ABSTRACT
People of color who pledge white Greek organizations often report negative interactions with their white brothers and sisters around race, or feeling tokenized as one of the only members of color in their organization. This chapter examines the historical and contemporary status of Black Greek-letter organizations (BGLO) from their early years as vehicles for community uplift to their place in the current system of higher education. BGLOs were founded in the early twentieth century as a response to the racial exclusion policies that existed in white Greek-letter organizations' constitutions and the general ostracism Black students faced on historically white college campuses. Although Black Greek organizations were founded as a response to policies and practices in white fraternal organizations that barred the membership of Black people, BGLOs themselves did not limit their membership only to Blacks. The chapter discusses the research on non-Black BGLO members.
