Racism and the Greek System (South & Texas)

[ztejas 43538]

2 hours ago, TonyTexas said:

It’s a pretty small pool to choose from if a frat was open minded about accepting black members. UT’s student body is around 5% black. Let’s assume 1/2 are female, that leaves about 1200 black males. About 10% of the total student body is Greek. So now your pool is down to 120. And that has to populate the black fraternities as well. And this is now. I have to assume those numbers were even smaller in the time periods most of y’all have been referencing. That leaves pretty slim pickings. 

You aren't accounting for a lot of those black students being athletes and not really being able to join a fraternity. 

[TonyTexas 10530]

5 minutes ago, ztejas said:

You aren't accounting for a lot of those black students being athletes and not really being able to join a fraternity. 

They are included in the 90% of the student body that aren’t in the Greek system, along with all of the white athletes. 

Edited June 17, 2021 by TonyTexas

[ztejas 43538]

3 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

They are included in the 90% that aren’t in the Greek system along with all of the white athletes. 

No, they aren't, because I'm assuming if you are white you are more likely to be in a fraternity. Or maybe the inverse is true. 

But maybe this level of statistics evades you. 

I'd also wonder if that 10% figure actually includes the black frats. The black frats at SMU weren't part of IFC and I have no idea whether they were included in those calculations. 

Edited June 17, 2021 by ztejas

[TonyTexas 10530]

Whatever dude. My point was, and unknowingly reinforced by you, that there are a very limited number of black males who would be interested or available to join a white fraternity. As far as my statistical ability is concerned, here is one stat that I’m certain of. There is a 100% probability that you are an asshole. 

[billfromlaketravis 11524]

I wish there had been more representation in my fraternity, but we were inclusive. Basically you had to know people in the fraternity, go to some rush parties, and get a bid. 
 

I never witnessed any kind of organized/institutional racism in my fraternity. 
 

UT Class of ‘09

[Brew 3049]

5 hours ago, bad_teammate said:

Don't know if you were asking me specifically, but my own view/time was very Outsiders in its social/class dynamics.

I grew up very poor and my parents struggled with money and personal relationships and, in their own way, substances. People in my family didn't graduate high school, must less go to UT, so I was extremely serious-minded about the opportunities in front of me and what they meant for my future.

In my mind, I couldn't afford to just screw around and extend my boyhood indefinitely. In my mind, if I didn't succeed it was back to the Jasper area and everything I saw growing up around me. When I saw the frat kids having a grand old time, I saw kids who knew with full certainty in their hearts they'd be OK and the worst that would happen is that they went back to a secure home and influences that would make sure they turned out OK.

Was I correct? Obviously not completely, but I was a kid like they were all kids. We were all just kids who came from where we came from and valued what we valued. Not really seeing each other. It's cool.

Similar story, college for me was a means to an end that no one else in my family chased. I was dating my now wife (married my junior year of college) from high school, working full time, and trying to get as far away from what I grew up around as possible. It wasn’t bad per se, it just wasn’t what I wanted in life. The Greek life looked to me like a bunch of fuck offs that needed someone to hang out with. Looking back, I was off base but I don’t think certain aspects of my life would look like they do now if I went that route In my industry it’s made some things difficult not being involved in the Greek society as doors seem to open a lot easier, but I just wanted to be done with college.

I do work for a large national Greek organization now. It’s interesting being on that side in this discussion. They have been trying to outrun the perception for all the years I’ve worked with them, but some of the perception is intrinsic to the Greek system and impossible to get by. Their entire corporate staff is heavily women and minority at this point almost like they are trying to change their perception at the top on that alone. Every year they get pulled back down though with a National story that breaks. Kids are stupid, they are products of their upbringing, and especially in some of these locations racism runs deep and travels with them as they head off to college. Look at the baseball draft and some of the stuff that comes out on drafted high school guys every year when some newspaper researches their Twitter history. It’s nuts in 2021 what is still rooted in large swaths of society.

[Neonmoon 38130]

25 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I wish there had been more representation in my fraternity, but we were inclusive. Basically you had to know people in the fraternity, go to some rush parties, and get a bid. 
 

I never witnessed any kind of organized/institutional racism in my fraternity. 
 

UT Class of ‘09

 

I was also in a fraternity at UT. No, there wasn't "organized/institutional" racism, as in there wasn't a sign or it wasn't written down, and I bet you 1000% percent most people in the fraternity wouldn't consider themselves or their fraternity racist, but to suggest that a black guy could just "know people in the fraternity, go to some rush parties, and get a bid" is being a bit naïve. 

Maybe it's changed in the past 10 years, but I doubt it. 

[Js1 85582]

37 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I wish there had been more representation in my fraternity, but we were inclusive. Basically you had to know people in the fraternity, go to some rush parties, and get a bid. 
 

I never witnessed any kind of organized/institutional racism in my fraternity. 
 

UT Class of ‘09

[bad_teammate 13224]

There's no need for the frat itself to have racism written into the rules with "you just have to know people" in effect and the "people" in question all come from suburbs/exurbs that exist because of white flight after Brown v Board.

#easy

[DonkeyCigars 143]

I honestly 100% know that I could not get into UT if I was a senior in H.S. now. The 90's were a more welcoming time, in that respect. It seems like just in how difficult getting into UT is these days and the candidate profiles that get in, if nothing were changed from the 90's to today you'd necessarily have to have a more diverse landscape of Greek culture because the student body isn't the same average Joe Sixpack from Plano or whatever.

It's also become less about the social experience it sounds like and more of a place to learn and empower yourself for a career. I don't think it was like that when I was there (but maybe it was and I was in a bubble), but I 100% know that I would not have gone to UT if I was going to college just to learn and get a degree and get a job. The social aspect and town (not being native to Austin) was like 90% of the appeal, as I was not interested in getting away from my hometown and better myself or a first generation student or whatever.

I would say that if you want to get a better view of if the Greek system and race has materially changed for the better over time, don't look at UT today versus then. Look at what is the 2021 version of the 90's UT; a good state school where you can be a non-nerd and drink 5 years to a degree? Like Arky or Bama or Ole Miss or Okie State?

[Brew 3049]

27 minutes ago, DonkeyCigars said:

I honestly 100% know that I could not get into UT if I was a senior in H.S. now. The 90's were a more welcoming time, in that respect. It seems like just in how difficult getting into UT is these days and the candidate profiles that get in, if nothing were changed from the 90's to today you'd necessarily have to have a more diverse landscape of Greek culture because the student body isn't the same average Joe Sixpack from Plano or whatever.

It's also become less about the social experience it sounds like and more of a place to learn and empower yourself for a career. I don't think it was like that when I was there (but maybe it was and I was in a bubble), but I 100% know that I would not have gone to UT if I was going to college just to learn and get a degree and get a job. The social aspect and town (not being native to Austin) was like 90% of the appeal, as I was not interested in getting away from my hometown and better myself or a first generation student or whatever.

I would say that if you want to get a better view of if the Greek system and race has materially changed for the better over time, don't look at UT today versus then. Look at what is the 2021 version of the 90's UT; a good state school where you can be a non-nerd and drink 5 years to a degree? Like Arky or Bama or Ole Miss or Okie State?

If you want an evaluation of the current Greek system in relation to racial diversity, Ole Miss is probably not place the start. That campus is as old south white as a campus could possibly get. There is no telling what they are signing on Greek row today, but it probably hasn’t changed much. 

[Chuckie Finster 22737]

Wasn't in a frat so I don't have much to add, but just wanted to comment to say that this thread has been one of the more enjoyable ones to read on this site in a while.  A lot of potential to devolve into shit flinging here, but the conversation has remained honest and interesting for a greek outsider like me.  Some really, really good posts.

[Brisketexan 105357]

1 minute ago, Chuckie Finster said:

Wasn't in a frat so I don't have much to add, but just wanted to comment to say that this thread has been one of the more enjoyable ones to read on this site in a while.  A lot of potential to devolve into shit flinging here, but the conversation has remained honest and interesting for a greek outsider like me.  Some really, really good posts.

Whatever, fuck off, GDI.  Nerd.

[Satchel 6949]

2 hours ago, ztejas said:

You aren't accounting for a lot of those black students being athletes and not really being able to join a fraternity. 

I was on a A Phi A line of 17 and most were basketball and football players, as are many black Greeks on campuses everywhere.

[ztejas 43538]

8 minutes ago, Satchel said:

I was on a A Phi A line of 17 and most were basketball and football players, as are many black Greeks on campuses everywhere.

At Texas? 

My point with Texas is that basketball and football players don't really have time to be in a fraternity. 

Edited June 17, 2021 by ztejas

[ztejas 43538]

2 hours ago, TonyTexas said:

There is a 100% probability that you are an asshole. 

Yes. And a bit of a statistics nerd on top of it. 

[Satchel 6949]

19 minutes ago, Satchel said:

I was on a A Phi A line of 17 and most were basketball and football players, as are many black Greeks on campuses everywhere.

Aren’t there quite a few white football players who are in frats at Texas?

[Satchel 6949]

This wasn’t all that long ago. Sec! Sec! Sec!

University Of Alabama Student Government Votes To Leave All-White Sororities Alone. The University of Alabama student senate killed a resolution supporting racial integrationof fraternities and sororities on campus — a failure the legislation's author partly blamed on a secret society called the Machine.Mar 26, 2014

 

University Of Alabama Student Government Votes To Leave ...

 

 

[We’reTexas 1473]

49 minutes ago, Satchel said:

Aren’t there quite a few white football players who are in frats at Texas?

No, they wouldn’t have time or the inclination to go through pledgeship. It’s very rare. 

[ztejas 43538]

53 minutes ago, Satchel said:

Aren’t there quite a few white football players who are in frats at Texas?

Nah. Maybe some walk ons or guys that don't play. But even those guys probably aren't asked to do as much as the other pledges or brothers. 

I mean... my first two years at SMU we sucked shit at football and I don't think there were more than 2 or 3 football players that tried to rush. And I'm guessing none of those guys were even on the team 4 years later. That's a much worse football program on a campus that is much more Greek life centric. 

Edited June 17, 2021 by ztejas

[Pancho 45004]

There is a lot of interesting research surrounding fraternities and sororities and Whiteness.  A lot of them are qualitative, which is my wheelhouse. You can find a few of them for free on Google Scholar.  Some of the research basically is White frat members believing while they may make a "little racist joke" here or there, they don't consider themselves racist.  (Like with some White people, they only believe themselves to be racist if they openly use the word nigger or if they advocate for the rise of slavery of Blacks.  But because they don't do that, they don't think they are racist.)  And to their credit, there are some in the focus groups of the research who believe their White frats could benefit from more diverse memebers. 

A lot of research I read in my doctoral program centered around fraternities and sororities enhancing "brotherhood and sisterhood" so that is one influence as to why they may not appeal to someone of a different race.  That doesn't mean they don't want someone of a different race and wouldn't be accepting, but their experiences with someone of a different race doesn't scream "you're my brother/sister" like someone else who is also White and wealthy/semi-wealthy.  This is what BT was saying with the bourgeois.  I don't know that I'd connect the bourgeois to Black fraternities and sororities and instead argue their connection centers around similarities in racial experiences as well as economic status. (The anti-bourgeois)

I actually think an all-White Greeek frat would be more open to accepting a Black member than an all-White Greek sorority, and I'm surprised I'm making that assertion honestly considering what we know about communication styles between men and women. I just don't think I would ever see a Black Chi-O, but I also don't know that I would see a White AKA.  I feel like I've seen White guys in Black frats before, but not at UT.  I know I've definitely seen White guys in Black frats at HBCUs, but that's a totally different story. 

[High Plains Drifter 11052]

8 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

 Songs about poontang,

 

If songs about poontang are wrong, I don't want to be right.

 

[ztejas 43538]

54 minutes ago, Pancho said:

There is a lot of interesting research surrounding fraternities and sororities and Whiteness.  A lot of them are qualitative, which is my wheelhouse. You can find a few of them for free on Google Scholar.  Some of the research basically is White frat members believing while they may make a "little racist joke" here or there, they don't consider themselves racist.  (Like with some White people, they only believe themselves to be racist if they openly use the word nigger or if they advocate for the rise of slavery of Blacks.  But because they don't do that, they don't think they are racist.)  And to their credit, there are some in the focus groups of the research who believe their White frats could benefit from more diverse memebers. 

A lot of research I read in my doctoral program centered around fraternities and sororities enhancing "brotherhood and sisterhood" so that is one influence as to why they may not appeal to someone of a different race.  That doesn't mean they don't want someone of a different race and wouldn't be accepting, but their experiences with someone of a different race doesn't scream "you're my brother/sister" like someone else who is also White and wealthy/semi-wealthy.  This is what BT was saying with the bourgeois.  I don't know that I'd connect the bourgeois to Black fraternities and sororities and instead argue their connection centers around similarities in racial experiences as well as economic status. (The anti-bourgeois)

I actually think an all-White Greeek frat would be more open to accepting a Black member than an all-White Greek sorority, and I'm surprised I'm making that assertion honestly considering what we know about communication styles between men and women. I just don't think I would ever see a Black Chi-O, but I also don't know that I would see a White AKA.  I feel like I've seen White guys in Black frats before, but not at UT.  I know I've definitely seen White guys in Black frats at HBCUs, but that's a totally different story. 

I'll say this:

I don't think fraternities make kids racist, but a lot of racist kids join fraternities. 

Blaming Greek life seems like examining a pronounced symptom rather than addressing the cause. The racist KA or SAE who's in his sophomore year was probably similarly racist at 15. 

Edited June 18, 2021 by ztejas

[MaybeACoordinator 8349]

It would be a guy like this who might consider being the Jackie Robinson of white frats at UT. (Darius Rucker -- and I bet the pre-fame Darius wouldn't have much trouble getting in one if he wanted to):

[MaybeACoordinator 8349]

7 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Yeah.....I knew a fair number of girls who steered WAY clear of your house (and a couple of others, to be fair).

Because of family tradition, I pledged Slytherin. Oh well. 

[Satchel 6949]

48 minutes ago, ztejas said:

I'll say this:

I don't think fraternities make kids racist, but a lot of racist kids join fraternities. 

Blaming Greek life seems like examining a pronounced symptom rather than addressing the cause. The racist KA or SAE who's in his sophomore year was probably similarly racist at 15. 

It always struck me as odd that somebody could be tutored in the religious practices of the Jesuits throughout high school and a year or two removed from said practices could sing “there’ll never be a n!gger SAE” without dilemma.

[mchookem 16386]

regarding sororities, i recently realized just how serious that business is in black culture. my MIL passed a few weeks ago, and with her service i discovered she as well as several extended family members and friends were sorority sisters. this is primarily upper midwest/east coast area.

my husband's cousin spoke at the funeral and made several remarks about 'red hats' and 'there would be no pink and green in my aunt's house!' got lots of laughs. another had an actual zoom meeting while there bc she's the secretary and they were voting on some stuff, she was telling me how much fundraising for scholarships they do, and other philanthropy. 

these women ranged in age from mid 30s to my MIL at 91! it was pretty interesting!

curious if white greek orgs do anything similar post college? these women were clearly in it for life! 

[Mach 1 1677]

I went to a DoD high school that was really mixed, so the segregation of all social life at SWT (including frats) was kind of a shock in the late 80s early 90s.  And I say segregation on purpose, because I think very few of the dudes in my frat were racist. (They were equal opportunity assholes; kind of like Surly). But there seemed to be an instilled culture of segregation. I asked an older bro what was the deal, and he said something to the effect of they have their frats we have ours, and kind of shrugged.  

I brought a black buddy of mine to a party and he hauled ass after 10 minutes.  No one said or did anything, he just wasn't comfortable, peace out.  I was like WTF?  

In retrospect I was just naive, but it was pretty foreign to me, the whole segregated social thing.  And disappointing.

[Satchel 6949]

6 minutes ago, mchookem said:

regarding sororities, i recently realized just how serious that business is in black culture. my MIL passed a few weeks ago, and with her service i discovered she as well as several extended family members and friends were sorority sisters. this is primarily upper midwest/east coast area.

my husband's cousin spoke at the funeral and made several remarks about 'red hats' and 'there would be no pink and green in my aunt's house!' got lots of laughs. another had an actual zoom meeting while there bc she's the secretary and they were voting on some stuff, she was telling me how much fundraising for scholarships they do, and other philanthropy. 

these women ranged in age from mid 30s to my MIL at 91! it was pretty interesting!

curious if white greek orgs do anything similar post college? these women were clearly in it for life! 

I can relate to all of that. The women in my family are all pink and green and all of the men are black and gold. The affiliations remain long after graduation, in part because the “The Divine Nine” (black Greek letter organizations) are incorporated as service organizations.

[ztejas 43538]

30 minutes ago, Satchel said:

It always struck me as odd that somebody could be tutored in the religious practices of the Jesuits throughout high school and a year or two removed from said practices could sing “there’ll never be a n!gger SAE” without dilemma.

Yeah the Catholics are a real stand-up bunch when it comes to tolerating others.

[ztejas 43538]

The list of players in NBA history built like a concrete wall goes about 15 deep and PJ is one of those 15 guys 

[Bateshorn 9942]

2 hours ago, Pancho said:

There is a lot of interesting research surrounding fraternities and sororities and Whiteness.  A lot of them are qualitative, which is my wheelhouse. You can find a few of them for free on Google Scholar.  Some of the research basically is White frat members believing while they may make a "little racist joke" here or there, they don't consider themselves racist.  (Like with some White people, they only believe themselves to be racist if they openly use the word nigger or if they advocate for the rise of slavery of Blacks.  But because they don't do that, they don't think they are racist.)  And to their credit, there are some in the focus groups of the research who believe their White frats could benefit from more diverse memebers. 

A lot of research I read in my doctoral program centered around fraternities and sororities enhancing "brotherhood and sisterhood" so that is one influence as to why they may not appeal to someone of a different race.  That doesn't mean they don't want someone of a different race and wouldn't be accepting, but their experiences with someone of a different race doesn't scream "you're my brother/sister" like someone else who is also White and wealthy/semi-wealthy.  This is what BT was saying with the bourgeois.  I don't know that I'd connect the bourgeois to Black fraternities and sororities and instead argue their connection centers around similarities in racial experiences as well as economic status. (The anti-bourgeois)

I actually think an all-White Greeek frat would be more open to accepting a Black member than an all-White Greek sorority, and I'm surprised I'm making that assertion honestly considering what we know about communication styles between men and women. I just don't think I would ever see a Black Chi-O, but I also don't know that I would see a White AKA.  I feel like I've seen White guys in Black frats before, but not at UT.  I know I've definitely seen White guys in Black frats at HBCUs, but that's a totally different story. 

A good friend in High School was an asian Chi-O at UT in the early 90s and it was as a Thing. 
 

Ive met one white guy who pledge a black fraternity at Spelman.  In some ways they are more accepting, but they are also so much more secretive about their affairs that I couldn’t begin to know. 

[Satchel 6949]

1 minute ago, Bateshorn said:

A good friend in High School was an asian Chi-O at UT in the early 90s and it was as a Thing. 
 

Ive met one white guy who pledge a black fraternity at Spelman.  In some ways they are more accepting, but they are also so much more secretive about their affairs that I couldn’t begin to know. 

I think you mean Morehouse. Spelman is all female. The Alpha chapter at Texas Tech made history in the early 2000s by carrying over several white pledges. 

[Gil Bang 26025]

9 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Yep.  Well, it didn't take the AIDS crisis.  We pretty much knew who the gay guys were.  Including the guy who came out to me and one of the other guys as he drove at breakneck speeds down 2222, drunk, with us in the car with him, getting more emotional and intense as he confessed to us.  We both said "dude, we're totally cool with you being gay....but could you pull over and let one of us drive so we don't all die tonight?"

Also, some of our gay members were some of the smartest and now most successful guys we had in the chapter.  More power to them.

a gay guy got emotional?  Knock me over with a feather!

[conVINCEd 21469]

2 hours ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

Because of family tradition, I pledged Slytherin. Oh well. 

Phi Delt?

[MaybeACoordinator 8349]

1 minute ago, conVINCEd said:

Phi Delt?

No, but that was one legacy option haha

[conVINCEd 21469]

Just now, MaybeACoordinator said:

No, but that was one legacy option haha

My legacy option was SAE.  Putting aside my inability to pay the dues, it wasn’t really my scene.   I was a little naive for the hard drugs at 18.

[MaybeACoordinator 8349]

1 hour ago, Satchel said:

It always struck me as odd that somebody could be tutored in the religious practices of the Jesuits throughout high school and a year or two removed from said practices could sing “there’ll never be a n!gger SAE” without dilemma.

Well, it was Dallas Jesuit. A Strake kid would never do that.

[Bateshorn 9942]

34 minutes ago, Satchel said:

I think you mean Morehouse. Spelman is all female. The Alpha chapter at Texas Tech made history in the early 2000s by carrying over several white pledges. 

That’s right.  The Howard grads talk so much shit about both of them that I get them confused. Trying to keep up at a cook out can be a bit overwhelming. 

Edited June 18, 2021 by Bateshorn

[WhatTheBuck 28798]

I was an individual. I never saw the need to pay for friends, connections, or old tests. I could still go to frat parties and get laid. Jesus, if I was ever in a frat, I wouldn’t admit it today. 

[Beantown Express 2.0 6559]

20 hours ago, RDCanecutter said:

I ain't gonna lie, I don't see why a Black guy would join a White frat unless somebody paid him to.

But after meeting lots of guys who were in Black frats, if I went back in time my White self would join one of those, if they'd have me. For one thing, they demanded some discipline and a decent GPA, two things I badly needed.

One of my good friends growing up (a white guy) was always into rap music and all black culture and when he went to college he joined Alpha Phi Alpha.  He grew out dreads and still has them today down to his ass.  He was even in charge of the step shows for his chapter and they used to compete with other chapters around the country or something like that.  He is the only white guy I know that has joined a black fraternity but it was his thing and he loved it.  Strangely, after college he became a reggae DJ that was quite popular as he would get flown to gigs around the world and he was super excited when Shaggy called him out on one of his records.  

[RDCanecutter 26474]

2 hours ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

One of my good friends growing up (a white guy) was always into rap music and all black culture and when he went to college he joined Alpha Phi Alpha.  He grew out dreads and still has them today down to his ass.  He was even in charge of the step shows for his chapter and they used to compete with other chapters around the country or something like that.  He is the only white guy I know that has joined a black fraternity but it was his thing and he loved it.  Strangely, after college he became a reggae DJ that was quite popular as he would get flown to gigs around the world and he was super excited when Shaggy called him out on one of his records.  

It doesn't appear to be all that rare or new-- back in the 80s a white friend of a friend was doing a college newspaper story on the Divine Nine, I guess he hit it off with the guys, and they asked him if he wanted to join. We were all like "You can DO that?"-- we weren't interested in frats in general, but that would have been cooler.

We were naive, but I still run into people who don't realize that you don't have to be Black to go to an HBCU.

[Catdaddyhorn 3447]

18 hours ago, ztejas said:

At Texas? 

My point with Texas is that basketball and football players don't really have time to be in a fraternity. 

There have been a number of black football and basketball players at UT pledge fraternities. 

Earl Thomas 

Jeremy Hills

Marquise Goodwin

Eric Davis (bball) and a bunch of others whose names escape me. I remember a couple of our recent middle linebackers were Omegas.

17 hours ago, Pancho said:

There is a lot of interesting research surrounding fraternities and sororities and Whiteness.  A lot of them are qualitative, which is my wheelhouse. You can find a few of them for free on Google Scholar.  Some of the research basically is White frat members believing while they may make a "little racist joke" here or there, they don't consider themselves racist.  (Like with some White people, they only believe themselves to be racist if they openly use the word nigger or if they advocate for the rise of slavery of Blacks.  But because they don't do that, they don't think they are racist.)  And to their credit, there are some in the focus groups of the research who believe their White frats could benefit from more diverse memebers. 

A lot of research I read in my doctoral program centered around fraternities and sororities enhancing "brotherhood and sisterhood" so that is one influence as to why they may not appeal to someone of a different race.  That doesn't mean they don't want someone of a different race and wouldn't be accepting, but their experiences with someone of a different race doesn't scream "you're my brother/sister" like someone else who is also White and wealthy/semi-wealthy.  This is what BT was saying with the bourgeois.  I don't know that I'd connect the bourgeois to Black fraternities and sororities and instead argue their connection centers around similarities in racial experiences as well as economic status. (The anti-bourgeois)

I actually think an all-White Greeek frat would be more open to accepting a Black member than an all-White Greek sorority, and I'm surprised I'm making that assertion honestly considering what we know about communication styles between men and women. I just don't think I would ever see a Black Chi-O, but I also don't know that I would see a White AKA.  I feel like I've seen White guys in Black frats before, but not at UT.  I know I've definitely seen White guys in Black frats at HBCUs, but that's a totally different story. 

There was a white AKA during the 90s at UT and there have been a number of non-black Deltas and Zetas. Shoot, prior to the creation of a number of South Asian Greek organizations you'd have a decent number of south Asians joining black fraternities and sororities. And there have been a shitload of white guys and other non-black ethnic groups who have pledged black fraternities at UT over the past 2 decades as well.  

Edited June 18, 2021 by Catdaddyhorn

[Catdaddyhorn 3447]

15 hours ago, mchookem said:

regarding sororities, i recently realized just how serious that business is in black culture. my MIL passed a few weeks ago, and with her service i discovered she as well as several extended family members and friends were sorority sisters. this is primarily upper midwest/east coast area.

my husband's cousin spoke at the funeral and made several remarks about 'red hats' and 'there would be no pink and green in my aunt's house!' got lots of laughs. another had an actual zoom meeting while there bc she's the secretary and they were voting on some stuff, she was telling me how much fundraising for scholarships they do, and other philanthropy. 

these women ranged in age from mid 30s to my MIL at 91! it was pretty interesting!

curious if white greek orgs do anything similar post college? these women were clearly in it for life! 

You've gotta remember most of the black sororities and fraternities predate organizations like the NAACP. So while these organizations served many of the same functions for students as white fraternal organizations they took on the additional roles of being organizing hubs for early Civil rights era activities.  And then again by their very nature of being organizations encompassing the black bourgeoisie they took on other roles beyond just being a place for kids to join while they were in school so they tend to still have roles beyond college life (although many may argue their importance has diminished substantially). 

[RDCanecutter 26474]

My white-ish wife was invited to pledge Delta Sigma Theta by a coworker long after college. Woulda been cool but turns out it becomes your whole life.

At a school where I worked the Sigma Rhos were down to one member who built the sorority back up from the edge of extinction-- A white girl.

[Pancho 45004]

17 minutes ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

There have been a number of black football and basketball players at UT pledge fraternities. 

Earl Thomas 

Jeremy Hills

Marquise Goodwin

Eric Davis (bball) and a bunch of others whose names escape me. I remember a couple of our recent middle linebackers were Omegas.

There was a white AKA during the 90s at UT and there have been a number of non-black Deltas and Zetas. Shoot, prior to the creation of a number of South Asian Greek organizations you'd have a decent number of south Asians joining black fraternities and sororities. And there have been a shitload of white guys and other non-black ethnic groups who have pledged black fraternities at UT over the past 2 decades as well.  

I certainly wasn’t implying “ever” in my post. I was just speaking from my years at UT.

Interesting to know that though about UT during your years. 

['stache 21873]

On 6/16/2021 at 8:49 PM, Continental Op said:

Yes.  If we are going to discuss integrating frats we should definitely do it on the board where a ton of the posters think cops should be able to shoot black people for looking at them funny.

Innocent people don't look at cops funny. Blast away! Seriously though, DT would have a field day with this topic.

Edited June 18, 2021 by 'stache

[Catdaddyhorn 3447]

10 minutes ago, Pancho said:

I certainly wasn’t implying “ever” in my post. I was just speaking from my years at UT.

Interesting to know that though about UT during your years. 

During my years (late 90s to early 00s) there were a good number of mixers between black, white, Hispanics, and Asians Greeks (both East and South Asians) for some reason. It's almost as though as that world opened up compared to what it had been before.  

Edited June 18, 2021 by Catdaddyhorn

[TwiceHorn 31538]

On 6/16/2021 at 10:50 PM, conVINCEd said:

Gotta pay the bills.  

We need the dues!

[tx 3 putt 77439]

On 6/17/2021 at 11:01 AM, Hank Scorpio said:

None of you nerds are getting bids.