usually staggered placements (such as a member of one organization standing behind a member of another organization). Some historically Black Greek letter organization strolls include members of other People of Color non NPHC fraternities and sororities and/or members of PWI (predominately White)Greek letter organizations).
More Descriptions of Strolling
Strolls (early name- "party walk") are processions (single line formations) in which two or more people move in a circular manner either straight forward or zig zagging while performing choreographed struts or dance like motions. Unlike Conga lines, strollers don't touch the shoulders or any other part of the body of the person standing in front of them.
The term "party walks" is an early (1990s) referent for strolls. That name reflects the history of that performance movement art. The spontaneous nature of early party walks meant that those processions weren't necessarily associated with a particular record. Although strolls now (in 2025) are usually performed to a specific R&B or Hip Hop record, in the 1990s, strolls might not have had anything to do with what record was being played or even if there was any record being played at all. Instead, a stroll could begin when one member of a specific fraternity, or sorority (or a fraternity's little sister group) spontaneously decided to "party walk". That person (silently or while chanting) started performing steps (movements) that were (are) associated with that organization. Technically, the party walk (stroll) began when another member of that organization joined that first person, thus creating a procession. Other members of that specific organization usually join/ed in the party walk/stroll which continued until the end of the record or (if they were strolling without a record) continued for one reason or another.
Strollers often chant their organization's signature call and "throw" (perform their organization's signature hand sign. Their facial expressions are usually confident, proud, and focused (since they are promoting their organization by these public strolls. Strollers may also chant words or dates that are associated with their fraternity or sorority such as their founding date.
Strollers represent ("rep") their particular organization by waring clothes in their organization's colors, by throwing their organization's hand sign, and by chanting their organization's founding date and other words associated with their organization. Strollers also "rep" their organization by performing movements and gestures that are associated with that organization such as Kappa Alpha Psi's shoulder shimmy, Alpha Phi Alpha's Ape walk, and Sigma Gamma Rho's "Shake That Monkey" butt twerking.
People who watch strolls may be silent or boisterous, depending on whether the stroll is planned o spontaneous, and/or dependent on whether the stroll is competitive or non-competitive. A cardinal rule regarding strolls is that no one is allowed to cut through a stroll line as doing so would be interpreted as disrespecting that particular organization is strolling. .
Purposes of Strolling
Strolling provides informal and formal opportunities for members of a specific Greek letter fraternity or sorority(or in the case of "unity strolls" for more than one fraternity or sorority) to "rep" (represent, promote, "big up", show off) their organization/s.
Strolling also provides opportunities for people to dance even if a person doesn't have a dance partner. Strolling helps build group esteem and strengthens the connection that strollers have with their organization itself and with other members of that organization. Strolling also helps reinforce the self-esteem of individual strollers because it provides opportunities for them to "show out" (show off) their dance (strolling) skills as long as they remain on beat and remain in that stroll line. Unity strolls provide opportunities for members of different Greek letter organizations to get to know each other and engage in activities together.
In addition, party walking (strolling) provides serious, but also fun opportunities for strollers (party walkers) to enjoy themselves. The seriousness of strolling is suggested by the rule mentioned earlier about how cutting into a stroll line is viewed as a definite breach of etiquette.
Blowing a whistle while strolling
A small subset of non-competitive strolls that I have happened upon in YouTube videos and YouTube video shorts document the custom among members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity strolling with the lead stroller blowing a whistle. It appears to me that the the lead stroller blowing a whistle is in imitation of the role of a drum major. However, unlike the drum major's whistle blowing, the lead stroller's whistle blowing doesn't appear to signal any movements or directions that he wants the rest of the group he leads to follow. Also, the lead stroller's whistle blowing doesn't signal for people to get out of the way. Nor does the lead stroller's whistle blowing appear to me to be musical (i.e. augmenting the sounds of the record that he and the strollers who follow him are moving to.) Indeed, I can't determine any meaning for the addition of the whistle in the APHIA strolls except for the visual connection to a drum major.
The earliest YouTube video that I have come across for this custom is a 2013 video of members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. I don't know if this is the earliest date for that custom among Alphas and I also don't know if any other historically African American Greek letter fraternities or sororities has the same custom of a lead stroller or any other person in that strolling group blows a whistle. Please share any information that you know about that custom of blowing whistles while strolling as well as any information that you know about the early days of historically Black (African American) Greek letter organizations strolling.
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Fraternity and Sorority Strolls aren't the same performance art as The Stroll, an African American originated line dance that began in the 1957. "The Soul Train Line" from the 1970s on television dance show Soul Train is the most well known example of The Stroll (R&B dance).
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