Meredith Turner knew she wanted to “go Greek” after watching a step performance at Howard University. The Delta Sigma Theta sorority mesmerized Turner, a senior in high school at the time.
Once she arrived at college in the fall, Turner’s extracurricular commitments made it difficult to balance sorority recruitment. “I was a college athlete. Playing basketball and volleyball didn’t leave much time for rushing. My parents sent me to college for an education and a sorority’s price tag was too high to consider. The allure of rushing loomed in the back of my mind despite all of those factors,” she said.
In 1998, Turner met Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), who would become Ohio’s first Black U.S. representative. At the time, Jones was the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor and an emerging congressional candidate. Jones was also a devoted member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
Jones’ career, focused on progressive healthcare and education initiatives, inspired Turner: “She catalyzed my volunteerism. I helped pick up trash, I worked for her campaign, I held her purse.”
Turner said that the Jones campaign relied on the political power of the Divine 9, composed of historically Black fraternities and sororities. “Emphasizing Black excellence is one thing, but knowing that your sisters have your back is another. Working with Representative Jones showed me the politically active and civic-minded side of sorority life. It only made me want to join even more after plugging myself into a politically engaged space,” she said.
After Jones was elected, she wrote a letter of recommendation for Turner to join Delta Sigma Theta. In 2007, Turner formally pledged to the Greater Cleveland chapter.
Turner said Jones asked her to meet on Capitol Hill, and, unbeknownst to Turner, she was invited to the swearing-in of Nancy Pelosi as the first woman Speaker of the House. Turner was surprised: “I thought our dynamic was just predicated on my volunteer efforts, but it ran much deeper. She was a mentor, a guide, and a sister. That day was the greatest learning experience on what it means to be a part of these kinds of organizations. They empower you to take charge of your platform, but they also foster connections that are unlike any other.”
Her newfound membership as a Delta and in Divine 9 lineage networks presented Turner’s next political opportunity: a community liaison for Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) 2007 senatorial campaign.
In 2023, Turner ran for office, and the race was successful. Turner joined the Cuyahoga City Council, representing Ohio’s District 9.
Turner noted that her experience as a Delta inspired the run: “I joined because of the people I met, the messages they convey, and the pillars they uphold. Deltas motivate other Deltas to use their voice, and that isn’t confined to just politics. I became a better public speaker and have worked for several political coalitions because of my experiences within the sorority. When I threw my name in the hat, I knew my Delta mindset would pull through.”
Turner is one of many politicians with ties to Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs).
In 2020, 25 of the 30 Black women elected to Congress were members of historically-black sororities.
BGLOs consolidate political power nationwide, and will present a tool for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. On the campaign trail, Harris attended and contributed to several boulés—biannual meetings held by sororities and open to all members. Harris was a keynote speaker at Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.’s 60th International Biennial Boulé. She thanked the sorority members for their “long-standing service to our nation and to declare, in this moment, that our nation needs your leadership once again.”
Harris, an Alpha Kappa Alpha member, rallied the community to mobilize volunteers and fundraise during the 2020 election. Members facilitated a campaign asking fellow sorority sisters to donate $19.08 (1908 is the sorority’s year of establishment) after Harris was announced as President Joe Biden’s running mate.
Dr. Brooke Thomas, an assistant professor of African American Studies at the University of Alabama, said the donation was “not only an homage but a message of ongoing support for a sorority sister….it speaks to the power in numbers.”
“There’s an assumption that because she’s an AKA, AKA’s will support her,” Thomas said, “There’s no guarantee that Black sorority women will just vote for her for the sake of her membership. She has to sell her platform and show that she’s worthy of that vote.”
Despite Harris’ late entrance into the presidential race, she received unprecedented fundraising. A late summer Zoom call with over 44,000 women, including Alpha Kappa Alpha members, raked in more than 1.5 million dollars.
“Stroll to the Polls,” a pro-Harris slogan encourages members of the Divine 9 to vote. The stroll is a tradition of dance performed in a line. It originates from South Africa, and symbolizes unity. Simara Vines, a master’s candidate at the University of Akron who researches the Divine 9 said, “[Harris] is known for wearing Converse and, historically, the stroll is a big cultural concept. So they were saying ‘stroll to the polls’ with their Chuck Taylors. That’s just a subtle way of mobilizing people, put on your sneakers, and cast your ballot.”
The political power of BGLOs is clear in recent election cycles. Daniel Birdsong, a Political Science professor at the University of Dayton said, “We’ve seen local movements spring up every so often for state senator elections and governorships.…we haven’t seen this level of mobilization for the presidential race from this group in years past. Although this isn’t new for Black Greek Letter Organizations, its magnitude is worthy of note.”
The Divine 9 was founded on the political values of community and inclusion. The first Greek-letter organization for Black men was established in December 1906 at Cornell University. Seven undergraduate students formed a study group, now known as Alpha Phi Alpha, “Black students [could] voice their opinions and concerns about their surroundings and build camaraderie” said Simara Vines, “At a private institution like Cornell, they were a minority and sought bonds to make the journey a little easier. It wasn’t just about academics, it was also about forming those close-knit ties and uplifting those around you.”
Alpha Kappa Alpha followed Alpha Phi Alpha’s suit in 1908 at Howard University. The sorority facilitated community amongst Black women. New organizations continued to pop up, including Delta Sigma Theta, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, and Sigma Gamma Rho. Morgan State University capped off the Divine Nine roster with the establishment of Iota Phi Theta in 1963 during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
Unique origin stories parallel the distinct needs of members throughout history. Sigma Gamma Rho, for example, emerged as an ecosystem for African-American women pursuing careers in education while Delta Sigma Theta found influence during the Women’s March of 1913. All nine groups share a common mission statement: philanthropy and community.
Brooke Thomas said the Divine 9 was a response to racism and an avenue for political mobilization: “[Members] are folks who weren’t able to divorce themselves from the realities of racial discrimination and sexism. They’re forming programs to support not only their members but communities. Consequently, we see everything from scholarship programs, political programming, and whatever they deemed fit in relation to helping this larger Black freedom struggle.”
Kennedy Stafford, the President of the Xi Omicron chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority at Yale University, said, “Volunteerism and philanthropy, that’s what we were founded upon. Our actions focus on helping those around us and furthering our goals as service-minded individuals.”
Whether at a large conference or a small banquet, the Divine 9 organizations are unified. “I attended a sorority induction ceremony through an invitation from a student, and all the other Divine Nine chapters were in attendance. No matter the chapter, no matter which sorority you were in, there were cheers. There was a great sense of community in that respect, especially from alumni who had returned to celebrate incoming members,” said David Birdsong.
Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sigma Gamma Rho, Zeta Phi Beta, Delta Sigma Theta, Alpha Phi Alpha, Phi Beta Sigma, and Kappa Alpha Psi formed the American Council on Human Rights (ACHR) in 1948. Members lobbied for new civil rights legislation utilizing resources provided by their respective parent organizations, “calling out housing discrimination, lobbying for policies that will support black folks everywhere, and underscoring the realities of racial violence,” Brooke Thomas said, “This is after World War Two. There’s a different energy coming back from the front lines after African Americans were fighting abroad against discrimination and violence, but they’re coming home to the harsh realities of the Jim Crow South.”
Fraternities left the ACHR in the late 1950s to concentrate their efforts toward other endeavors, but the sororities remained.
Through the work of mothers, friendly neighbors, and everyday working women, the ACHR created voter information centers in churches and schools to increase engagement. A long history of Black disenfranchisement and voter discrimination inspired the ACHR to make electoral accessibility a primary goal.
The ACHR also launched “Project Womanpower” in 1961 to identify candidates for President John F. Kennedy’s administration. They presented their findings to his office in April of that year, supporting the hiring of Black women across the civil service. The ACHR is a prominent example of the Divine 9’s political power.
Voter education continues to be a key strategy of BGLOs. “Voting hasn’t always been an accessible resource. Black people, but especially black women, haven’t always had the clearest path to voter registration or the right to vote at all,” said Kennedy Stafford, “This is our right. It is our civic duty.”
Meredith Turner said mobilization continues to be an issue for Divine 9 members, especially those without access to an automobile: “There’s a certain risk involved with transporting people, and we’d love just to take people to the polls ourselves when they don’t have the means to do so.”
“We’re working with organizations like Lyft and Uber to develop partnerships where they can take people to the polls. We’ve also done things like free bus passes. We’ll be doing that this election cycle,” Turner said.
Divine 9 political activity generated a controversial response from former President Donald Trump in September 2024. Trump described Harris’ involvement with the National Pan-Hellenic Council boulés as a “sorority party, and a very unimportant one” while on air with Hugh Hewitt.
Trump faced immediate uproar, criticizing his lack of knowledge about the Divine 9 and their significance. In an official press release on the morning of September 11th, Zeta Phi Beta condemned Trump’s effort “to undermine the credibility of the importance of our national convention, [it] is not only disheartening, but also disrespectful to us and the other historically Black Greek Letter Organizations that make up the Divine Nine.”
Meredith Turner shared a similar sentiment, she joked that while the Divine 9 does ”know how to have a good party, [Trump] was denigrating our organizations and the work that we do. We’re much more than what he assumes. We are sitting in the vice presidency of the United States of America. We are Supreme Court justices, mayors, mothers, and sisters. We hold all of these different roles. The fact that he could only see us so narrowly, was disappointing from someone seeking the highest office in the land.”
Kennedy Stafford said the Divine 9 was “founded on the grounds of service. Although [Trump’s] comment wasn’t directed at our sorority, we stand in solidarity because that wasn’t a little party. He obviously doesn’t understand what makes the Divine Nine so special.”
Aryanna Pulido, a college student who works on Daniel Lurie’s Mayoral campaign in San Francisco, described the importance of mobilizing sorority members, “You’re talking about civically active women who hold leadership positions in various spheres, ranging from on-campus to organizations they believe in.”
Pulido was struck by Trump’s comment, “Whittling down their efforts to a simple party is cruel because it represents the long road it took to get to this point in time,” she said.
According to Simara Vines, Trump’s comments catalyzed an effort “to show up and show out. Two weeks later, on national voter registration day, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho were posting about their voter initiatives with greater force.”
While Harris’ historic bid for president is shedding light on the national influence of BGLOs, local elections also ignite Divine 9 support. Political developments in the Deep South, especially, highlight the driving force of Black Greek life.
After nationwide redistricting efforts, the 2024 Presidential Election presents increased opportunities for Black representation up and down the ballot. For example, a new congressional district in Alabama followed increases in measured racial diversity. African Americans comprise 27% of Alabama’s population. In response to the 2022 Census, constituents sued the state and asked for lawmakers to review the electoral map to reflect significant demographic shifts since the last review, in 1992.
Lawmakers only drew one Black majority district out of seven, the same number that existed before the reevaluation. The dilution of the Black vote opened the door to Allen v. Milligan in 2023. The Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 decision which granted Alabama a second Black-majority district. District 2, situated in the state’s Southeastern region, includes the Montgomery metropolitan area and several adjacent counties. The order ousted Coffee County, the incumbent’s home base, effectively leaving an open seat.
The district comprises a majority of registered Democrats, but constituents know the close margins leave room for error. Brooke Thomas, who lives in District 2, spoke about a Divine 9 picnic her father, a Kappa Alpha Psi member, hosted: “He just wanted to get the numbers up through voter empowerment and education. We had agencies there to help out and created a space for the community to educate one another. It was just a way to get folks together, so people could frolic but also take charge of their political involvement.”
As a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha herself, Thomas reinforced the importance of this election. “With a new district comes a new opportunity. We want to build apt representation, and we’re making that path a little easier by making resources available to achieve something greater,” she said.
BGLOs can energize a voter base with the power to influence the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election. Meredith Turner said “The Divine 9 were established for Black people to flourish and grow in a time where we didn’t look like the people in office. Now, our decades-long investment in our members is getting recognition. We still have a lot of work to do, but we started this journey for a reason: to make our voices heard.”