Still Pissed About Zeta Phi Beta Banning Trans Women

I've had a week to think about what happened, and like my Black trans sisters around the country I'm still pissed off about the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc trans ban.

I'm upset not only because this came out of left field, but the news broke as a Black trans woman was beaten in Dallas.

As for the cis folks trying to deflect this outright trans discrimination by saying that we trans people should form our own sororities, or not 'force ourselves into Zeta Phi Beta', miss me with that noise. Saying that smacks of the same separate but unequal song we've heard sung during Jim Crow segregation.

Yes, we Black trans women could (and have) .created our own sorority. But they wouldn't have the gravitas of a Divine Nine one and would take decades to get to that level.   

Two of the four D9 sororities, Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta, are over a century old. The other two, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho, are approaching their centennial years in 2020 and 2022

The Divine Nine sororities are organizations that collectively have over 500, 000 professional Black and other non-Black cis women in the USA, Canada and around the world in their ranks.  

Divine Nine sorority member are involved in business, sports, media, entertainment, science and technology, the military, politics and government at all levels.  The D9 national and regional conventions are sought after by civic convention bureaus across the country. 

Their national and regional conventions also serve as networking events for their members. .

My mom, sister and several cousins are AKAs. I grew up in a neighborhood surrounded by the pretty girls that wear 20 pearls.   I read my mom's Ivy Leaf magazines when she was done with them. 

When I lived at home I drove Mom to her chapter sorority meetings, and I'm well versed in the history and traditions of. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.  My late godmother was a Sigma Gamma Rho, and I have friends and colleagues I have mad love and respect for in all the D9 sororities.
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But which one would I have pledged if the opportunity had presented itself?    I probably would have pledged AKA.   But there was one problem.  When I was in college, I wasn't in the right body to be considered for membership.

Back to discussing the Zeta trans ban.   It's bull feces, it reeks of transphobia  and is extremely infuriating.  There is no justification for banning qualified out Black trans women who are down with the culture and history of D9 sororities.   If it is that trans woman's wish to join and be part of writing their next chapters of service and legacy to the Black community , that trans woman should have the option of doing so, and the chapter in question should have the option of accepting her as a member or not..

What pisses Black Trans World off even more is knowing that  Zeta Phi Beta bans trans women, but would have no problem admitting a qualified white cis women or other non Black cis woman in their sacred circles.   But since you made it clear you don't want us, your loss.    You'll miss out on some amazing women that another D9 sorority will hopefully be wise enough to admit into their ranks

The ban is not only ignorant on its face, it is discriminatory and dehumanizing.   It also sends a negative message to us and Black trans feminine kids that trans people aren't wanted by your organization that claims to be diverse and welcoming. 

The Zeta Phi Beta trans ban not only makes TERF's and evilgelicals smile, it also reinforces the stereotype that Black cis people are more transphobic and homophobic than other ethnic groups.
The sad part is I know some amazing people who are members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.   And news flash for you transphobes,  some of them are trans. 

I hope the people who support us inside the organization are doing what they can to point out just how transphobic and disastrous this looks to the outside world.

Zeta Phi Beta Goes Transphobe

We need you Divine Nine sororities to state one way or the other that either yes, we recognize trans women as the women you are and would love to have you join us if you qualify for membership or no, we don't want you even if you do qualify so we know where you stand.-TransGriot 
'Do You Want Trans Women In Your Ranks Or Not, Divine Nine Sororities?'
July 7, 2017
Been saying for a while that Black Greek Letter Organizations need to step up and decide  once and for all what their policies will be when it comes to transgender people, and we now know which way Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc was leaning.

They decided to roll with transphobia.

Back on January 12 according to reporting by the Washington Blade, the sorority's International Executive Board adopted a 'diversity statement' that states a prospective member 'must be a cisgender woman' to join the organization.   

Translation:  No trans women need apply to join Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

It then hypocritically says that Zeta Phi Beta 'values all people, regardless of race, age, gender, gender expression, ability, disability, creed, religion or walk of life'.

This problematic move comes as more HBCU's are making positive changes to their enrollment policies to accommodate transgender students.

So we now know where Zeta Phi Beta stands when it comes to trans women potentially becoming members of their sorority, and it's their loss. 

As I have said repeatedly, trans women aren't going away or back in the closet.   The 'finer womanhood' you claim you wish to build also includes trans women who may be down with the mission of Zeta Phi Beta.

But you'll never know that, because you've barred tras women from joining.    That's not only not cool, but it reinforces to the world once again the false narrative that Black people are 'more transphobic '

Happy 111th Anniversary AKA!

Couldn't let today pass without showing some love to all the women in my life who are the pretty girls that wear 20 pearls and proudly wear the salmon pink and apple green color of Alpha kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 

Those women include my mother and sister.  There were more than a few times I had to drive her to her sorority meetings and read her Ivy Leaf magazines when she was done with them.

As the first sorority created by and for African American women back on the Howard University campus on January 15, 1908, they have grown from that campus to become a worldwide organization of over 200,000 college educated women.

AKA women have and continue to blaze trails in a variety of professional fields from business, medicine, science, education, sports, the media and politics as they role model their 'Service to All Mankind' sorority motto.

Happy Founders' Day Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.!     

Sorority Bigot Expelled From University of Alabama After Racist Video

Well, looks like another Sorority Bigot Becky had to learn a couple of lessons the hard way.

*Being in the South doesn't give your straight outta New Jersey behind carte blanche to indiscriminately say the n-word.

*Don't put you bigotry out there on the Net where you WILL get called on it, especially by Black Twitter

*This WILL be following you for the rest of your life.

*Being a bigot costs, and you shedding white tears after the fact will not protect you from paying that cost 

In this case it cost Harley Barber her membership in the Alpha Phi sorority and got the 19 year old freshman expelled from the University of Alabama for her expletive filled videotaped rant she posted on of all days Martin Luther King, Jr Day.

Despite her sorority sisters in the Beta Mu chapter warning her not to post it, Bigot Becky kept right on going, doubling down on her videotaped hate speech.

Maybe she was auditioning for the FOX Noise show Outnumbered.   Naah, wrong hair color for that.

And then the hammer came down for her actions.   She was expelled from Alpha Phi sorority and from the University of Alabama on Tuesday.

"Alpha Phi is a diverse, values-based organization and condemns the language and opinions in these videos," Linda Kahangi, the executive director of Alpha Phi International, said in a statement.  "They are offensive and hateful to both our own members and to other members of the Greek and campus community. The [University of Alabama] chapter leadership and supporting alumnae moved quickly to address the offense, and Ms. Barber is no longer a member of Alpha Phi." 

Then the second hammer came down hours laters on Tuesday from the University of Alabama, courtesy of UA President Stuart R. Bell. 

  "In light of the racist and disturbing videos posted by one of our students on social media, I want to express my personal disgust and disappointment.

Like many of you, I find the videos highly offensive and deeply hurtful, not only to our students and our entire University community, but to everyone who viewed them. The actions of this student do not represent the larger student body or the values of our University, and she is no longer enrolled here. 

We hold our students to much higher standards, and we apologize to everyone who has seen the videos and been hurt by this hateful, ignorant and offensive behavior. This is not who we are; it is unacceptable and unwelcome here at UA. These types of incidents affect community members differently. If you have been impacted and would like additional support, please access resources here that are available to you on our campus. 

Over the last year, I have had conversations with many of you who shared your UA experiences with me. You have voiced your pride in the progress we have made, but we still have much work to do. I want to thank all of the students, faculty and staff who met today to have conversations about this event and the steps we can take, individually and collectively, to create a more welcoming and inclusive campus. You have my commitment and the commitment of our leadership team to sustain progress and address directly any issues that arise. 

I know you join me in taking a stand against this and all reprehensible behavior. As members of this community, we are a family and this is our home. Everyone has a right to feel safe and welcome here."

Roll Tide!   She's probably on the bus from Tuscaloosa back to Marlton, New Jersey  now   And if you're wondering if she's a Republican and a Trump supporter, yep she is.

But no Harley, you not only just learned you can't say the n-word in the South (or anywhere else in the USA) you're just the latest bigoted white person to learn the hard lesson that racist speech, especially when it's videotaped, has consequences.

Happy 110th Founders Day, AKA!

January 15 was also the day in Black history in which America's first collegiate sorority for African-American women was founded 110 years ago on the Howard University campus.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc was founded on this day in 1908, and 110 years later the pretty girls who wear twenty pearls number nearly 300,000 college educated women across the the US and the world.  Those women are found in many fields from politics, education, sports, business, the media, the military, legal , criminal justice and social justice realms.

Some of those wonderful women who wear AKA's salmon pink and apple green colors include my mom, sister and other members of my own family. 

This year also means that it's Boule time.   

And in another example, Texas conservafools of the nice things you get when you don't pass blatantly discriminatory legislation,  the 68th annual AKA convention will be coming to the George R,Brown Convention Center here in Houston this July.

And yes Texas GOP, this is a multimillion dollar major convention that we almost lost because of your idiocy that was thankfully thwarted by Texas House legislative grownups.

Looking forward to seeing you AKA's in my hometown this summer

And o yeah,  Happy Founders' Day! 

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Do You Want Trans Women In Your Ranks Or Not, Divine Nine Sororities?

I would hope that if a qualified #girllikeus decided she was down with the historic mission of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta, or Sigma Gamma Rho. loved that sorority's history, was qualified to be a member, and wanted to be a part of building their legacy for a new century of service she would be invited to do so and not disrespectfully turned away
-TransGriot,  December 5, 2012  

I've been talking about this subject for over a decade on this blog concerning the need for the Divine Nine sororities to emulate the evolutionary steps they took in admitting Latina, Asian, white, bi and lesbian women in their ranks and consider finally admitting trans women.

It's highly likely there are non disclosed trans members of Divine Nine sororities right now, but I would like to see out trans women have the ability and the option become available if they desire to do so to join. .

I would rather they do this unilaterally because as they realized in admitting Latina, Asian, white , Bi and lesbian women, it was the right thing to do.  Because if you as organizations claim to embrace all women, then by default all women includes transgender women as well

I'm bringing this subject up again because DL Hughley's wannabe Que Dog behind was stoking the hellfire flames of transphobic bigotry yesterday by posing the question should trans women be allowed to join Delta Sigma Theta or by extension, any of the Divine Nine sororities?

The resulting comment thread as you probably guessed was a festering pustule of transphobia.

That's a problem because these four iconic and historic Greek letter organizations, with nearly a million members worldwide and over a century of service and achievement on behalf of our Black community, comprise the largest organized group of professional college educated Black women in the world.

Divine Nine sorority members are prominent in the fields of business, government, legal, medical, media, sports, the arts and the armed forces, and it's troubling to me as the child and sibling of AKA's that elements of the Divine NIne are sounding like white TERF's when it comes to discussing transgender women.

That's a major problem for Black trans women and our Black cis feminine allies that we need to address right now.  .

So let's get this salient point established right now.  Trans women exist, trans women are women, some trans women are college educated, and are an undeniably intertwined part of the Black community.   Black trans women have been standing up for yours, theirs and everybody's human rights for decades in addition to being trailblazing members of the trans community

We are not only handling our business in being the best people that we can be, we are doing our part to uplift Black womanhood and be the intersectional allies and sisters that you can rely on.

And yes,.trans kids exist, and news flash for y'all, some of those trans kids matriculating in elementary, middle school and high school classrooms across this country are Black.

Some of those amazing trans kids in our ranks will eventually go on to attend college.  It is also possible that some of those kids, like I did, are growing up under the positive influence of members of a Divine Nine sorority, are down with the mission of that particular sorority, and as a result of their positive interactions with that Divine Nine sorority elder would love to join.

The question you'll  have to answer is will you turn that trans feminine child away like every other institution in society is doing to that trans feminine child right now?   Will you Divine Nine sororities and elements of your membership send the message to her (and her trans feminine non-Greek elders) that you're rejecting her femininity and her existence by not including her in your esteemed ranks?

What we need to hear from you right now or in the near future Divine Nine sororities is an unequivocal answer to that question.  

We need you Divine Nine to state one way or the other that either yes, we recognize trans women as the women you are and would love to have you join us if you qualify for membership or no, we don't want you even if you do qualify so we know where you stand.

The reality is you'll have to make that choice sooner or later because Black trans women aren't going away, and we're not going to stop asking this question.  
 

There Will Never Be An OU Chapter Of SAE, Either

Was infuriating to see  not even 24 hours after the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and President Obama's speech the not so surprising action of white frat member gone racist on viral video.

And I wasn't surprised when I heard it was Sigma Alpha Epsilon, a fraternity that proudly touts its association to the Confederacy on its website and has a long history of racist and nekulturny behavior.



In this latest episode of frat boys gone wild, after the video of their racist ditty went viral, OU President David Boren took swift and decisive action to call out the bad behavior, give SAE until today to pack their stuff and leave their frat house, and started an investigation to determine who the miscreants are.

SAE National also condemned the behavior of its now shut down OU Chapter

“Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s national headquarters has closed its Oklahoma Kappa chapter at the University of Oklahoma following the discovery of an inappropriate video,” according to a statement on SAE’s website. “In addition, all of the members have been suspended, and those members who are responsible for the incident may have their membership privileges revoked permanently.”

The University of Oklahoma has already lost one highly touted football recruit as a result of this incident, and it remains to be seen how many more they lose.

And something else that remains to be seen is whether the person or persons that started this latest mess that an SAE chapter has found itself in gets punished.

When Is Vandalism NOT Vandalism?

When white kids engage in it.

In our latest episode of White Privilege Gone Wild, several University of Michigan fraternities and sororities did their best Animal House impressions and trashed two ski resorts in Gaylord and Harbor Springs, MI during the January 16-18 weekend.

At the Treetops resort in Gaylord, 120 members of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity and Sigma Alpha Tau sorority did $50,000 in what was termed significant damage.  

They were staying in 45 rooms at the resort and according to reports, damaged hallway ceiling tiles, broke windows, broke and damaged furniture, ripped lights out of fixtures and generally left the place a filthy mess before they were escorted by Michigan State Police off the property.

Meanwhile at the Boyne Highlands resort in Harbor Springs, the Pi Kappa Alpha and Chi Psi frats and the Delta Gamma and Alpha Psi sororities were merrily engaged in destroying furniture and fixtures, putting holes in the drywall, broke doors and ruined carpet in the 12 condo units they were renting to the tune of several thousand dollars.

The resorts are considering filing charges in the wake of this incident, the Michigan State Police are still investigating, and the University of Michigan Greek Life office is still doing their own investigation that could result in sanctions for the orgs involved.

"The entire University of Michigan community is deeply saddened by the actions of some of our students last weekend at two northern Michigan ski resorts," said UM spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald

"The damage caused by out-of-control students fueled by excessive alcohol consumption at Treetops Resort and Boyne Highlands is an affront to the thousands of respectful, hard-working students on our campus."

The Sigma Alpha Mu chapter national office has suspended the chapter indefinitely as chapter president Joshua Kaplan issued an apology for the actions of their off the chain members

But it was interesting to note in the comment sections of the stories about the college students gone wild, how quick people were to try to excuse their behavior.   Non-whites in those story comment threads pointed out that if these had been Black kids or Black Greek orgs, those resorts probably wouldn't have waited until Sunday to call the po-po's, and you can bet those kids wouldn't have been politely escorted off the property by the Michigan State Police.

A Black frat or sorority engaged in the same level of nekulturny behavior would have had the cops called on them as soon as the music got too loud.    The state police would have showed up with guns drawn, hauled people off to jail upon arrival and the resorts would have immediately filed charges.

FOX Noise would be putting this story on an endless loop, calling the kids 'thugs and hooligans' as they did so, castigated their parents, dissed the frats and sororities, injected the arrest mugshots in the story and gleefully used it to race bait the entire Black community.

They would have also found some kind of way to blame President Obama for it.

We'll be watching in Black America to see what actually happens to these affluent frat and sorority kids that were involved in this reprehensible incident, but we're pessimistically expecting that affluenza and white privilege will prevail as we wait for Bill O'Reilly, Geraldo Rivera  and Sean Hannity to call out the bad behavior on their shows.

But judging by what we've observed from the justice system over the last few months, we have a reason to be pessimistic.

106 Years- Happy Anniversary AKA!

January 15 is not only the birthday of the greatest American our people have ever produced, it is also the date in 1908 on the Howard University campus the world's first sorority organized by African-American women was founded and later incorporated. 

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. has grown from the original group of women led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle to an international organization headquartered in Chicago of 250,000 women of diverse backgrounds that include my mom and my sister in over 900 graduate and undergraduate chapters..   

It has now entered its second century of service to all mankind under the leadership of International President Carolyn House Stewart, who is making AKA history by not only being the first attorney to head the organization, but the first to serve a full term in the sorority's second century.

To all my TransGriot readers who are AKA's, Happy Founder's Day and happy anniversary!    

Happy 105th Founders Day, AKA!

January 15 is not only Dr. King's birthday, but is also the 105th anniversary of the founding on the Howard University campus of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Proud AKA women  are celebrating this day along with the hundreds of thousands of college-educated women around the world who proudly wear the salmon pink and apple green colors of the world's first Greek letter sorority founded by and later incorporated for African-American women.

Those proud AKA women  include my mom, sister and several cousins.

AKA has expanded its ranks since its January 15, 1908 founding to include women of all ethnic backgrounds who have been invited to join, and I hope one day those invitations get extended to trans women down with the historic mission of the sorority.

AKA women can be found in many fields from education to sports to business to politics, and are trailblazing leaders in mine and other communities in the States and around the world.   You can bet that if an African-American woman is blazing trails in various fields, she is wearing salmon pink and apple green

Happy Founders Day AKA!

Happy Centennial Anniversary Delta Sigma Theta!

As you longtime readers know I grew up in a family full of proud salmon pink and apple green wearing members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

But I will take a moment to give a shout out to all the peeps and TransGriot readers who are members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc on the 100th anniversary of its founding or as my mom calls them, 'The Disgruntled AKA's."

January 13, 1913 saw the founding on the Howard University campus of the second collegiate African-American sorority by 22 women who were members of AKA, seven of who were officers in AKA's Alpha chapter.   After their October 11, 1912 induction into AKA they became dismayed that the sorority only existed at Howard.    They wanted to change AKA's name because they thought it was just a feminine derivative of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first African American men's fraternity.   They also wanted to change AKA's colors, motto, get more politically active and become more national in scope.   Despite the vehement opposition of one of AKA's founding members and incorporator Nellie Quander, who was the graduate advisor to Alpha chapter at the time, they unanimously voted to do just that and left the organization to found their own. .

After it's controversial founding, Delta Sigma Theta started its political activity by being the only Black women participating in a March 1913 women's suffrage march in Washington DC.  

Delta Sigma Theta has grown to become 100 years later a multicultural international organization with 300,000 proud crimson and cream wearing members in a wide variety of fields. 

Delta's continue their politically active legacy, with service stretching from Dorothy L Height to former national president and current Congresswoman Marcia L Fudge (D-OH)  the new Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 113th Congress.   

Happy Centennial Anniversary Delta Sigma Theta!

Divine Nine Sororities, Are You Open To Trans Women Joining?

Because of my elder stateswoman status in the trans community and this blog I'm blessed to have, I do get my fair share of inquiries from trans people about various issues that affect us.

Sometimes it's just a person looking for advice. Another time it may be someone needing just a kind word from somebody who has been down the road they are traveling. 

And far too often it's from another African descended trans woman frustrated about being the lone POC in a predominately white group and feeling marginalized as a member of it.. 

Last night I engaged in a Facebook chat with a young African-American trans woman who is in college.  She has been transitioned for almost a decade, is interested in fulfilling her dream of pledging a Divine Nine sorority and asked me if it was feasible to do so.

That was a good question that I asked in a March 21, 2007 post. 

So that begs the question. If the Divine Nine sororities embrace all women, does that include myself and other transwomen as well?

It's a valid question because those four sororities have over a half million members and have already embraced Latina, Asian and White women as members.   They are powerful professional organizations within the African-American community, have a rich history and legacy, have international reach and count as members accomplished women in business, government, entertainment, sports, the arts, the armed forces and the media 

I implored the various sororities to get ahead of the curve on the issue of trans membership while they can do so on their terms because with kids transitioning at earlier ages, this issue was going to crop up sooner or later. 

Now in December 2012, that issue may be at hand.

So what was my answer to that trans woman in question?   I gave her a 'it depends' response.

It depends on the organization, the particular chapter on the college campus you pledge at, how open minded the members of that chapter are, the region of the country and their attitudes about #girlslikeus .   

Maybe these sororities already have trans women in their ranks that I'm not aware of.   Maybe these organizations have begun at the national leadership level quietly going about the work of opening their doors to trans women as they have previously done  with our lesbian and bi sisters  

But that uncertainty about where each Divine Nine sorority stands on the question of admitting trans women doesn't give me the confidence to tell a young trans woman dreaming about proudly wearing the Greek letters of those orgs and their colors yes or no about pledging one.  

I'm happy to report she's determined and tough minded enough to do it anyway.

I would hope that if a qualified #girllikeus decided she was down with the historic mission of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta or Sigma Gamma Rho, loved that sorority's history, was qualified to be a member, and wanted to be a part of building their legacy for a new century of service she would be invited to do so and not disrespectfully turned away.  

TransGriot Note:  The photo of the sorority dolls in this post is from Trinity Designs

Happy 104th Anniversary AKA!

As you longtime readers know I have much love for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

I grew up surrounded by proud college educated African-American women who wore the sorority's salmon pink and apple green colors and were (or still are) trailblazing leaders in mine and other communities in the States and around the world.  

Some of those AKA women are in my own family as well and I used to read my mom's Ivy Leaf magazines when she and my sister were done with them.  

I'm taking a moment to give a TransGriot shout out to all my AKA readers who are celebrating the January 15, 1908 day on the Howard University campus 104 years ago that the world's first African-American Greek letter sorority was founded and later incorporated by African-American women. 

Happy Founders Day AKA!
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Alpha Man:The Brotherhood Of MLK

The African-American fraternities and sororities that we call the Divine Nine not only have an exalted place in our people's history, they have been movers and shakers in helping us uplift our community, this nation and in some cases the world.   

With the just concluded dedication Sunday of the MLK Jr. National Memorial, Alpha Phi Alpha, the first African-American Greek letter fraternity gets some well deserved love for their persistence in making this project happen.

As someone who comes from a family in which I have members who are members of Divine Nine frats and sororities, I was interested in watching this BET special entitled Alpha Man:The Brotherhood Of MLK. 

There have been some historical giants who have crossed the burning sands to become members of this over a century old fraternity such as the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, civil rights warrior and UN Ambassador Andrew Young, Olympian Jesse Owens,  former Jamaican Chief Minister Norman Manley and actor Paul Robeson, but the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is probably one of the most recognized members of Alpha Phi Alpha. .    

This BET special focuses on Dr. King and his time as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, their involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, and the 15 year effort to make the dream of a monument on the National Mall to him by his fraternity brothers become a reality.

Happy 103rd Anniversary AKA!

I couldn't let today pass (and if I ever want to taste my mom's German Chocolate pound cake again in life) without noting that today is the 103rd anniversary of the founding of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

It was born on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC on January 15, 1908 by a group of nine students led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle.   

From those humble beginnings it has grown into an international organization headquartered in Chicago with over 250,000 college educated women that celebrated its centennial in 2008.

Chances are that if there is a groundbreaking African American woman making the news somewhere or in the history books, she either wore or is wearing salmon pink and apple green.

Skee-wee and Happy 103rd Anniversary to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.!