Since their founding over a hundred years ago, historically Black fraternities and sororities have served as a catalyst for communal development and growth on NC State’s campus and beyond.
The National Pan-Hellenic Council, also known as the Divine Nine, encapsulates these historically Black fraternities and sororities, and has been growing in impact since the first chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha, was founded on campus in 1971.
Alpha Phi Alpha, founded at Cornell University in 1906, was chartered at NC State with the counsel of Augustus Witherspoon. In 1971, it became the first historically Black fraternity on campus. Alpha Phi Alpha works to “develop leaders, promote brotherhood and academic excellence, while providing service and advocacy for our communities.”
Timothy Reid, a fourth-year studying business and student body president, serves as the vice president of the Eta Omicron chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha. He said the fraternity helps cultivate a place for Black individuals to participate in the betterment of the campus community and beyond.
“Alpha Phi Alpha was founded really just in an effort to provide those same sort of spaces for high achieving like-minded Black individuals, to just really have an interest in civic service, the broader uplift of mankind, social mobility and things of that nature,” Reid said.
Ethan Robinson, a fourth-year studying sport management, said Alpha Phi Alpha creates campus community through outreach and support.
“We get together and we teach young men about sexual education,” Robinson said. “One thing that we do on campus is that we host study hours twice a semester.”
Reid said brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha volunteer regularly and work with other chapters to help improve the overall community, from charity work to fundraising.
“We coordinate with other local chapters in the area, just to provide local outreach to organizations, charities and whatnot,” Reid said. “For example, programming — we’ve had events focusing on financial literacy, study advice, tips and tricks, health.”
Alpha Phi Alpha has a history of influential alumni, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall and W.E.B. Du Bois, in addition to the accomplishments of its current members, which inspired Robinson to join NC State’s chapter.
“I realized that when I crossed I had a bunch of potential to do what I wanted to do,” Robinson said. “There were other brothers who were very accomplished, who had leadership positions and being around those brothers, … it restored some confidence.”
Phi Beta Sigma, another Divine Nine fraternity on campus, has enabled Dontae Miles, a fourth-year studying zoology, to find other people that share his values.
“Before I joined, there were only two brothers in the yard, and just seeing how they interacted with each other and how they interacted with the campus is what brought my attention to the organization and made me want to join,” Miles said. “I just found it really interesting that they resonated with my principles.”
Miles said Phi Beta Sigma has grown a remarkable amount since he joined, which has enabled the organization to take a more active role on campus.
“Before I joined, there were two people, and now we have twelve brothers on the yard, so we have the highest number in the fraternities for Divine Nine,” Miles said. “And of course, we have kept up with the programs, but we can do more now, now that we have more people.”
Phi Beta Sigma does outreach in the form of interacting with a youth chapter of the organization, community clean-up and professional development.
“We have three program sections: bigger, better business, social action and Sigma Beta club,” Miles said. “We will interact with our Sigma Beta club. … It’s just a younger group. Then, for bigger, better business, that’s where we focus on events that help people develop professionally. Then we also have social action — we try to do social movements like trying to get people to vote.”
In certain cases, outreach goes beyond professional development or education. For example, Phi Beta Sigma held a “sleep out for the homeless” event, in which they slept in Wolf Plaza from 7:14 p.m. to 7:14 a.m. to raise awareness for homelessness while collecting donations.
Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi make up the other two fraternities in NC State’s National Pan-Hellenic Council.
Kappa Alpha Phi was founded nationally Jan. 5, 1911, and on campus Dec. 12, 1980. Kappa Alpha Psi sets out “to achieve in every field of human endeavor” and to have a lasting positive impact on NC State’s campus.
Omega Psi Phi was founded Nov. 17, 1911, as the first fraternity founded at a historically Black college. The chapter at NC State was founded April 28, 1978, and chartered March 15, 1980. Since then, the campus chapter has received many awards and acknowledgments, including numerous Standards of Excellence awards from Fraternity and Sorority Life.
Caylin Allen, the IFC assistant director who oversees NPHC at NC State, said the Divine Nine enable the Black community on campus to be united and to expand beyond the limitations of just one organization.
“It’s just bringing the community together up under one roof because a lot of times we’re on the campus community’s wild side,” Allen said. “NPHC tries its best to encapsulate everyone that is in the Black community and try to make them all up under one roof to have fun.”
