Members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity walk during the 2024 Juneteenth Parade in Milwaukee, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. Photo by Max Correa/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/USA Today Network
Alpha Phi Alpha, the oldest black fraternity in the United States, is reportedly moving to ban transgender members, a decision that has created a rift between the older members of the organization’s national leadership and the younger leadership of its General Assembly and collegiate and alumni chapters, according to GLAAD.
Earlier this month, LGBTQ+ advocacy groups reported that at Alpha Phi Alpha’s constitutional convention, taking place July 10-14 in Chicago, delegates representing at least 706 active chapters will consider amendments and changes to the fraternity’s bylaws, one of which would be to add a definition of “male” to the fraternity’s operating procedures that would exclude transgender people.
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On July 15, the day after the convention, GLAAD reported that delegates “overwhelmingly” voted in favor of the proposed changes, which will now go to vote on and be approved by chapter and fraternity general assemblies.
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Alpha Phi Alpha is not the first historically Black fraternity to approve such a ban: In 2017, Phi Beta Sigma, which along with Alpha Phi Alpha is one of nine historically Black Greek-letter organizations (collectively known as the Divine Nine) on the National Panhellenic Council, approved a clause in its constitution and bylaws stating, “Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity is a men’s only organization. Membership is limited to natural-born males who identify as male.”
The clause was approved a year after Phi Beta Sigma admitted its first transgender member, then later revoked that member’s membership.
Alpha Phi Alpha’s transgender ban also reportedly follows a letter written by 16 members in March, calling on the organization’s national and local leadership to “publicly demonstrate support for Alpha and men who are part of the GBTQ+ community during Pride Month and World AIDS Day,” adopt more inclusive language in official documents, and define membership as “cisgender men, transgender men, and/or non-binary students who identify as upholding the fraternity’s principles of ‘manly conduct.'”
Several Alpha Phi Alpha members denounced the move ahead of last week’s ratification. “Their decision to exclude transgender and non-binary people from membership is reactionary, stupid, and unbecoming of an organization that professes to be a human rights advocate,” Deandre Miles Hercules, an Alpha member who uses “they/them” pronouns, told GLAAD. “It’s absurd that a fraternity founded by Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King Jr. would have a policy banning transgender people.”
“It doesn’t surprise me that there is transphobic sentiment within the organization because I have experienced it myself,” Miles Hercules added, “but it does surprise me that the organization’s leadership would want to write this into their policies in 2024. It makes no sense to me.”
“Trans men are men,” said one member in Philadelphia. “At the end of the day, if they identify as men and want to associate with other men, I think they should be allowed to do so. It doesn’t make sense that there’s nothing wrong with white men being members of Alpha, a historically black organization, but then they tell black trans men they can’t. There are all types of men in the fraternity, so that’s how I see it. They’re just another type of man.”
On Monday, the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) condemned the move.
“Not only are these proposed policies discriminatory and exclusionary, they also violate the fundamental human rights of people who simply want to be free to live their lives as they please,” NBJC CEO and Executive Director Dr. David J. Johns said in a statement.
Pointing to Phi Beta Sigma’s 2017 policy, Johns wrote that the fraternities’ efforts to exclude transgender people run counter to the fraternities’ histories of advocating for civil rights and social justice. “These fraternities’ attempts to exclude transgender people turn their backs on the very principles of fraternity and inclusivity on which they were founded and are a betrayal of the traditions of activism and leadership these organizations have maintained for more than a century,” Johns wrote.
“Policies and exclusionary practices like these perpetuate harmful stereotypes, further marginalize individuals who already face significant barriers and discrimination in society, and send a dangerous message that it is acceptable to ostracize and discriminate against individuals based on their gender identity,” he continued. “These policies and practices are tools of white supremacy and the white racists who choose to follow their orders. Our transgender brothers and sisters deserve the same respect, dignity, and opportunities as non-transgender members of our community.”
Johns and the NBJC called on both Alpha Phi Alpha and Phi Beta Sigma to reject transgender bans and for the Divine Nine to “honor their enduring commitment to uplift and empower our beautiful and diverse community.”
“It is imperative that our organizations lead by example, embrace diversity, and unite in the fight against discrimination and hatred in all forms,” Johns wrote.
As The Guardian noted, it’s unclear how Alpha Phi Alpha’s transgender ban would be enforced if approved, how many members it would affect, and whether it would only apply to new members.
Alpha Phi Alpha’s leadership has not commented on the proposed transgender ban, with spokesman Eric Webb telling the Guardian on Tuesday that they had “no comment.”
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