Minnesota’s Black sorority, fraternity members energized by Kamala Harris candidacy
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Hundreds attended the annual Midwest Greek Step Show in Minneapolis last month. Part of the University of Minnesota’s Homecoming weekend, it spotlighted longstanding historically Black sororities and fraternities in the region and their traditions, like stepping and strolling.
Though people joke about Minnesota not having many Black people, they have had a presence in the state for generations. The first Black Greek-letter organization formed at Cornell University in 1906 and emerged in Minnesota not long afterwards. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. started at the University of Minnesota in 1912 and a chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. opened a decade later.
Those organizations are among the fraternities and sororities that make up the National Pan-Hellenic Council, or the Divine Nine (sometimes referred to as “D9”), established on principles like racial uplift and community service during the Jim Crow era.
From its founding, the Midwest Greek Step Show has prioritized encouraging youth to attend college, said Delphanie Daniels, who created the competition in 2002 as a fundraiser in south Minneapolis.
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“A lot of the Divine Nine organizations were established to try to create ways for people of color, Black people, to become academically successful, to become professionally successful, and to mobilize in the community and do the greater good. Divine Nine Greek organizations have always been trailblazers in that work,” said Daniels, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
The show was on hiatus for over a decade, but it made a comeback amid national attention about the power of historically Black fraternities and sororities after Kamala Harris — a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha — became the Democratic presidential nominee.
During the September presidential debate, former President Donald Trump insinuated Harris was being frivolous in choosing to attend a Black sorority event over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu’s address to Congress. “She was at a sorority party of hers,” Trump said. “She wanted to go to the sorority party.”
But as others have noted, the “party” — and her choice — was much more significant: Harris was speaking at the annual conference of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., part of the Divine Nine. The network has a combined membership of 2.5 million people and is proving to be a force in mobilizing voters in Tuesday’s election.
Days after Biden stepped down as the Democratic nominee, Divine Nine leadership announced “an unprecedented voter registration, education and mobilization coordinated campaign,” pledging to activate thousands of local sorority chapters and their surrounding communities. In August, Harris’ sorority also formed a political action committee to support federal candidates. It has raised $956,870, according to the most recent report.
The Divine Nine are not officially pro-Harris. As nonprofits, they are prohibited from endorsing political candidates. But many of its individual members are.
“Personally, I take great pride that she is a member of my sorority, because I believe that she has done amazing things and has just been an incredible asset to our community as a whole,” said Sharon Dykes, a Minneapolis-based surgeon who became an AKA as a college student in 1986, the same year as Harris.
“We were the first Black sorority, so we’re very much about being the original,” she said with a smile.
Dykes leads the sorority’s voter outreach efforts in Minnesota. With traditionally high voter turnout in the state, their focus is on people less likely to vote — those who are young, formerly incarcerated, or homeless. While AKAs have long worked to turn out voters, she has noticed more interest from members and support from community around the upcoming election since Harris’ nomination.
“I can’t speak for the sorority,” Dykes said. “I can speak for myself. I can speak for my daughters. I can speak for my friends. It’s a very powerful time. It’s a very powerful moment, and people want to be a part of it.”
At the Midwest Greek Step Show in Minneapolis, several people talked about their enthusiasm for the vice president’s candidacy.
“I never thought I would see the day that there would be a Black woman, but also a woman of a Divine Nine organization that is a candidate for [the] presidency,” said Daniels. “We still have a ways to go, but to see this, this is just a very valuable and powerful moment.”
Waverly Howard, a member of the Deltas’ undergraduate chapter at the University of Minnesota, is inspired.
“It just feels like anybody could do it, if she can do it,” said Howard. “Like I'm a part of the D9 so what’s stopping me [from becoming] the next president? It just feels very welcoming and safe and that I can follow in her footsteps, if I ever wanted to do that.”
Howard said Divine Nine members connect instantly, even when they don’t know each other, and share strong roots serving marginalized people. This gives the vice president a boost, in her eyes.
“Knowing that Kamala is with the D9 just kind of gives a sense of like family and that she's got our backs and that we're all kind of here for the same ultimate goal, … helping Black community,” Howard said.
“Someone that’s from D9 can actually understand the struggles and also lead us in the right direction,” said Lonnie Ghee, who has been part of fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi Inc. for 20 years. He said many of Minnesota’s Black fraternity and sorority members have been mobilizing to turn out voters for Harris, with an emphasis on voting early.
Della Young of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. said a Harris victory would be historic and recognizes the role of sisterhood in preparing her to potentially become a president. Harris seems to also; the vice president plans to spend election night at Howard University, her alma mater.
“I think if she exudes the values of the organization, she’ll be fine,” said Young with a laugh. “Because all of our organizations are socially conscious, action oriented. So she will do what needs to be done for the greater humanity.”
To Young, the greater good is essential.
“We are doing a bunch of mobilizing the vote, but the big thing is just, I'm just wanting people to get out to vote. Period,” she said. “So many people died for this right, I want us to exercise it. I don’t care who you vote for; I want you to exercise your right to vote.”
Correction (Nov. 4, 2024): This story has been updated to correct the name of a sorority.