Alpha Kappa Alpha is America's oldest Black Sorority. Will Barack Obama have to renounce them too?
Michelle Obama To Become an AKA – will Barack have to renounce Black Greeks too?
Let me start by saying that I am a staunch Barack Obama supporter – and have been since way before last year. I am also a big supporter of Black Greek Lettered Organizations (BGLO’s) – I have been a member of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc for over 28 years. Additionally, my Fiancée, my Mother, and several of my nieces/cousins are members of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Today, I read the announcement that Michelle Obama has accepted the invitation to become an AKA and my first reaction was, "How cool is that!?" (My mother is at the AKA centennial Boule right now.) Then I made a mistake of reading the online commentary on the Washington Post and thought to myself, "Here we go, again."
The haters were in full force. Everything from cries of "Elitism" that Mrs. Obama would join a sorority to "Racism" that she would join an Historically-black one. Anyone who knows anything about Black Greek Lettered organizations knows that they were founded at a time when Blacks were not allowed to join their white counterparts. Those same people also know that these groups have a strong history of community service and uplift to the black community. Like any institutions, they have had their challenges (hazing and other unsavory behaviors) but the over-riding legacy is one of achievement and service.
Unfortunately, this is yet another institution that White America doesn’t understand and I fear that Barack Obama will be pressured to renounce/reject or otherwise, disavow AKA and BGLO’s in general. If that happens, I will be upset beyond words.
There has been this over-arching theme that Barack Obama should "transcend" race. To me, that translates to "He should distance himself from the Black parts of his background/culture that make whites uncomfortable." I get the fact that he is bi-racial and I think that’s a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, he has brown skin, he married an African American woman, and he "Looks Black" – therefore, he is seen by the vast majority of people as "Black."
On the strength of this, he constantly has to prove (beyond a shadow of a doubt) his patriotism, his intelligence, his savvy, and everything else. And anything that might be just a little "out of the white norm" is something that must distance himself from, lest whites become uncomfortable.
I, for one, am tired of that.
At a point in time, whites will have to learn and accept that there ARE some unique parts of Black Culture (especially HBCU’s, BGLO’s, The Black Church, Black Professional Associations) that were created as a direct result of racism, segregation, and White privilege. I hear white people say, "If there were a "White Entertainment Network," you Blacks would be totally upset. People who say that really don’t get it – until BET, ALL networks were the "White Entertainment Network." Before Alpha Kappa Alpha, they were ALL "White Sororities."
These things are a part of our history and we shouldn’t have to disband them now that the laws of the land prevent segregation. More importantly, Barack Obama shouldn’t have to turn his back on them just because White America doesn’t understand them.
I understand that Obama has to appease those who have discomfort in order to get elected. That said, he shouldn’t have to disavow his Blackness nor renounce those things that are unique to Black culture. If so, he will end up losing more than an election. He’ll have lost himself.