Moving Culturally-Based Sororities and Fraternities Forward : Innovations in Practice

Bringing the history and strengths of culturally-based sororities and fraternities (CBSFs) into the foreground, this collection advocates for equitable attention and support for CBSFs, and resists the power dynamics that have excluded them from conversations among researchers and practitioners that prioritize historically white organizations.

From their founding, Greek letter organizations have maintained legacies of exclusion that have particularly targeted minoritized people including Black, Indigenous, People of Color as well as queer and transgender individuals. In response to larger societal oppression and, more specifically, historical discriminatory practices within historically white sororities and fraternities, culturally-based sororities and fraternities emerged to serve and lift up minoritized communities. Culturally-based sororities and fraternities (CBSFs) include Asian American, Black, Latinx/a/o, LGBTQ, Multicultural, and Historically Native American sororities and fraternities. Unfortunately, conversations on sorority and fraternity life (SFL) have prioritized historically white organizations, perpetuating the same legacies of oppression that led to the formation of culturally-based groups to begin with. This book is a form of resistance to these power dynamics and brings to light the histories, legacies, and strengths of CBSFs as well as ways to re-envision equitable support for these organizations. This book will be instrumental to SFL practitioners, (inter)national sorority and fraternity leadership, and for all SFL members in their efforts to increase their awareness of CBSFs. Additionally, campuses are increasingly embracing opportunities to understand minoritized students’ experiences on campus and to center equitable practice. This book could be used during professional development workshops for deans, faculty, and student affairs professionals to consider how well they are supporting minoritized students and, more specifically, those who are in culturally-based sororities and fraternities. This text can also serve as an important resource for college courses focused on college students, student affairs, and social justice in higher education.