Pledged

Pledged
Author: Alexandra Robbins
Publisher: Hachette Books
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2011-05-24
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1401304052

Alexandra Robbins wanted to find out if the stereotypes about sorority girls were actually true, so she spent a year with a group of girls in a typical sorority. The sordid behavior of sorority girls exceeded her worst expectations -- drugs, psychological abuse, extreme promiscuity, racism, violence, and rampant eating disorders are just a few of the problems. But even more surprising was the fact that these abuses were inflicted and endured by intelligent, successful, and attractive women. Why is the desire to belong to a sorority so powerful that women are willing to engage in this type of behavior -- especially when the women involved are supposed to be considered 'sisters'? What definition of sisterhood do many women embrace? Pledged combines a sharp-eyed narrative with extensive reporting and the fly-on-the-wall voyeurism of reality shows to provide the answer.

Black Greek 101

Black Greek 101
Author: Walter M. Kimbrough
Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2003
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780838639771

When members of Black fraternal organizations and non-members alike finish Black Greek 101, they will have a foundation for understanding some of the most interesting organizations that have influenced not only campus culture, but American culture as a whole."--Jacket.

Disciplining Women

Disciplining Women
Author: Deborah Elizabeth Whaley
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2010-09-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1438432747

An interdisciplinary look Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA), the first historically Black sorority.

Sorority

Sorority
Author: Genevieve Sly Crane
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2018-05-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 150118749X

Sisterhood is forever…whether you like it or not. Prep meets Girls in White Dresses in Genevieve Sly Crane’s deliciously addictive, voyeuristic exploration of female friendship and coming of age that will appeal to anyone who has ever been curious about what happens in a sorority house. Twinsets and pearls, secrets and kinship, rituals that hold sisters together in a sacred bond of everlasting trust. Certain chaste images spring to mind when one thinks of sororities. But make no mistake: these women are not braiding each other’s hair and having pillow fights—not by a long shot. What Genevieve Sly Crane has conjured in these pages is a blunt, in-your-face look behind the closed doors of a house full of contemporary women—and there are no holds barred. These women have issues: self-inflicted, family inflicted, sister-to-sister inflicted—and it is all on the page. At the center of this swirl is Margot: the sister who died in the house, and each chapter is told from the points of view of the women who orbit her death and have their own reactions to it. With a keen sense of character and elegant, observant prose, Crane details the undercurrents of tension in a world where perfection comes at a cost and the best things in life are painful—if not impossible—to acquire: Beauty. A mother’s love. And friendship…or at least the appearance of it. Woven throughout are glimmers of the classical myths that undercut the lives of women in Greek life. After all, the Greek goddesses did cause their fair share of destruction….

The American Fraternity

The American Fraternity
Author: Cynthia Robinson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018
Genre: Artists' books
ISBN: 9781942084556

"The American Fraternity is a photobook that provides an intimate and provocative look at Greek culture on college campuses by combining contemporary photographs with scanned pages from a wax-stained 60 year old ritual manual. This book will shed new light on the peculiarities of the fraternal orders which count seventy-five percent of modern U.S. presidents, senators, justices, and executives among their members. These mysterious campus organizations are filled with arcane oaths and ceremonies and this book attempts to capture within its pages some of this dark power"--Publisher's website, January 23, 2019.

In Search of Sisterhood

In Search of Sisterhood
Author: Paula J. Giddings
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2009-10-06
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0061984442

In Search of Sisterhood is the definitive history of the largest Black women's organization in the United States, and is filled with compelling, fascinating anecdotes told by the Delta Sigma Theta members themselves, illustrated with rare early photographs of the Delta women. This book contains the story of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (DST), and details the increasing involvement of Black women in the political, social, and economic affairs of America. Founded at a time when liberal arts education was widely seen as either futile, dangerous, or impractical for Blacks—and especially Black women—DST is, in Giddings's words, a "compelling reflection of Black women's aspirations for themselves and for society." Giddings notes that unlike other organizations with racial goals, Delta Sigma Theta was created to change and benefit individuals rather than society. As a sorority, it was formed to bring women together as sisters, but at the same time to address the divisive, often class-related issues confronting Black women in our society. There is, in Giddings's eyes, a tension between these goals that makes Delta Sigma Theta a fascinating microcosm of the struggles of Black women and their organizations. DST members have included Mary McLeod Bethune, Mary Church Terrell, Margaret Murray Washington, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, and, on the cultural side, Leontyne Price, Lena Horne, Ruby Dee, Judith Jamison, and Roberta Flack.

Inside Greek U.

Inside Greek U.
Author: Alan D. DeSantis
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2007-10-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0813172772

Popular culture portrays college Greek organizations as a training ground for malevolent young aristocrats. Films such as Animal House, Revenge of the Nerds, Old School, and Legally Blonde reinforce this stereotype, but they fail to depict the enduring influence of these organizations on their members. Inside Greek U. provides an in-depth investigation of how fraternities and sororities bolster traditional, and potentially damaging, definitions of gender and sexuality. Using evidence gathered in hundreds of focus group sessions and personal interviews, as well as his years of experience as a faculty advisor to Greek organizations, Alan D. DeSantis offers unprecedented access to the world of fraternities and sororities. DeSantis, himself once a member of a fraternity, shows the profoundly limited gender roles available to Greeks: "real men" are taught to be unemotional, sexually promiscuous, and violent; "nice girls," to be nurturing, domestic, and pure. These rigid formulations often lead to destructive attitudes and behaviors, such as eating disorders, date rape, sexual misconduct, and homophobia. Inside Greek U. shows that the Greek experience does not end on graduation day, but that these narrow definitions of gender and sexuality impede students' intellectual and emotional development and limit their range of choices long after graduation. Ten percent of all college students join a Greek organization, and many of the nation's business and political leaders are former members. DeSantis acknowledges that thousands of students join Greek organizations each year in search of meaning, acceptance, friendship, and engagement, and he illuminates the pressures and challenges that contemporary college students face. Inside Greek U. demonstrates how deeply Greek organizations influence their members and suggests how, with reform the worst excesses of the system, fraternities and sororities could serve as a positive influence on individuals and campus life.

The Divine Nine

The Divine Nine
Author: Lawrence C. Ross
Publisher: Dafina Books
Total Pages: 538
Release: 2000
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780758203250

INCLUDES INTERVIEWS WITH FAMOUS MEMBERS OF THE DIVINE NINEJOHN CHANEY Head Basketball Coach, Temple UniversitySPENCER CHRISTIAN Former weather anchorman, ABC-TVs "Good Morning America"KEITH CLINKSCALES President and CEO, Vibe magazineJOHN HOPE FRANKLIN HistorianNIKKI GIOVANNI Poet, author of Blues: For All the ChangesDR. GWENDOLYN GOLDSBY-GRANT Psychologist, Essence magazine columnist, authorJOHN H. JOHNSON Owner of Ebony PublishingSTAR JONES Co-host, ABC-TV's "The View"SHAQUILLE O'NEAL Star center for the Los Angeles LakersTAVIS SMILEY Host, "BET Tonight"PLUS INSPIRING PROFILES OF OTHER FAMOUS MEMBERS -- FROM HISTORICAL FIGURES TO MODERN LEGENDSHANK AARONMARIAN ANDERSONMAYA ANGELOUARTHUR ASHECOUNT BASIETONI BRAXTONGEORGE WASHINGTON CARVERWILT CHAMBERLAINSHIRLEY CHISHOLMBILL COSBYW.E.B. DUBOISDUKE ELLINGTONELLA FITZGERALDLANGSTON HUGHESREVEREND JESSE JACKSONMICHAEL JORDANMARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.THURGOOD MARSHALLHATTIE MCDANIELTONI MORRISONJESSE OWENSCOLIN POWELLPHYLICIA RASHADPAUL ROBESONCORETTA SCOTT KINGBLAIR UNDERWOODDIONNE WARWICK

Rush

Rush
Author: Lisa Patton
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 438
Release: 2018-08-21
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250022746

“There’s not a better Southern author writing today than Lisa Patton. Funny, touching, and full of twists and turns. I couldn’t have loved it more.” – Fannie Flagg, New York Times bestselling author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café Rush is recommended by... Atlanta Journal Constitution as a Southern Beach Book SouthernLiving.com as a 2018 Beach Read Deep South Magazine's Summer Reading List Southern Independent Bookseller's Alliance as a SUMMER 2018 OKRA PICK Modern Mrs. Darcy Fall Lineup Set in modern day Oxford, Mississippi, on the Ole Miss campus, bestselling author Lisa Patton’s RUSH is a story about women—from both ends of the social ladder—discovering their voices and their empowerment. Cali Watkins possesses all the qualities sororities are looking for in a potential new member. She’s kind and intelligent, makes friends easily, even plans to someday run for governor. But her resume lacks a vital ingredient. Pedigree. Without family money Cali's chances of sorority membership are already thin, but she has an even bigger problem. If anyone discovers the dark family secrets she's hiding, she’ll be dropped from Rush in an instant. When Lilith Whitmore, the well-heeled House Corp President of Alpha Delta Beta, one of the premiere sororities on campus, appoints recent empty-nester Wilda to the Rush Advisory Board, Wilda can hardly believe her luck. What’s more, Lilith suggests their daughters, both incoming freshman, room together. What Wilda doesn’t know is that it's all part of Lilith’s plan to ensure her own daughter receives an Alpha Delt bid—no matter what. For twenty-five years, Miss Pearl—as her “babies” like to call her—has been housekeeper and a second mother to the Alpha Delt girls, even though it reminds her of a painful part of her past she’ll never forget. When an opportunity for promotion arises, it seems a natural fit. But Lilith Whitmore slams her Prada heel down fast, crushing Miss Pearl’s hopes of a better future. When Wilda and the girls find out, they devise a plan destined to change Alpha Delta Beta—and maybe the entire Greek system—forever. Achingly poignant, yet laugh-out-loud funny, RUSH takes a sharp nuanced look at a centuries-old tradition while exploring the complex, intimate relationships between mothers and daughters and female friends. Brimming with heart and hope for a better tomorrow, RUSH is an uplifting novel universal to us all.

Black Greek-Letter Organizations 2.0

Black Greek-Letter Organizations 2.0
Author: Matthew W. Hughey
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2011-02-18
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1604739223

At the turn of the twentieth century, black fraternities and sororities, also known as Black Greek-Letter Organizations (BGLOs), were an integral part of what W.E.B. Du Bois called the “talented tenth.” This was the top ten percent of the black community that would serve as a cadre of educated, upper-class, motivated individuals who acquired the professional credentials, skills, and capital to assist the race to attain socioeconomic parity. Today, however, BGLOs struggle to find their place and direction in a world drastically different from the one that witnessed their genesis. In recent years, there has been a growing body of scholarship on BGLOs. This collection of essays seeks to push those who think about BGLOs to engage in more critically and empirically based analysis. This book also seeks to move BGLO members and those who work with them beyond conclusions based on hunches, conventional wisdom, intuition, and personal experience. In addition to a rich range of scholars, this volume includes a kind of call and response feature between scholars and prominent members of the BGLO community.