Two historically black sororities have come under fire for asking members not to wear sorority paraphernalia during nationwide protests of police killings of unarmed black men.
Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta, which have robust collegiate and alumnae networks in metro Atlanta, recently asked members to refrain from wearing sorority letters while involved in demonstrations. For weeks, demonstrators have protested recent grand jury decisions to clear white police officers in the deaths of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Mo. and Staten Island, N.Y.
"Feel free to wear our sorority colors but REFRAIN from wearing Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. letters and/or symbols as our policy outlines," according to a message posted on the organization's website.
In both cases, the directives contained a disclaimer of legal liability.
Some people, including members, have rejected the directives as going against the fundamental values of social activism and racial progress on which the venerable organizations were founded more than a century ago.
Leaders of the organizations, which boast thousands of members – AKAs have 265,000 members, Deltas 300,000 — have been mum on the issue surrounding the directives.
Detractors and defenders have taken to social media and other media outlets to voice their opinions. Tamura Lomax, a Delta and co-founder of The Feminist Wire, voiced her frustrations in an email to TheRoot.com.
“I’ve always been extremely proud that Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. was born in protest and stood on not only the front lines of the Women’s Suffrage Parade in 1913, but the March on Washington in 1963. … I’m not sure if this is gendered or not yet, but a part of me feels like this is an act of self-surveillance, which not only hopes to appease some sort of purity ideal for white folk, but weirdly aims to assert our humanity as black folk.”
Others defended the directives as a smart business move on the part of the organizations known for advancing racial progress in America.
Carolyne Blount of Rochester did not see the move as a distancing by the organizations.
"Instead, I assume the decision was made to protect the sorority from any potential lawsuits that may arise from irrational actions by people who may or may not be members getting caught up in a dangerous, illegal and destructive response," she posted on YourBlackWorld.net.
Meanwhile, another of the historically black sororities, Zeta Phi Beta, has taken a different view. The organization, founded in 1920, has encouraged its members through a national announcement to actively take part in the protests. Thousands of members have attended protests wearing their "letters" and have become involved in social media campaigns using the #RealZetas and #BlackLivesMatter hashtags. Read more of the national announcement here.
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