A Pledge with Purpose: Black Sororities and Fraternities and the Fight for Equality

Reveals the historical and political significance of “The Divine Nine”—the Black Greek Letter Organizations

In 1905, Henry Arthur Callis began his studies at Cornell University. Despite their academic pedigrees, Callis and his fellow African American students were ostracized by the majority-white student body, and so in 1906, Callis and some of his peers started the first, intercollegiate Black Greek Letter Organization (BGLO), Alpha Phi Alpha.

Since their founding, BGLOs have not only serve...