On Wednesday, Feb. 5, the Black Student Union (BSU) hosted a panel in the Schine Auditorium featuring the “Divine Nine” historically Black fraternities and sororities. These are: Alpha Phi Alpha (APA), Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA), Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Psi (OPP), Delta Sigma Theta, Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta (ZPB), Sigma Gamma Rho and Iota Phi Theta (IPT).

Source: Will Morgan, Staff Writer and Photographer
Most of these Greek organizations were founded at historically Black colleges and universities in the beginning of the 1900s as a response to the racism and exclusion of many other fraternities and sororities of the time, as well as a unifying force for Black students.
The Divine Nine have a lengthy history of supporting civil rights and uplifting Black communities. Many famous faces have been members of one of these organizations, including athlete Micheal Jordan (OPP), musician Dionne Warwick (ZPB) and former-Vice President Kamala Harris (AKA).
Robert Johnson, SHU’s Executive Director of Multicultural Affairs and an IPT brother, believes this is a positive event for our community.
“We want to provide opportunities for students to learn about various cultures whether you’re a white, Black, Indian, Hispanic or a Muslim student,” Johnson said. “Expressing what these organizations mean is very important to give students a glimpse into that reality and history.”
IPT previously had a charter on campus established May 5, 2014. It didn’t last for a variety of different reasons, including that there wasn’t a strong multicultural community at the time. Johnson hopes that with a stronger support system for students of color, these organizations can thrive on campus.
With the efforts of Johnson and many others, AKA recently received a charter on campus. In addition, many students are members of Divine Nine organizations that aren’t yet chartered on campus.
During the panel, senior Gregory Dort, Secretary of BSU, asked representatives of each of the nine organizations questions about their missions, core values and community service initiatives.
The Divine Nine are unanimous in their commitment to public services, such as providing healthcare to those who can’t afford it, tutoring struggling students, and serving as mentors to those who lack strong role models in their lives. According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Divine Nine have supported causes such as women’s suffrage, the anti-war movement and the end of segregation, and allied with groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People over the past 100 years of their existence.
“The Divine Nine organizations have played a critical role in Black history, U.S. history and even world history. Sacred Heart’s mission of social justice aligns really well with our fraternity, and I think bringing the synergy around social justice between APA and SHU will be ideal,” said Maurice Nelson, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at SHU and the panel’s APA representative.
This panel nearly filled the Schine and was presented as a colloquium, which students taking CIT 201 and 202 need to attend two of each semester. Sophomore Shakeel Johnson found the session very informative.
“Being here I was able to see they might be different fraternities and sororities but when they come together they’re truly a family that fights for the same causes to bring the community together for people who need more,” said Johnson.
“This is what we wanted to start Black History Month off with because you get to see how the black community is doing greatness and community service through these organizations, rather than something more fun that we have planned later on like the Black Love Gala we have coming up on [Feb. 13],” Dort said.