CBH Talk | The Divine Nine: The Origins and History of Black Greek-Letter Fraternities and Sororities
The Divine Nine, formally known as the National Pan-Hellenic Council, are nine historically Black Greek-letter fraternities and sororities that have played a pivotal role in shaping Black American life and culture. The first of these organizations, Alpha Phi Alpha, was founded in 1906, paving the way for a legacy of brotherhood, sisterhood, and service.
Recently, the Center for Brooklyn History (CBH) expanded its collections with hundreds of photographs and documents from the Gamma Iota Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha. These provide important insight into the activities of Black Greek life illustrated by award ceremonies, membership materials, charitable programs, and more.
Join us for a special program that starts with a presentation by CBH Special Collections Cataloger Deborah Tint highlighting key materials from the newly processed Gamma Iota Lambda Chapter archives, and is followed by a panel discussion featuring four distinguished leaders and experts—Lurie Daniel Favors, Esq., Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough, Maya E. Latimer, and Dr. André McKenzie.
The panel sheds light on the Divine Nine’s origins, their fight against segregation during the Jim Crow era, their contributions to the Civil Rights Movement, and their enduring commitment to public service. They explore how the Divine Nine differ from white fraternities and sororities and the challenges and triumphs they have faced over the decades.
This program is offered in connection with CBH’s new Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Gamma Iota Lambda Chapter collection, and in celebration of Gamma Iota Lambda’s 80th anniversary.
Photos: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Gamma Iota Lambda Chapter records, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Participants
Lurie Daniel Favors, Esq. serves as Executive Director at the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College. She is an author, activist and attorney with a longstanding commitment to racial and social justice. She also hosts the Lurie Daniel Favors Show on Sirius XM’s Urban View Network, a national talk show that tackles issues of race, gender, culture, politics and the law and its accompanying podcast, Lurie Breaks it Down. Ms. Daniel Favors earned her J.D. from New York University, where she was a Root-Tilden-Kern public interest scholar.
She graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a BA in African and African American Studies, with a Minor in Spanish Language. Ms. Daniel Favors is a contributing author to The Birth of a Nation: Nat Turner and the Making of a Movement and she authored Afro State of Mind: Memories of a Nappy Headed Black Girl, which uses a natural hair journey as a metaphor for understanding the Black experience in the West.
She began her legal career as an attorney in the New York offices of Proskauer Rose LLP and Manatt Phelps and Phillips, LLP. She also served as a federal court law clerk in the chambers of the Honorable Sterling Johnson, Jr., in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She later founded Daniel Favors Law PLLC, a law firm that focused on economic and racial justice.
Before completing law school, Ms. Daniel Favors co-founded Sankofa Community Empowerment, Inc., a non-profit organization designed to educate and empower communities of African descent. She later co-founded Breaking the Cycle Consulting Services LLC, which specializes in creating comprehensive professional development for educators, youth education programs and family engagement workshops designed to address the crisis in urban education through the use of culturally responsive teaching.
Ms. Daniel Favors is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and adheres to the West African principle of Sankofa which calls us to use the past to understand the present and build for a brighter future.
A native of Atlanta, Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough was his high school salutatorian and student body president and went on to earn degrees from the University of Georgia, Miami University in Ohio, and a doctorate in higher education from Georgia State University. He has enjoyed a fulfilling career in student affairs, serving at Emory University, Georgia State University, Old Dominion University, and Albany State University. In October of 2004, at the age of 37, he was named the 12th president of Philander Smith College. In 2012 he became the 7th president of Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and served for ten years. Presently he serves as the interim president of Talladega College.
Prior to Talladega, Kimbrough spent two years experiencing an “intermission,” exploring a range of professional experiences. He served as the inaugural Rutgers University Center for Minority Serving Institutions President-In-Residence, interim executive director of the Black Men’s Research Institute at Morehouse College and as Executive-In-Residence for the University of Southern California Race and Equity Center.
Kimbrough has been recognized for his research and writings on HBCUs and African American men in college. Recently he has emerged as one of the leaders discussing free speech on college campuses. Kimbrough also has been noted for his active use of social media. He was cited by Education Dive as one of 10 college presidents on Twitter who are doing it right (@HipHopPrez) and named by The Best Schools.org as one of the 20 most interesting college presidents. In 2023 College Cliffs named him as one of the 55 Top U.S. College And University Presidents. In early 2022 he was appointed by President Joseph Biden to the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs.
Dr. Kimbrough has forged a national reputation as an expert on fraternities and sororities, with specific expertise regarding historically Black, Latin and Asian groups. He is the author of the book, Black Greek 101: The Culture, Customs and Challenges of Black Fraternities and Sororities, and has served as an expert witness in a number of hazing cases.
Maya E. Latimer is a passionate educator currently serving the Harlem Area as the Educational Director of Round’ The Clock Nursery. She believes in helping our earliest learners prepare for life and greatness. Prior she worked in several Day Cares, Head Start and Education Programs in Queens, The Bronx and Harlem.
Maya holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from the University of Bridgeport (’10) and a Masters of Education Degree in Early Childhood Education from Grand Canyon University (’19).. Maya holds a professional certification in Early Childhood Education and plans on continuing her education by getting her Education Administration Degree.
Maya is president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council of New York City. She is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., inducted in 2013. She has served on various committees and held Board positions on the local level and has been a member of Eureka Grand Chapter Prince Hall Order Eastern Star Inc. State of NY for the past 6 years in Electa Chapter #14. Since 2021 Maya has served as the Board President of St. Philips Church Federal Credit Union, which has been serving the Harlem Community for over 70 years. She is also the Young Adult, Youth and Children (YAYAC) National Coordinator for the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE) where she helps them strengthen connections with God, family and the community.
Maya resides in Harlem. She is a proud daughter and pet mommy to two turtles. One of her favorite quotes, “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” -Maya Angelou.
Prior to his retirement in June 2024, for 38 years Dr. André McKenzie served in a number of leadership roles as an academic affairs administrator at St. John’s University (Queens). His most recent role was Vice Provost for Academic Support Services & Faculty Development. He also served as an adjunct associate professor teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses.
Dr. McKenzie was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. in January 1976 at the fraternity’s Eta Tau Chapter, at Illinois State University. A Life Member of the fraternity, he currently serves as historian for the Gamma Iota Lambda Chapter.
Dr. McKenzie’s doctoral dissertation examined Black Greek-letter fraternities at four historically Black colleges and universities, 1920-1960. He is a contributing author to African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision, and Alpha Phi Alpha: A Legacy of Greatness, The Demands of Transcendence.
He is a founding board chair and current board member of the Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy (BELA), a STEM-focused all-girls charter high school in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. He also serves on the board of St. John’s Bread & Life, a Brooklyn-based human services agency. Dr. McKenzie received BS and MS degrees from Illinois State University and M.Ed. and Doctor of Education degrees from Teachers College Columbia University.
Deborah Tint, the special collections cataloger at the Center for Brooklyn History, has worked in libraries for 10 years, first as a digital imaging specialist and more recently as a cataloger. She creates records providing access to photographic collections, as well as other digital formats and archival collections.
