Two Online Excerpts With Comments About Hazing In Historically Black Greek Letter Fraternities And Sororities

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of an ongoing pancocojams series about hazing, or being considered "paper" because you "skated" into your historically Black Greek letter organization

This pancocojams post presents a 2014 article excerpt and a 2019 research abstract about hazing in historically Black Greek letter fraternities and sororities. 

The Addendum to this post presents some comments from the discussion thread for Article Excerpt #1.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/01/black-fraternities-sororities-chants.html for the 2015 pancocojams post "Black Fraternities & Sororities Chants That Mention Paper, Skating, & Sliding Into Their Organizations" that I now consider to be Part I of this pancocojams series. 

Click ___ for Part III of this pancocojams series. That post showcases a 2012 YouTube video of and selected comments about an Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority probate chant that disses Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority.

The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Gregory S. Parks and E. Bahati Mutisya, for their research and writing on this subject. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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ARTICLE EXCERPT #1
From https://gregoryparks.net/the-end-of-bglos/ THE END OF BGLOS by Gregory S. Parks, Apr 2, 2014
"For many years now, at least as long as I have been a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha—17 years—I have heard that “we are one lawsuit away from being out of business. I am sure other BGLO members have heard the same thing. I always took it as hyperbole; and over the years, maybe it was such or at least a scare tactic. Having been a researcher on BGLOs for the past 14 years and a law professor who has studied BGLOs for the past 3 years, I would bank on the fact that within 25 years the Divine Nine will be the Great Eight, Stellar Seven or Six…maybe the Fabulous Five or Four.

Honestly, at the rate that BGLOs are going, I can only foresee two having any longevity. Given their sizes, financial resources, and frequency of hazing litigation, my prediction is that the organizations will fall by the wayside in the following order: Omega Psi Phi, Kappa Alpha Psi/Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho, Iota Phi Theta, Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha/Delta Sigma Theta

The typical narrative about how BGLOs will meet their demise is typically one that consists of errant undergrads hazing and getting their organization sued out of existence

[…]

In the end, I am hopeful about the longevity of BGLOs but not optimistic. Their demise will be blamed on 19-23 year-olds, but how responsible can you expect “kids” to be, even those who espouse high ideals? The end of BGLOs will ultimately have resulted from the failure of the adults, especially those in leadership, from doing, not simply something(s) about hazing, but all that needed to be done. Within BGLOs, there is not the will to be transformative. These are inherently conservative organizations where new modes of thinking are strenuously resisted, organizational politics prevails, and provincialism rules the day. Only time will tell; but time is not on their side."

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RESEARCH ABSTRACT
From https://racism.org/articles/basic-needs/education/46-education-higher-education/2939-hazing-black-sororities ""Hazing, Black Sororities, and Organizational Dynamics"

Abstract: Excerpted From: Gregory S. Parks and E. Bahati Mutisya, Hazing, Black Sororities, and Organizational Dynamics, 43 Law & Psychology Review 25 (2018-2019) ...11 June  2019

"In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to the issue of hazing within white college fraternities. While hazing deaths within their ranks provide just cause for this scrutiny, a closer look at analogous organizations may provide insight into why hazing exists and persists. Such analysis may even provide solutions. Over the past several decades, de minimis research exists on hazing within Greek-letter organizations separate and apart from white fraternities. In one study, my colleagues and I investigated how race and sex intersect in the context of fraternity and sorority hazing. To get a sense of the differences at the intersection of race and gender, we analyzed (1) published and unpublished state and federal court cases on Westlaw and (2) media hits in news periodicals between 1980 and 2009.

The results from this study suggest that, overall, violent hazing is more prevalent within black and male organizations than it is within those that are white and female. Fraternities employed calisthenics more; frequently than sororities, and among the latter, only black sororities employed calisthenics. With regard to mental hazing practices, fraternities employed them more often, and black sororities did so slightly more than their white counterparts. While fraternities engaged in more pranks than sororities, this practice was disproportionately engaged in by white organizations. Sex-related hazing practices were also disproportionately employed by white organizations. Alcohol use, however, was the greatest distinguishing factor between black and white groups, with the latter employing it more frequently than the former. White sororities had about a third as many incidents involving alcohol as white fraternities, and white fraternities had sixteen times as many alcohol incidents as black fraternities. Black sororities had no hazing incidents involving alcohol. In sum, there are drastic distinctions in how hazing is conducted depending on the race and gender of the Greek-letter organizations.

[…]

[In this research] the authors investigate hazing within black sororities. As such, this article should augment and enhance the developing literature on hazing in black sororities. Other researchers have found that black sorority hazing is characterized by a secretive “underground” culture, where women undergo an unofficial process to gain full membership into the sorority. Hazing is an addition to the official process sanctioned by the national organization. Some black sorority chapters continue the traditional, old-school pledge process, now synonymous with hazing, irrespective of the National Pan-Hellenic Council's (“NPHC”) 1990 ban on pledging in black sororities. Arguably, the NPHC organizations' pledging ban created the secretive, underground nature of hazing within black sororities. Hazing incidents have increased in severity in black sororities since the ban has taken effect. Pledging has been a historic part of the black sorority experience for at least a couple of generations, and hazing is seen as a way to continue that tradition. Black sorority hazing activities are more chapter-related than sorority-related. Hazing is a means of gaining credibility and admission in sorority chapters. Women who choose to go through the Membership Intake Process (“MIP”)--the non-hazing process adopted by the nine major black Greek-letter organizations in 1990-- often retain a lower status among their own sorority members as well as sometimes among other black Greek-letter organization (“BGLO”) members, as opposed to those who “consent” to be hazed.

The negative aspects of hazing, however, must be considered in light of the benefits that hazing confers on members of black sororities. After pledging, many women report a greater sense of self-determination and believing themselves to be more capable of completing goals. Women report feeling pride and honor about belonging to the sorority. Women also acknowledge feeling that hazing instills a sense of fictive kinship and communal bonding as sisters in the organization. Therefore, they experience joy and excitement in meeting other members of the same sorority over their lifetimes. Women interested in membership and members of black sororities participate in hazing activities to protect two interests: the betterment of the sorority as a whole and the member's own image and reputation.

First, sorority members are concerned about the betterment of the sorority. Members contend that hazing has organizational utility; it preserves organizational commitment and ensures that the organization's mission will be carried out. Also, members are concerned with creating bonds between the old members and the new members within the sorority. Members say that hazing helps foster the necessary legitimate bonds. Additionally, sorority members are concerned about maintaining the exclusivity and integrity of the organization. Sorority women articulated that hazing is “critical to the continuation of the values and mission of their organizations.” These arguments support the theory that hazing in black sororities is done to preserve the organization's identification.

Second, participants are also concerned about their individual image and the reputations of those who will belong to the organization. Members do not want to be disrespected or be given line names that insinuate that they did not have to work or earn admission into the sorority. Women who do not pledge are called derogatory terms like “paper,” “skater,” and “slider.” Sorority members haze the incoming women because they want them to have the reputation that they were “made right.” Those already initiated may see “hazing [as] a form of discipline ... to shape those whom [the sorority members] care for or wish to succeed.”…

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM EXCERPT #1 IN THIS PANCOCOJAMS POST
[These comments aren't given in chronological order. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only]

From https://gregoryparks.net/the-end-of-bglos/ THE END OF BGLOS by Gregory S. Parks, Apr 2, 2014

1.  Chuck Smoot on April 12, 2014 
"I have said this a thousand times and I will say it a thousand more. Trotting out hazing statistics and the like and using scare tactics is NOT GOING TO WORK. Brother Parks, I respect and appreciate your scholarship, and while I cannot disagree with our findings, what I do see is a lack of practical information as to how to deal with the issues of WHY people haze.

We need a fundamental overhaul of why people feel the need to engage in hazing practices. One has to ask themselves why do organizations like the Masons and the Shriners and the Elks, which once all had aspects as brutal (or in some cases, more), don’t/didn’t have the same degree of lawsuits and physical injuries.

The problem has been and continues to be that the BGLO’s have effectively created the equivalent to a “Just Say No” campaign. We all see how well using that in terms of the so-called war on drugs has worked. And we have BGLO’s that ban words like pledging or lines or things of that nature. How absurdly silly is that? Do we really think that just sitting in a room hearing lectures of how hazing is “bad” is really doing anything to stem the problems?

Yes, individuals bear some responsibility, but until the BGLO’s invest significant time and energy into reworking the mindsets, these issues will continue. We need to not only show in what ways programs can be conducted without physical harm, but put back the safeguards that were in place prior to 1990.

We have become more interested in branding and corporate profiles than we are in ensuring the safety of our members. And a 3 or 4 hour course listening to a lecture by people who often speak to members as if they are children is not going to work. There have been several programs proposed over the years that would address these problems, but because they didn’t come from the right people or didn’t include the exact right verbiage, they were thrown out.

So while I agree there is a dire situation, the true failure lies with our organizations, not solely with the individual members. Until our organizations realize those facts, then we will continue to be in jeopardy."

**
2. Jamaal on April 4, 2014
"I second Joe’s questions above. I think your analysis lacks further explanation, that quite possibly could make your case stronger. You did not provide any impirical evidence of your “demise scheme.” Instead, you simply state what isn’t the obvious. Please explain why certain organizations will face demise earlier than others.

Additionally, in much of your writings about BGLOs and hazing, you seem never to state your opinion. Which side are you on, Dr. Parks? On one hand, you say hazing can cause irreparable harm to an individual and/or an organization, while on the other you say we are a litigious society, and speak of “rights of passage.” We need scholars and strategic thinkers like yourself to clearly state how you feel about hazing. Do you support it? Have you yourself called people paper and/or skater? Your scholarly research reads pithy and lacks trust from your followers because you waffle on this most pressing issue. Tell us how you feel so that your efforts can be used to have a real scholarly discussion on the topic. You sound too political and/or diplomatic for me. Let’s hear it.”
-snip-
Dr. Parks didn't write anything in this article's discussion section.

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3. Aaron Juniper, PhD on April 4, 2014
…"From the top levels down, BGLO’s have lost their purpose and our failing communities are the evidence. We have taken our intellectual wealth and squandered it on selfish endeavors. We have forsaken our people; especially our children. We would rather teach them to step and stomp, than read or write. I know…I know…I know, many of you can say, “my chapter went to a school last week”. However, that one hour or tutoring, or self-aggrandizing speech at career day, is not enough. As individuals, that were/are college students, owe them more. If not us, who?

I remember a gang member telling me, “You all are only organized gang bangers. You wear your colors daily, insult each other in violence and non-violence, and jump each other in as members”.

I truly believe many of us joined, pledged, paid, or whatever to increase our social status. Never once did we think that we have a job to do; other than please each other. Now we are at the point where we have to change our ways, if we want to survive. If not now, when?

You be the change you want to see in your organization."

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4. Mittie C.Muse Jr. on April 4, 2014 
…"I once believed and still believe that there is positive valuse in the BGLOs, but we have to rid ourselves of the negativity and divisiveness and begin to focus on what really matters. I believe that all of our collective groups can agree that a mature, well developed, African American (or other race) male or female that makes positive constributions to their community, locally and/or beyond, is what we all hope to see and be a part of shaping. I do not believe hazing is the way to do that. Discipline, sacrifice, character building, untiy, and other things we would hope to see in members of our groups can be taught without extreme violence or abuse of any kind."

**
5. Bernie on July 7, 2014
[Quoting commenter Mike Larry]
"I wouldn’t trade my experience with (traditional pledging) with anything in the world..So rather than replace that, I think we need to refocus…make the process hard MENTALLY and PHYSICALLY (make pledges better physically in the end) so that they come out better contributors to their universities and communities."
-end of quote-
"Mike Larry this is why the BGLO’s are facing lawsuits today. Are you stating that your organization’s candidates are not mentally and physically strong at the beginning of their membership intake process? I have been a member of a BGLO for over thirty years and pledging didn’t make me physically or mentally stronger. I have been active with my sorority since I pledged. This mindset is causing great harm to individuals, chapters, and furthermore our beloved organizations. I guess it doesn’t bother you that people have lost their lives and or have serious internal injuries when pledging. Something isn’t right with this picture. We need to work together and cease hazing! Members will want to fulfill their lifetime obligation when they receive a positive and rewarding experience. Violence and mental torture is NOT the answer."

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