The Divine Nine (D9): An Introduction To Greek Life

A Introduction to Greek Life Black Greek-letter organizations, often referred to as the Divine Nine (or D9) play a significant role in the lives of young African Americans in higher education. Specifically, at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's), Greek life has influenced campus life, social life, surrounding communities, networking, and friendships. The Divine Nine, or D9, references the first nine fraternities and sororities founded between 1906 and 1963 catering to African American men and women. They are Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Incorporated, and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Incorporated. All nine make up the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) which was founded May 10, 1930, at Howard University. The first black fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, was founded in 1906, at Cornell University in New York, a predominately white institute (PWI). …show more content…
It's actually pretty hard to come across a staff member, who isn't a part of a greek organzation. The Divine Nine roots are deeply planted in the histoty of TSU as you can see from the brightly printed trees along each side of the tiger walk and I can't forget to mention "The Point." The point was created by student leaders ( members of the University Program Concuil) after the university's previous adminsation, lead by Dr. Rudely, tried to remove visual greek representation from the University. Rudely's administritation stripped away decades of TSU history with the removal of the Greek trees. Fortuantely, the trees have now been repainted, thanks to current President Lane giving the campus two areas to showcase the univesirty's greek