It’s quite interesting to see organizations that are known for advancing racial progress in America working so hard to detach themselves from the movement that has crossed both racial and socioeconomic boundaries. For the first time in years, black people everywhere have come together for a unified cause. The only other exception was the push to elect the first black president. I don’t recall the organizations asking members not to wear their logos and letters to rallies for President Obama.
This might lead to the following questions: Why would any greek letter organization rush to distance itself from protests supporting Eric Garner and Michael Brown? Is it because they are black men? Is it because they are poor? Is it because neither of these men went to college? Had police brutally beaten, say, Valerie Jarrett’s daughter, would the organizations have the sent out the same memos? Are they making statements because these protests are larger than most? Have they done this in the past for other major movements (say, when Dr. King marched)? It might take a social experiment of unimaginable magnitude to determine if this is black elitism at work, or simply good corporate stewardship.
Kirsten West-Savali and I don’t agree on everything, but I respect her opinion. In fact, she should be a host on MSNBC, along with Yvette Carnell, but she’s too smart for TV. Kirsten too seems curious as to why the Deltas or AKAs would risk missing out on the civil rights movement of our generation:
And given the histories of both sororities—and the legacies of such illustrious AKAs as C. Delores Tucker, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King; as well as Fannie Lou Hamer, Myrlie Evers-Williams and Mary McLeod Bethune, all members of DST—some young activists have rejected their organizations’national directives because they believe that the directives run, fundamentally, in opposition to the values upon which these sororities were built.