The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a
collaborative umbrella council composed of historically
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America.
Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradu ...
also referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The NPHC was formed as a permanent organization on May 10, 1930, on the campus of
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...
, in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
with Matthew W. Bullock as the active Chairman and B. Beatrix Scott as Vice-Chairman. NPHC was incorporated under the laws of the
State of Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
in 1937.
The council promotes interaction through forums, meetings, and other media for the exchange of information and engages in cooperative programming and initiatives through various activities and functions.
Each constituent member organization determines its own strategic direction and program agenda. Today, the primary purpose and focus of member organizations remains camaraderie and academic excellence for its members and
service to the communities they serve. Each promotes community awareness and action through educational, economic, and cultural service activities.
History
The National Pan-Hellenic Council was established in an
era
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
when Greek letter collegiate organizations founded by white Americans did not want to be officially affiliated with Greek letter collegiate organizations founded by African Americans.
The organization's stated purpose and mission in 1930:
Unanimity of thought and action as far as possible in the conduct of Greek letter collegiate fraternities and sororities, and to consider problems of mutual interest to its member organizations.
The founding members of the NPHC were
Alpha Kappa Alpha,
Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...
,
Omega Psi Phi,
Delta Sigma Theta, and
Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic ach ...
. The council's membership expanded as
Alpha Phi Alpha (1931),
Phi Beta Sigma (1931),
Sigma Gamma Rho (1937), and
Iota Phi Theta (1996) later joined. In his book on BGLOs, ''The Divine Nine: The History of African-American Fraternities and Sororities in America'' (2001),
Lawrence Ross
Lawrence C. Ross Jr. (born February 20, 1966) is an author of historical texts and fiction.
Life
He was born in Los Angeles, California, and attended Loyola High School and then University of California, Berkeley, and UCLA, where he earned a ...
coined the phrase "The Divine Nine" when referring to the coalition.
[*]
As required by various campus recognition policies, neither the NPHC, nor its member national or chapter organizations discriminate on the basis of race or religion.
In 1992, the first permanent national office for NPHC was established in
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...
on the campus of
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universi ...
through the joint cooperation of Indiana University and the National Board of Directors of NPHC. Prior to its establishment, for over a 62-year period, the national office would sojourn from one officer to the next.
[
]
Affiliate organizations
The members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council are shown below in order of founding:[
]
Traditional Greek housing
Traditional Greek housing amongst NPHC organizations is rare. Unlike most National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) and North American Interfraternity Conference
The North American Interfraternity Conference (or NIC; formerly known as the National Interfraternity Conference) is an association of intercollegiate men's social fraternities that was formally organized in 1910, although it began at a meeting ...
(NIC) organizations that have many traditional Greek houses primarily for undergraduate members on or near their college campuses, NPHC organizations have only a few. Most of the few existing NPHC organization houses are untraditional and unaffiliated with a college. In recent years, a growing number of undergraduate chapters of NPHC organizations have advocated for convenient traditional Greek housing for recruitment, meetings, stroll/step practices, socializing, and storing chapter paraphernalia but the lack of proper funding and coordination continues to be an issue. In substitute of it, some undergraduate chapters have settled for small outdoor Greek plots to help substantiate their presence on campus.
See also
* Concilio Interfraternitario Puertorriqueño de la Florida
* Cultural interest fraternities and sororities Cultural interest fraternities and sororities, in the North American student fraternity and sorority system, refer to general or social organizations oriented to students having a special interest in a culture or cultural identity.
Although racial ...
* Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee
The Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee (sometimes informally known as FratPAC) is a U.S. political action committee (PAC) which focuses on issues related to freedom of association as it concerns Greek-letter organizations at Ameri ...
* List of African-American fraternities
African American fraternities and sororities are social organizations that predominantly recruit Black college students and provide a network that includes both undergraduate and alumni members. These organizations were typically founded by Black ...
* List of social fraternities and sororities
Social or general fraternities and sororities, in the North American fraternity system, are those that do not promote a particular profession (as professional fraternities are) or discipline (such as service fraternities and sororities). Inste ...
* National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations
The National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO) is an umbrella council for 16 Latino Greek Letter Organizations (GLOs) established in 1998. The purpose of NALFO is to promote and foster positive interfraternal relations, commu ...
* National Multicultural Greek Council
The National Multicultural Greek Council (NMGC) is an umbrella council for eleven multicultural fraternities and sororities (Greek Letter Organizations (GLOs)) in the United States. It was established in 1998.
Affiliate organizations
Organizat ...
* Racism in Greek life
Racism in United States college fraternities and sororities ("Greek life") has been linked to the experience of microaggressions, fewer opportunities to use the networking system built into Greek life, and harmful stereotypes. This fuels the ex ...
References
Further reading
* Brown, Tamara L., Gregory S. Parks, and Clarenda M. Phillips (2005). ''African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision''. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky. .
* Parks, Gregory Scott (2008). ''Black Greek-Letter Organizations in the 21st Century: Our Fight Has Just Begun''. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky. .
* Skocpol, Theda, Ariane Liazos, and Marshall Ganz
Marshall Ganz (born March 14, 1943) is the Rita T. Hauser Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Organizing, and Civil Society at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Introduced to organizing in Civil Rights Movement, he worked on the s ...
(2006). ''What a Mighty Power We Can Be: African American Fraternal Groups and the Struggle for Racial Equality''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. .
External links
*
{{Authority control
1930 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Fraternities and sororities in the United States
Student organizations established in 1930
Student societies in the United States