#bglos

The “initiation” for such assimilation would be the enforcement of respectability politics. Conformity would reign supreme, and deference would be given based on race and social status. The “humiliation” factor comes at the expense of the Black subject, who, as we know, time and time again has been embarrassed on camera by law enforcement.

Our deaths at the hands of police on camera serve as a reminder of how powerless we are against them, and of the necessity to conform or be condemned. Our ancestors hung from trees for white amusement, only for us to assimilate into a culture where we can sit and break bread with the descendants of those who once enslaved us 70 years later. That system then trickles down into the Black community, where we place the Black cis-hetero male at the place of dominance and power, with all other Black people falling below.

Fraternities are not unique in creating a power dynamic based on these factors. The position of Dean and ADP are revered by those who follow in the long tradition of bringing in new initiates and upholding the legacy of our beloved chapters and organizations. Deference is given based on age, line year, and positions held just as society would have it in any corporate or political structure.

One can’t have a real conversation about hazing if we aren’t willing to acknowledge how its roots are tied into slavery, and the Black condition which has always been rooted in pain, tolerance, and conformity as a means of survival. When we created our own communities after denial from white organizations, the principles of what the “talented tenth” looked like had already laid the foundation for assimilation.

Just like the Black cop or prosecutor who joins the institution of white law enforcement, Greeks inevitably succumb to anti-black principles due to the system structure, regardless of the obligation to the protection of those who look like them.

This doesn’t mean that hazing isn’t a problem for BGLOs and the Black community as a whole. Many people are willing participants in processes that are bogged down more in tradition and culture than general logic and will. Hazing is indeed a problem, but one that requires combating assimilation into whiteness on a large scale. That said, if these organizations plan to continue for another 100 years, there will have to be radical change or acceptance of the end of BGLOs as we know it.