Rishona's Intro

Without a doubt, if there was no such thing as a “multicultural sorority”, I would not be a greek today. This in no way implies any fault with any other kind of fraternal organization. It just simply means that we all have unique needs, and without a doubt, there are unique needs which multicultural fraternal organizations can (and do) meet.

I am Black American woman who was born at the close of the 1970s. My father was an immigrant with African and South Asian ancestry that seemed way to exotic for the Southwestern Pennsylvanian town I grew up in. My mother’s family reaches back into slavery in the American south until the 1920s when her grandparents join the “great migration” to the North. Growing up I was involved in a myriad of extra-curriculars where many times, I was the only Black child there. In high school, I developed an identity that revolved around rock, punk, and reggae & ska music. As an adult I converted to Judaism and adjusted my ears to the sounds of Cuban-American Spanish that was spoken around me while I lived in South Florida.

All of this contributes to “my” culture. And there is no doubt that the vast majority of sororities out there would welcome me and allow me to feel at home. But only a “multicultural” sorority would have a specific mission that is in tune with the goals that I have guiding me through my life every day. But I have seen first hand that you do not need to be a microcosm of the United Nations in order to find a home with a multicultural organization. A few of my sisters did not have significant interactions with people of different backgrounds until their college years.

It is hard to believe that the first multicultural sorority, Mu Sigma Upsilon, was founded only a couple years after my birth. Yet it was not until the 1990s that the concept of a multicultural fraternity or sorority really took off. In many ways, this is simply awe-inspiring. In other ways, I feel as if my sorority experience is a little more than what I bargained for. You see, most alumnae of sororities who are inching towards their 30s might have an alumna membership and get together with sisters at an annual conference. They may be featured in the sorority magazine when they reach a personal or professional milestone. They give back to their communities and usher in the next generation of members. I do these things, but I am also constantly navigating the waters in regards to what is going on nationwide on college campuses regarding sororities. If this isn’t bad enough, you also need to keep an eye on pop culture – forget Animal House, we now need to see how sorority women are being portrayed on MTV’s Sorority Life and greek life in general in movies like The Fraternity. I also need to stay abreast of general legal and logistical issues that can possible affect my sorority. On top of all of this, many of my friends and family are wondering just why this “sorority thing” takes up so much of my time; being that I left the college campus quite some time ago. And this is not only because I am the National President of my sorority, Delta Gamma Pi – many of the alumnae in my sorority do this as well.

Back when I pledged in 2001, there seemed to be more exposure and some inroads being made regarding local sororities (sororities based at 1 campus) and smaller, non-NPC sororities. Today however it seems as if it is becoming harder for smaller groups to grow or survive. When I pledged my sorority, I started to believe that there is a great future for multicultural greeks. I still believe this, but I do not know if the general public shares this belief. However I know I am not alone. Thousands of men and women across the U.S. have rights to the greek letters of multicultural fraternities and sororities. We are not going away.