College Hazing & Why Black Greeks Must Go

Summary

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Mainstream America's greatest exposure to Black Greeks has been filmmaker Spike Lee's "School Daze." Among his numerous critiques was a story thread that took the organizations to task for their cultural shallowness, retrograde apoliticism and unchecked misogyny. Even though Lee intended "School Daze" to, at least in part, chastise and even condemn Black Greeks, he failed to effectively highlight the groups' greatest problem ubiquitous, life-threatening hazing. In fairness to Lee, "School Daze" was released a year before Joel Harris died attempting to join the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Lee's and my alma mater, Morehouse College, in 1989.

Almost two decades later, another theatrical representation of Black Greek life has entered into America's public sphere. Disturbingly, "Stomp the Yard" does little to address some of the troubling issues Lee touched upon. Contrarily, it largely plays like a "brag piece" centering on one of the most superficial, but popularized aspects of Black Greekdom - stepping. At the same time, the movie emphasizes the romanticized benefits of membership that Black Greeks glorify without end - purpose, unity, sacrifice, teamwork and love. Unlike Lee's movie, "Stomp the Yard" makes little effort to substantively speak to the deeper sociopolitical quandaries faced by Black folk. This latest characterization is unfortunate and dangerous.

In October of 2005, in the wake of an injury at Fisk University involving my own fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, I penned "Is it Time to Disband Black Greek-letter Fraternities and Sororities?" for Diverse, then Black Issues in Higher Education. The very title of this short piece ignited a firestorm of the likes Black Haze never did. The reason, of course, was simple. Even though I had not arrived at the point where I openly pushed for the dissolution of Black Greek fraternities and sororities, I certainly posed the question as to whether or not they should be. I never took that step in Black Haze. I must now not only pose the question, but answer it with a resounding "yes."

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College Hazing & Why Black Greeks Must Go

Most Americans are not very familiar with Black Greek-letter organizations. Their small numbers and obscurity, however, do not lessen their threat, and it is high time we give it serious attention. I would advise college and university administrators, students, parents and all others of good conscience to educate themselves.

Mainstream America's greatest exposure to Black Greeks has been filmmaker Spik...

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