African-American fraternities and sororities are social organizations that predominantly recruit black college students and provide a network that includes both undergraduate and alumni members. These organizations were typically founded by Black American undergraduate students, faculty and leaders at various institutions in the United States.
Prince Hall Freemasonry (PHA) is the first historically Black fraternal organization. The first Greek Letter fraternal organization was Alpha Kappa Nu at Indiana University in 1903. Wilberforce University is where Gamma Phi was established in 1905. Sixty miles away at Columbus, Ohio in March 1905, Pi Gamma Omicron was founded at Ohio State University (formation originally reported in the Chicago Defender in 1905). CC Poindexter, a graduate of Ohio State University, went on to Cornell University, where he established the Alpha Phi Alpha Society. This society became Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Established on December 4, 1906, Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Black intercollegiate (having more than one college chapter) fraternity.
Alpha Phi Alpha's success inspired the founding of other intercollegiate Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). Today, these organizations (fraternities and sororities) are known collectively as the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), and emphasize public service and civil rights. Some non-NPHC Black fraternal organizations, such as the Swing Phi Swing and Groove Phi Groove fellowships, do not solely use Greek letters in their names.
The first professional Black Greek letter fraternity, Sigma Pi Phi, was established in Pennsylvania in 1904.
| Name | Year formation attempted | Incorporated | Collegiate | Greek lettered | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha Kappa Nu | 1903 | ||||
| Gamma Phi[1] | 1905 | ||||
| Gamma Tau | 1934 |
| Name | Founded | Incorporated | Collegiate | Greek lettered | NPHC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Hall Freemasonry | 1775 | |||||
| Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World | 1897 | |||||
| Sigma Pi Phi | 1904 | |||||
| Alpha Phi Alpha | 1906 | |||||
| Kappa Alpha Psi | 1911 | |||||
| Omega Psi Phi | 1911 | |||||
| Phi Beta Sigma | 1914 | |||||
| Wine Psi Phi[2] | 1959 | |||||
| Nu Gamma Alpha[3] | 1962 | |||||
| Iota Phi Theta | 1963 | |||||
| Phi Eta Psi | 1965 | |||||
| MALIK Fraternity | 1977 | |||||
| Phi Delta Psi | 1977 | |||||
| Sigma Phi Rho | 1979 | |||||
| Delta Psi Chi | 1985 | |||||
| Beta Phi Pi [4] [5] | 1986 | |||||
| Megisté Areté (Christian)[6] | 1989 | |||||
| Nu Gamma Psi[7] | 1994 | |||||
| Phi Rho Eta | 1994 |
| Name | Founded | Incorporated | Collegiate | Greek lettered | NPHC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha Kappa Alpha | 1908 | |||||
| Delta Sigma Theta | 1913 | |||||
| Zeta Phi Beta | 1920 | |||||
| Sigma Gamma Rho | 1922 | |||||
| Iota Phi Lambda | 1929 | |||||
| Eta Phi Beta[8] | 1942 | |||||
| Tau Gamma Delta[9] [10] | 1942 | |||||
| Gamma Phi Delta | 1943 | |||||
| Zeta Delta Phi[11] | 1962 | |||||
| Kappa Theta Epsilon | 2009 | |||||
| Gamma Theta Xi[12] | 2024 |
| Name | Founded | Incorporated | Collegiate | Greek lettered | NPHC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groove Phi Groove - males | 1962 | |||||
| Swing Phi Swing - females | 1969 | |||||
| Malika Kambe Umfazi - females | 1995 |