National Pan-Hellenic Council

History

The National Pan-Hellenic Council was established during the Jim Crow era when Greek letter collegiate organizations founded by white Americans did not want to be affiliated with Greek letter collegiate organizations founded by African Americans.

The organization's stated purpose and mission in 1930:

The founding members of the NPHC were Alpha Kappa Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Delta Sigma Theta, and Zeta Phi Beta. The council's membership expanded as Alpha Phi Alpha (1931), Phi Beta Sigma (1931), Sigma Gamma Rho (1937), and Iota Phi Theta (1996) later joined. In his book on BGLOs, The Divine Nine: The History of African-American Fraternities and Sororities in America (2001), Lawrence Ross coined the phrase "The Divine Nine" when referring to the coalition. As required by various campus recognition policies, neither the NPHC nor its member national or chapter organizations discriminate based on race or religion.

In 1992, the first permanent national office for NPHC was established in Bloomington, Indiana on the campus of Indiana University through the cooperation of Indiana University and the National Board of Directors of NPHC. Before its establishment, for over 62 years, the national office would sojourn from one officer to the next.

Affiliate organizations

The members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council are shown below in order of founding:

Traditional Greek housing

Traditional Greek housing amongst NPHC organizations is rare. Unlike most National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) and North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) organizations that have many traditional Greek houses primarily for undergraduate members on or near their college campuses, NPHC organizations have only a few. Most existing NPHC organization houses are untraditional and unaffiliated with a college. In recent years, a growing number of undergraduate chapters of NPHC organizations have advocated for convenient traditional Greek housing for recruitment, meetings, stroll/step practices, socializing, and storing chapter paraphernalia, but the lack of proper funding and coordination amongst members continues to be a major issue. In substitution, some undergraduate chapters have settled for small outdoor Greek plots to help substantiate their presence on campus.

References

References

1. Ruiz-Paz, C. M.. (2014). "Rituals, Symbols & Non-Traditional Greek-Letter Organizations".
2. (2016-02-16). "Mission – National Pan-Hellenic Council, Incorporated".
3. (2019). "Race and Racism in Fraternity and Sorority Life: A Historical Overview". New Directions for Student Services.
4. "About the National Pan-Hellenic Council". nphchq.org.
5. Ross, L. C.. (2001). "The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities". Kensington Books.
6. Ross, Jr, Lawrence. (2001). "The Divine Nine: The History of African-American Fraternities and Sororities in America". Kensington.
7. "Home".
8. "Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.".
9. "Home".
10. "Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.".
11. "Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.".
12. "Home".
13. "Sigma Gamma Rho Home".
14. "Home".
15. (11 October 2018). "NPHC Greek houses absent on Fraternity and Sorority Row".
16. (August 21, 2018). "Black fraternities and sororities get new home in Ram Village".
17. (11 October 2018). "MGC and NPHC houses still not on campus maps".
18. (August 16, 2019). "U of M Students Look to Raise Funds for African-American Greek Organizations".
19. "Membership".
20. [https://www.studentprintz.com/white-vs-black-greek-life-theres-a-greek-letter-for-everyone/ White vs Black Greek Life: "There's a Greek letter … for everyone"]
21. (January 13, 2019). "EDITORIAL: Greek life has lost its identity at IU".
22. (11 October 2018). "Greek plots return to Morgan's campus | the Spokesman".
23. (March 15, 2017). "Exploring Black Greek Life".