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The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities

 
 
The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities
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The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities

This history of black fraternities and sororities confirms the underlying purpose of these institutions: to provide a supportive educational environment for their members during college and social and business networks beyond college. Ross notes the substantial variation on the specific circumstances behind the formation of black fraternities and sororities. For example, Alpha Phi Alpha was formed at Cornell University just after the turn of the last century to counterbalance extreme racial hostilities aimed at the few black students. Shortly thereafter, in the more protective environment of predominantly black Howard University, Omega Psi Phi was formed. More recently (1963), older commuter students at Morgan State formed Iota Phi Theta. The underlying theme in all cases was camaraderie with a special emphasis on providing support to minorities in hostile environments, whether on campus or the broader racial environment of the U.S. Ross profiles several members of black fraternities and sororities, many of them prominent, and notes the contributions the groups have made to black leadership in the U.S. Vernon Ford

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Product Details:
Author: Lawrence C. Ross Jr.
Paperback: 465 pages
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: January 01, 2001
Language: English
ISBN: 0758202709
Package Length: 8.9 inches
Package Width: 6.1 inches
Package Height: 1.4 inches
Package Weight: 1.35 pounds
Average Customer Rating: based on 70 reviews
 
 

Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Review:4.0
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0 of 1 found the following review helpful:

3Adequate history lesson, but falls short in some areas...  Jan 02, 2009
my husbanded gave me "The Divine Nine..." as an x-mas gift and I couldn't wait to read it. As a member of the D9 I was looking towards the historical aspects of each organization and I also wanted more insight on those that weren't on my campus (SGRho and Iota).

While I received a thorough history lesson on Alpha Phi Alpha, I felt equal emphasis should have been placed on all of the fraternal organizations.

As for the sororities - let me first say that the AKA hymn is INCORRECT. I also feel some biasedness/sensationalization towards some organizations founding.

Let's keep all of the information on EACH organization on an even keel. Or could this be based on the amount of information provided by each National Organization???

I give it a B+ or the effort and a C- for the overall content...

0 of 2 found the following review helpful:

2Barely scratches the surface of an interesting subject  Dec 15, 2008
I am a member of a National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) fraternity. My university had 8 of the 9 "Divine" GLOs. In my career, I have run into many AKAs and Deltas. Both groups had women with amazing pride and dedication to their organizations. I knew women who decorated their classrooms in pink or red, depending on their sorority. I had a Delta classmate who painted her condo red. A Zeta at my church still wore her blue "line" jacket. (Unfortunately, I have never met any SGRs.)I really wanted to learn more!

I bought this book to learn more about the D9. Instead, I was left wanting a full refund. While it is a primer for people who know nothing about the D9, or North American GLOs, it does not work for those of us who have experienced college life with a D9 presence. I wanted to know why Delta came from AKA, what exactly caused the rift. What about Sigma Gamma Rho, whose insignia resembles that of an educator's organization? Why did the founders of Zeta not join AKA or Delta? Well, I don't really know.... because the book only "teased" me with nibbles of info.

I would recommend this book for those who need a basic knowledge of the D9. The "Q and A" with current members was just so BASIC!!! I already know about how strong these groups are because they were active on my campus. There was nothing groundbreaking about the Q&A!!! It would be thrilling to people who have lived under a rock for the last 100 years! And the "lists" famous members was boring.... just "lists".

I enjoy learning about the development of fraternal organizations. The $17 spent on The Divine Nine would have been better saved towards a copy of Baird's!

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

5History  Jun 02, 2008
This book is recommended to members and anyone who is interested in joining a African American Greek Letter Organization. It gives a good history on the fraternities and sororities.

The book is kind of old, but the history is there.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

4It's A Good Book  Jan 23, 2008
I don't think this book is written in the best format possible, but the information it contains is good. Buy it if you are really interested in the content and can deal with a little nonsense in the formatting.

1 of 2 found the following review helpful:

3Good but could be better  Nov 09, 2007
This book overall is great for someone interested in anj African-American Fraternity/Sorority. There are only a few downsides which include the distracting pieces of information about famous members on various pages. The profiles of these people should've had its own chapter. I also believe that the author has biased views since he is an Alpha and his wife is a Delta. I couldn't get over what he said about him thinking of Deltas when he thinks of the future and other similar staements (I probably misquoted but if you read the book you know what I mean). I understand he is entitled to his own opinion, but this book is suppose to be about history and facts. Leave the opinions out of it especially if you are obviously favoring one sorority/fraternity over the other. But overall it gave a good amount of history. I learned a lot by reading it.

 
 
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