“You’re Either One of Us or You’re Not”: Racial Hierarchy and Non-Black Members of Black Greek-Letter Organizations
Abstract
Colleges and universities across the United States tout the importance of racial diversity, yet highly public racialized incidents persist. Historically, Black Greek-letter organizations (BGLOs) were created in the early twentieth century in response to the racism Black students experienced on college campuses. While previous literature provides evidence for the positive effects of BGLOs for Black members, less is known about if and how these effects of BGLO membership extend to non-Black members. Drawing on 34 in-depth interviews with non-Black members of BGLOs, we seek answers to three yet unasked questions: First, why do non-Blacks come to identify with BGLOs? Second, what are the responses and reactions to this identification process and experience? And finally, how does this identification relate to larger shifts in the United States’s racial hierarchy? We find that campus racial climate acts as a catalyst for BGLO membership and that BGLOs continue to serve their purpose as a necessary counter-space but that also, non-Blacks come to identify with these organizations in order to develop meaningful interracial solidarity and oppose their hostile campus climates.
Get full access to this article
View all access and purchase options for this article.
References
Ancis Julie R., Sedlacek William E., Mohr Jonathan J. 2000. “Student Perceptions of Campus Cultural Climate by Race.” Journal of Counseling & Development 78:180–85.
Antonio Anthony L. 2004. “When Does Race Matter in College Friendships? Exploring Men’s Diverse and Homogeneous Friendship Groups.” Review of Higher Education 27(4):553–75.
Bonilla-Silva Eduardo. 2004. “From Bi-racial to Tri-racial: Towards a New System of Racial Stratification in the USA.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 27(6):931–50.
Bowman Nicholas A. 2010. “College Diversity Experiences and Cognitive Development: A Meta-analysis.” Review of Educational Research 80(1):4–33.
Bowman Nicholas A. 2011. “Promoting Participation in a Diverse Democracy: A Meta-analysis of College Diversity Experiences and Civic Engagement.” Review of Educational Research 81(1):29–68.
Chang Mitchell J., Astin Alexander W., Kim Dongbin. 2004. “Cross-racial Interaction among Undergraduates: Some Consequences, Causes, and Patterns.” Research in Higher Education 45(5):529–53.
Charmaz Cathy. 2006. Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Chavous Tabbye M. 2005. “An Intergroup Contact-theory Framework for Evaluating Racial Climate on Predominately White College Campuses.” American Journal of Community Psychology 36(3/4):239–57.
Chutuape Erica D. 2016. “ ‘Chinese-Mexicans’ and ‘Blackest Asians’: Filipino American Youth Resisting the Racial Binary.” Race, Ethnicity, and Education 19(1):200–31.
Dawson Michael C. 1994. Behind the Mule: Race and Class in African-American Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Gallagher Charles A. 1995. “White Reconstruction in the University.” Socialist Review 94(1&2):165–87.
Gallagher Charles A. 2004. “Racial Redistricting: Expanding the Boundaries of Whiteness.” Pp. 59–76 in The Politics of Multiracialism, edited by Dalmage H. M. New York City: State University of New York Press.
Glaser Barney, Strauss Anselm. 1967. The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. New York, NY: Aldine Transaction.
Grasmuck Sherri, Kim Jennifer. 2010. “Embracing and Resisting Ethnoracial Boundaries: Second-generation Immigrant and African-American Students in a Multicultural University.” Sociological Forum 25(2):221–47.
Griggs Brandon. 2015. “Do U.S. Colleges Have a Race Problem?” CNN.com. Retrieved January 23, 2016 (http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/10/us/racism-college-campuses-protests-missouri/).
Gurin Patricia, Dey Eric, Hurtado Sylvia, Gurin Gerald. 2002. “Diversity and Higher Education: Theory and Impact on Educational Outcomes.” Harvard Education Review 72(3):330–67.
Hall Wendell D., Cabrera Alberto F., Milem Jeffrey F. 2011. “A Tale of Two Groups: Differences between Minority Students and Non-minority Students in Their Predispositions to and Engagement with Diverse Peers at a Predominately Whtie Insitution.” Research in Higher Education 52(4):420–39.
Harper Shaun R., Byars Lauretta F., Jelke Thomas B. 2005. “How Membership Affects College Adjustment and African American Undergraduate Student Outcomes.” Pp. 393–416 in African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision, edited by Brown T. L., Parks G. S., Phillips C. M. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky.
Harper Shaun R., Harris Frank III. 2006. “The Role of Black Fraternities in the African American Male Undergraduate Experience.” Pp 128–53 in African American Men in College, edited by Cuyjet M. J. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Harper Shaun R., Hurtado Sylvia. 2007. “Nine Themes in Campus Racial Climates and Implications for Institutional Transformation.” New Directions for Student Services 120:7–24.
Harper Shaun R., John Quaye Stephen. 2007. “Student Organizations as Venues for Black Identity Expression and Development among African American Male Student Leaders.” Journal of College Student Development 48(2):127–44.
Hughey Matthew W. 2007. “Crossing the Sands, Crossing the Color Line: Non-Black Members of Black Greek-letter Organizations.” Journal of African American Studies 11(1):55–75.
Hughey Matthew W. 2008. “‘I Did It for the Brotherhood’: Nonblack Members in Black Greek-letter Organizations.” Pp. 313–23 in Black Greek-letter Organizations in the Twenty-first Century: Our Fight Has Just Begun, edited by Parks G. S. Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky.
Hughey Matthew W. 2010. “A Paradox of Participation: Nonwhites in White Sororities and Fraternities.” Social Problems 57(4): 653–79.
Hughey Matthew W., Parks Gregory S., eds. 2011. Black Greek-letter Organizations 2.0: New Directions in the Study of African American Fraternities and Sororities. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi.
Hurtado Sylvia. 2005. “The Next Generation of Diversity and Intergroup Relations Research.” Journal of Social Issues 61:595–610.
Hurtado Sylvia. 2007. “Linking Diversity with the Education and Civic Missions of Higher Education.” The Review of Higher Education 30(2):185–90.
Hurtado Sylvia, Alvarado Adriana Ruiz, Guillermo-Wann Chelsea. 2015. “Thinking about Race: The Salience of Racial Identity at Two- and Four-year Colleges and the Climate for Diversity.” The Journal of Higher Education 86(1):127–52.
Hurtado Sylvia, Clayton-Pedersen Alma R., Allen Walter Recharde, Milem Jeffrey F. 1998. “Enhancing Campus Climates for Racial/Ethnic Diversity: Educational Policy and Practice.” Review of Higher Education 21(3):279–302.
Inkelas Karen K. 2004. “Does Participation in Ethnic Co-curricular Activities Faciliate a Sense of Ethnic Awareness and Understanding? A Study of Asian Pacific American Undergraduates.” Journal of College Student Development 45(3):285–302.
Kaufmann Karen M. 2003. “Cracks in the Rainbow: Group Commonality as a Basis for Latino and African-American Political Coalitions.” Political Research Quarterly 56(2):199–210.
Kim Claire J. 1999. “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans.” Politics and Society 27(1):105–38.
Kimbrough Walter M. 1995. “Self-assessment, Participation, and Value of Leadership Skills, Activities, and Experiences for Black Students Relative to their Membership in Historically Black Fraternities and Sororities.” Journal of Negro Education 64(1):63–74.
Kimbrough Walter M., Hutcheson Philo A. 1998. “The Impact of Membership in Black Greek-letter Organizations on Black Students’ Involvement in Collegiate Activities and Their Development of Leadership Skills.” Journal of Negro Education 67(2):96–105.
Lee Jennifer, Bean Frank D. 2004. “America’s Changing Color Lines: Immigration, Race/Ethnicity, and Multiracial Identification.” Annual Review of Sociology 30:221–42.
McCabe Janice. 2011. “Doing Multiculturalism: An Interactionist Analysis of the Practices of a Multicultural Sorority.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 40(5):521–49.
McClain Paula D., Carter Niambi M., Defrancesco Soto Victoria M., Lyle Monique L., Grynaviski Jeffrey D., Nunnally Shayla C., Scotto Thomas J., Kendrick J. Alan, Lackey Gerald F., Cotton Kendra D. 2006. “Racial Distancing in a Southern City: Latino Immigrants’ Views of Black Americans.” Journal of Politics 68(3):571–84.
McClure Stephanie M. 2006. “Voluntary Association Membership: Black Greek Men on a Predominately White Campus.” The Journal of Higher Education 77(6):1036–57.
McIntosh Peggy. 1989. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” Peace and Freedom Magazine July/August:10–2.
Milem Jeffrey F., Chang Mitchell J., Antonio Antonio L. 2005. Making Diversity Work on Campus: A Research Based Perspective. Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges and Universities.
Milem Jeffrey F., Hakuta Kenji. 2000. “The Benefits of Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Higher Education.” Pp. 39–67 in Minorities in Higher Education, 1999–2000, Seventeenth Annual Status Report, edited by Wilds D. J. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
Mitchell Donald Jr., Weathers Jazzmin D., Jones Michael A. 2013. A 20-year History of Black Greek-letter Organization Research and Scholarship. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University.
Moore Jacqueline M. 1999. Leading the Race: The Transformation of the Black Elite in the Nation’s Capital: 1880–1920. Charlottesville, VA: The University Press of Virginia.
Museus Samuel D. 2008. “The Role of Ethnic Student Organizations in Fostering African American and Asian American Students’ Cultural Adjustment and Membership at Predominately White Institutions.” Journal of College Student Development 49(6):568–86.
Patton Lori D., Bonner Fred II. 2001. “Advising the Historically Black Greek-letter Organization: A Reason for Angst or Euphoria?” NASAP Journal 4:17–30.
Patton Lori D., Bridges Brian K., Flowers Lamont A. 2011. “Effects of Greek Affilitaion on African American Student’s Engagement: Differences by College Racial Composition.” College Student Affairs Journal 29:2.
Perea Juan F. 1997. “The Black/White Binary Paradigm of Race: The Normal Science of American Racial Thought.” California Law Review 85(5):125–72.
Ray Rashawn, Rosow Jason. 2012. “The Two Different Worlds of Black and White Fraternity Men: Visibility and Accountability as Mechanisms of Privilege.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 41(1):66–94.
Schuh John H., Triponey Vicky L., Heim Lynette L., Nishimura Karyn. 1992. “Student Involvement in Historically Black Greek-letter Organizations.” NASPA Journal 29(4):272–82.
Shiao Jiannbin Lee, Tuan Mia H. 2008. “Korean Adoptees and the Social Context of Ethnic Exploration.” American Journal of Sociology 113(4):1023–66.
Solórzano D., Ceja M., Yosso T. J. 2000. “Critical Race Theory, Racial Microaggression, and Campus Racial Climate: The Experiences of African American College Students.” Journal of Negro Education 69(1):60–73.
Tatum Beverly. 2004. “Family Life and School Experience: Factors in the Racial Development of Black Youth in White Communities.” Journal of Social Issues 60(1):117–35.
United States Census Bureau. 2012. “Most Children Younger Than Age 1 are Minorities, Census Bureau Reports.” (U.S. Census Bureau News Release, April 17.) Retrieved February 1, 2016 (http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb12-90.html)
Ward Kelly Marie, Zarate Maria Estela. 2015. “The Influence of Campus Racial Climate on Graduate Student Attitudes about the Benefits of Diversity.” The Review of Higher Education 38(4):589–617.
Warikoo Natasha K., Deckman Sherry L. 2014. “Beyond the Numbers: Institutional Influences on Experiences with Diversity on Elite College Campuses.” Sociological Forum 29(4):959–81.
Warren Jonathan W., Twine France Winddance. 1997. “White Americans, the New Majority? Non-Blacks and the Ever-expanding Boundaries of Whiteness.” The Journal of Black Studies 28(2):200–18.
Willie Sarah. 2003. Acting Black: College, Identity, and the Performance of Race. New York: Psychology Press.
Yancey George A. 2003. Who Is White? Latinos, Asians, and the New Black/Nonblack Divide. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Yeung Fanny P., Johnston Marc P. 2014. “Investigating the Role of a Racially Biased Incident on Changes in Culture and Climate Indicators Across Targeted and Non-Targeted Groups.” Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 7(4):252–64.
Biographies
Wendy M. Laybourn is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on racial and ethnic identity and racial ideology, with a particular emphasis on how both are evidenced through and affected by popular culture and/or raced institutions. She and Devon Goss’s current book project examines racial identity formation and racial boundary making among non-Black members of historically Black Greek letter organizations (Routledge).
Devon R. Goss, M.S., M.A. is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of Connecticut. Her research examines (1) the color line, particularly in relation to instances of boundary crossing in typically racialized institutions via an examination of white entrance into race-based organizations; and (2) the impact of racialization in family formation and processes, through an examination of transracial adoption.
Matthew W. Hughey, PhD is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut and Affiliate Faculty in the Africana Studies Institute and the American Studies Program. Over 2016–2017, he is a Visiting Scholar with the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at Columbia University. He examines the relationship between racial inequality and collective understandings of race through (1) white racial identity; (2) racialized organizations; (3) mass media; (4) political engagements; (5) science and technology, and; (6) public advocacy with racism and discrimination.
Cite article
Cite article
Cite article
OR
Download to reference manager
If you have citation software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice
Information, rights and permissions
Information
Published In
Article first published online: December 16, 2016
Issue published: October 2017
Keywords
History
Published online: December 16, 2016
Issue published: October 2017
Authors
Metrics and citations
Metrics
Journals metrics
This article was published in Sociology of Race and Ethnicity.
VIEW ALL JOURNAL METRICSArticle usage*
Total views and downloads: 1248
*Article usage tracking started in December 2016
Altmetric
See the impact this article is making through the number of times it’s been read, and the Altmetric Score.
Learn more about the Altmetric Scores
Articles citing this one
Web of Science: 1 view articles Opens in new tab
Crossref: 1
- College Students and “Interracial” Relationships: How Our Measures Mat...
Figures and tables
Figures & Media
Tables
View Options
Get access
Access options
If you have access to journal content via a personal subscription, university, library, employer or society, select from the options below:
loading institutional access options
ASA members can access this journal content using society membership credentials.
ASA members can access this journal content using society membership credentials.
Alternatively, view purchase options below:
Purchase 24 hour online access to view and download content.
Access journal content via a DeepDyve subscription or find out more about this option.
