When discussing African American College founded Fraternities and Sororities one must consider the history that explores the rich past and bright future of the nine Black Greek-Letter organizations that make up the National Pan-Hellenic Council.

 

In the long tradition of African American benevolent and secret societies, intercollegiate African American fraternities and sororities have strong traditions of fostering brotherhood and sisterhood among their members, exerting considerable influence in the African American community, and being on the forefront of civic action, community service, and philanthropy.

 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Toni Morrison, Arthur Ashe, Colin Kaepernick, Zore Neal Hurston, Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan, Carol Moseley Braun, Bill Cosby, Sarah Vaughan, George Washington Carver, Hattie McDaniel, Bobby Rush, Huey P.  Newton, Kwame Nkrumah, Nikki Giovannni, Cheryl Underwood and Alicia Keys are among the many trailblazing and world-impacting members of these organizations.

 

The role of black fraternities and sororities serve as some of the best and brightest among black leadership in the United States and abroad. The history of African American Fraternities and Sororities in context, there is a common attempt to link them to other movements and organizations that predated them and tying their history to one of the most important eras of United States history—the Civil Rights struggle, in particularly Prince Hall Masonry. Many only know of black fraternities and sororities through the eyes of filmmakers like Spike Lee who produced the 1998 film School Daze, or by watching the 2017 film Burning Sands. These films give a small peek into the complexities of on-campus BGLO life and a unique yet realistic perspective on the initiation process of African American fraternities and sororities as a central theme.

 

The intercollegiate African American fraternity and sorority movement has been in existence for over 115 years. Yet, to date, little scholarly attention has been paid to these organizations and the men and women who founded and perpetuated them and in particular to the possible relationship between them and Prince Hall Masonry.

 

At the turn of the 21st Century, many accusations by conspiracy theorist asserted that not only is there some sort of diabolical plot and unethical relationship between African American Fraternities, Sororities and Prince Hall Masonry and the “Illuminati." For those who don’t know—or at least those who don’t buy into conspiracies – theorists have long proposed that a secret organization of elites called the “Illuminati” (enlightened ones) run the world and rig everything from presidential elections to stock prices to MTV VMA winners. The Illuminati, it’s said, also worships Satan and promotes evil all over the earth and has full control over the masses of people. Will Mega, a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated delve into the myths, mysteries and facts that surround these alluring organizations.