Denounce vs. Disaffiliate | Quitting a Black Greek Organization

Photo by Jessica Felicio on Unsplash

Earlier this week I went down a rabbit hole on Twitter (yes, I am still refusing to call it X). This time, it was regarding the young lady who recently pledge Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc (like a few weeks ago), then publicly denounced her membership on Instagram, citing that the organization is evil and goes against her religious beliefs.

There were several things that bothered me about her public declaration and others who have gone before her using these same sentiments, with one being I am a member of a Black Greek Organization and have been for 22 years, so yes, I was personally offended 2) Are they calling the practices of these sororities evil AND ending their connection, or just publicly declaring that they believe the organization is demonic? 3) Are they aware that when they share the intellectual property of a Greek organization on social media, that they are setting themselves up for a lawsuit? 4) And why do so many non-greeks (individuals who have never held membership in a Divine 9 organization) feel the need to spread false information and/or speculate on the inner workers of these organizations with out having any first hand knowledge?

Denounce vs Disaffiliate

I think the first issue I would like to address is the misuse of denounce. When you denounce something or someone, you are stating that it is wrong or evil. This does not mean that you are ending your connection with them or their members (i.e. your line brothers and sisters).

de·nounce /dəˈnouns/ verb. Publicly declare to be wrong or evil

dis·af·fil·i·ate /ˌdisəˈfilēāt/ verb. End official connection with a group or organization).

So did you publicly denounce the organization or did you denounce them and also disaffiliate yourself? Did you send a letter to nationals stating that you no longer want to be a member so they can permanently deactivate your membership or did you send a letter to headquarters denouncing their practices? There is a difference. OR did you get on social media saying these people are evil and demonic for clicks, likes, and 5 minutes of notoriety and didn’t really think any of this through?

I must admit, I am starting to see this type of behavior more and more among Black women who are affiliated with Greek Organizations. Like why is this even a thing in 2024? And I say this because if you have to make a public declaration, you can easily stand in your front yard and scream this to your neighbors - that’s public. You can also stand before your congregation at church and denounce a Greek organization - that’s public too. And honestly, making a public declaration in front of your congregation makes more sense to me since you are saying the organization is evil and I guess you are also asking for some type of forgiveness. But what I am not understanding is the need for these individuals to get on social media and tell a virtual room filled with total strangers - people who don’t know them and who could careless about their ‘salvation’, that they are denouncing and disaffiliating themselves with a certain Black Greek Organization?

Look…I get that every Greek organization isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. If you’ve pledged a certain sorority or fraternity and it is no longer your cup of tea for whatever reasons, it is okay to let go and simply move on. Yes, you can write a formal letter and send it to headquarters, or you can just stop paying your dues - never attend another chapter meeting - and live your best life, but this “trend” of jumping on social media to say you are denouncing the organization because you suddenly found God, is concerning. As solomonmissouri, a Black minister from Durham, North Carolina stated on Twitter, May 22 under his post about Let’s Talk: Denouncing Black Greek Letter Organizations:

Denouncing an organization you of your own volition joined…for religious fidelity suggest two things:

1. You don’t understand your organization.

2. Your understanding of faith as conceptual and applicable leaves much to be desired.

Someone commented under his post about Greek organization oaths and how they compare to the word of God. She wanted to know do they contradict the word of God because that’s what she’d heard. Solomonmissouri went on to further explain:

One of the failures of thinking through faith systems and what adherence looks like…is the temptation to qualify zealotry as fidelity. If your faith is threatened by people who enjoy wearing pink and green…perhaps you should question its salvific capacity. Faith is not simply what you abstain from, but what you hope for. You can’t denounce your way into the divine.

The Sharing of Intellectual Property

In addition to their faith, these individuals also need to be concerned about potentially being sued by these organizations they are “publicly denouncing”. Why? Because in their quests for more eyes on their public declarations, some are also sharing the intellectual property of these organizations on social media. Again, I get it. Everyone doesn’t understand intellectual property and that the practices and inner workings of these Black Greek Organizations are legally protected. These Divine 9 organizations are actually formal corporations that have infrastructures in place to protect what is theirs. They can and will take your ass to court if you publicly share their private information.

Speaking on What You Know Nothing About

My next issue is with the hundred’s of people who are on social media calling members of Greek organizations demonic and devil worshipers, or suggesting that we don’t read the Bible, and don’t have a relationship with God. As I read their comments and accusations on Twitter, I was like, “tell me you’re not a member of a D9 organization without telling me…”

“The streets be talking and they said y’all worship the devil” Girl, what streets are you in?

“Over on YouTube there are videos that state ya’ll make these women commit to a lifetime of worshipping false gods, and they have to put them above the only God.” Did you even verify that these YouTubers were actual members of a Black Greek organization at some point in their lives?

Someone also mentioned that they heard Divine 9 members put their organization and false gods before the real God and Jesus. I couldn’t make this stuff up even if I tried.

Again…why are you lying? Why are you speaking about something you know nothing about?

But the comment that took me out was, “Ya’ll are just mad because those who are denouncing the sorority are giving it a bad reputation.” Sweetie…Love bug…Ho-ney…Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc has over 350,000 members and over 1,000 chapters in the Bahamas, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bermuda, Canada, England, Germany, Jamaica, Japan, West Africa, and South Africa, South Korea, United Kingdom, and the United States. Trust me, these public denouncing aren’t hurting any of the D9 organizations.

Here’s What I’d Like to See Happen Next:

1. If you feel the need to publicly denounce and disaffiliate with a Black Greek organization, do it at church in front of the people who really care about your faith on a beautiful Sunday morning, not social media.

2. If you’ve never been a member of a Black Greek organization, sit this one out. Stop speaking on what you don’t know.

3. If you are hesitant about pledging, don’t do it. Don’t take the spot of a man or woman who has wanted this all of their life, who comes from a family of legacies. Only pledge if you know in your heart that this is 100% something you aspire to do AND it is in alignment with your faith.

4. And to my Black Greek organizations, continue to pursue legal actions against those who defame the name and character of your organization, and those who feel it necessary to share your intellectual property with the public. During the intake process, explain the steps an individual should take if they choose to disaffiliate in the future (and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to do refresher seminars with current members). And if it isn’t being done already - start having members to sign documentation that indicates they were made aware of the proper procedures to disaffiliate. Lastly, tighten up your intake process, and stop crossing 50 million people on one line. You can’t properly screen and qualify all of those individuals, and guess what…it’s starting to show!

I’d love to hear your thoughts? What do you think about this growing trend of denouncing Black Greek Organizations on social media and YouTube? Comment below - but keep it respectful and classy (wink).

Dr. Carey Yazeed is a Behavioral Scientist and Bestselling Author