African American Greek Life at UC

In the early 1900s African American students were excluded from fraternities and sororities on most campuses across the nation. The first African American Greek organizations, Delta Sigma Theta sorority and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, appeared on UC’s campus in 1920. Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority was introduced to the campus the next year. Although African American students could join these organizations, they were still left out of both the Interfraternity Council and the Women’s Pan-Hellenic Council at UC which governed Greek life at UC. In response to this discrimination, UC’s Black Greeks created the Negro Civic Assembly, which later changed its name to the Greek Letter Assembly, to govern their organizations. African American organizations remained excluded from Greek week and other campus-wide Greek events until 1967 when Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity finally became members of the Interfraternity Council. As members they complained that Black students who had sought membership in the other fraternities were referred to Kappa Alpha Psi because of their skin color. This racial discrimination was never addressed by the Council and these two organizations returned to the Greek Letter Assembly. Although segregation was still a significant issue, UC’s six Black sororities and fraternities were included in UC’s Office of Greek Affairs, which also governs the white Greek system in 1975. Alpha Kappa Alpha and Kappa Alpha Psi had houses located on this site from the 1950s through the 1970s when UC purchased the houses for the construction of Edwards Hall. Members of AKA reported that the university’s promises to help the sorority relocate to Greek Row on Clifton Avenue went unfulfilled. Today UC’s Black Greek organizations are organized under the National Pan-Hellenic Council.