Black Greek organizations are known for fostering brotherhood and sisterhood, community service and more, as they were created during a time when Black people were excluded from other orgs of this nature.
However, the oldest historically Black fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., could possibly become the first Black Greek-letter fraternity to implement a ban on transgender members, according to an exclusive report from GLAAD.
Per the extensive GLAAD report, written and reported by acclaimed journalist Tre’vell Anderson, some members “say the organization’s national leadership — and this amendment — don’t reflect a broader Alpha membership that can be more accepting and welcoming.”
The organization’s Constitutional Convention at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center began Wednesday, with delegates proposing to change its bylaws to restrict membership to “any male defined as a human being naturally born male, who remains and continually identifies as a male,” the official draft states. However, some members have shared their thoughts on the proposed ban, calling it “discriminatory, unnecessarily exclusionary, [and] politically motivated.”
“Their decision to alienate trans and nonbinary people from membership is reactionary, asinine, and unbecoming of an organization with a professed commitment to human rights,” Deandre Miles-Hercules, an Alpha Phi Alpha member who uses they/them pronouns and one of many who would likely be affected by the proposed bylaw amendment, told GLAAD. “It’s ludicrous to be the fraternity of Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King Jr. and come up with a policy that bans trans people.”
In addition to Miles-Hercules’ stance on the proposed ban, others have questioned the organization’s long-standing commitment to civil rights for Black people. Matthew Shaw, a lifetime Alpha member, assistant professor of law at Vanderbilt Law School and assistant professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt Peabody College, voiced concern about Alpha Phi Alpha’s shift in direction, noting the historical support for “racial desegregation” during the Civil Rights era but apparent reluctance to support the LGBTQ+ community.
“What they’ve understood is what I understand, that the logic of civil rights has got to remain inviolate,” Shaw told GLAAD. “If we allow certain discriminations, we have to allow for all of them,” he continued. “If Alpha then adopts the logic that White Citizens’ Councils had against Black people desegregating schools in the 1950s and ’60, what’s to say that you couldn’t use that logic against Black people in 2024?”
Significant differences exist between the more conservative and traditional national leadership and the younger, more progressive collegiate and alumni chapter leadership. The latter group champions the organization to expand its language and policies, aiming to make it more diverse and inclusive for everyone.
“Trans men are men,” a Philadelphia Alpha told the media outlet. “I just feel like at the end of the day, if you identify as a man and you want to be in fellowship with other men, then you should be allowed to. It doesn’t sit well with me that a white man can be a member of Alpha, this historic Black institution, with no problem, but we’re going to tell Black trans men that they can’t. We’ve got all types of men in this fraternity, so to me, that’s how I look at it. It’s just another type of man.”
Despite the transgender ban being in review, members are still left questioning how this policy would be implemented and whom it would affect most.
“It’s not surprising to me that there are transphobic sentiments within the organization — because I’ve experienced it,” Hercules-Miles said, who joined Alpha Phi Alpha as an undergraduate student at Emory University in Atlanta. “But it is surprising that the organizational leadership would move forward with attempting to enshrine it in organization policy in the year 2024. That doesn’t make any sense to me.”
The bylaw amendment targets transgender and nonbinary members, while those who identify as gay, bisexual or queer are likely to receive more protections within the organization. However, some members believe the fraternity clings to outdated traditions instead of expanding its conception of brotherhood.
One Alpha criticized the organization for not supporting its LGBTQ+ members during Pride Month in June.
“If this fraternity can’t even acknowledge Pride Month because they think it’s political, it’s almost like you shouldn’t even be that surprised that the national organization is not going to consider trans men [for membership],“ he said. “I would’ve been more shocked that they were doing this based on my experience in the fraternity on a chapter level and regional level. But I feel like the more I get into the national side, the more it becomes very clear that there’s an old guard at the top that wants to enforce these types of policies and ideologies and stances, to the dismay of a lot of their chapters.”
The proposed ban is under review at the convention in Chicago. General President Willis L. Lonzer, III penned a letter to members, stating how the gathering would be an “opportunity to be a part of history as we discuss and refine this great Fraternity’s guiding documents as we move into the future.” In addition to the president, the bylaw amendment must undergo a voting process before it can be officially adopted.
While some members remain optimistic about the future outcome of the ban, others have openly stated they would leave the organization if it happens.
“I don’t know if it’s going to pass,” a Washington, D.C.-based member said. “But I know for sure I can’t be involved [in the organization] if it passes. It just makes a statement, and it’s not something I’m willing to stand behind.”
