National

Fraternity in Racist Video Has Roots in Antebellum South

Published

10 years ago

March 11, 2015

A sign post is seen outside the international headquarters of Sigma Alpha Epsilon in Evanston, Illinois on March 10, 2015. Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s international headquarters may be in Illinois, but the fraternity’s roots are firmly planted in the antebellum South. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

ALLEN G. BREED, AP National Writer

Sigma Alpha Epsilon was born a few years before the Civil War in the antebellum South, the creation of a small group that set out to forge bonds among young men that would “hold them together for all time.”

The fraternity founded at the University of Alabama held its Southern heritage close. “We came up from Dixie land,” says a ditty from an old SAE songbook.

But nearly 160 years later, another song — this one chanted by members of the frat’s University of Oklahoma chapter and containing racial slurs and lynching references — hearkens back to the land of cotton and puts a new spotlight on the group’s history.

SAE officials insist the chant that resulted in suspension of the chapter is neither a sanctioned song nor is it taught to fraternity members.

If there are any other chapters that use the song, “we need to address that with those chapters and stop it immediately to stamp out this type of behavior,” SAE spokesman Brandon Weghorst said.

The lyrics “are so hateful and spiteful that it’s embarrassing to think that Sigma Alpha Epsilon members would even know the chant or how it goes, if they’ve heard it.”

The fraternity was also investigating reports of other SAE incidents that may have been tainted with racism, Weghorst said.

SAE began on the Tuscaloosa campus on March 9, 1856, a few months after Noble Leslie DeVotie outlined his vision to a close circle of friends during a stroll along the banks of the Black Warrior River.

The founders envisioned the members sharing a lifelong bond, according to a 1916 history of the fraternity by William C. Levere.

“So it came about that in the late hours of a stormy night, the friends met in the old southern mansion and by the flicker of dripping candles organized Sigma Alpha Epsilon,” Levere wrote.

More chapters were soon launched in Tennessee, North Carolina and Washington, D.C., at what is now George Washington University. But the founders were not interested in a national presence.

According to Levere, it was their intention “to confine the fraternity to the southern states.”

When a North Carolina chapter member raised the topic of a “Northern Extension,” charter member Thomas Chappell Cook — who later served as a surgeon in the Confederate army — responded that “the constant agitation of the slavery question was a barrier to northern chapters, as it would preclude the possibility of harmony.”

The Civil War soon put an end to the internal debate.

Because of the fighting, the fraternity’s charter was surrendered in 1861. The Washington City Rho chapter was the only one to emerge from the war intact. SAE would not return to its birthplace until 1886, after the Reconstruction-era ban on “secret societies” was relaxed and the school’s trustees, in Levere’s words, repealed “obnoxious anti-fraternity laws.”

In the meantime, the fraternity had granted its first Northern charter in 1883 to, of all schools, Pennsylvania College — the abolitionist institution now known as Gettysburg College.

The editors of the New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture call SAE “the first Greek-letter society founded in Dixie to take permanent root.”

In December 1930, the fraternity dedicated its international headquarters in the Chicago suburb of Evanston. But, like other fraternities North and South, SAE had not yet embraced racial diversity.

In his 2013 book, “The People’s Advocate,” attorney Daniel P. Sheehan claims credit for championing the bid of Tommy Williamson, who he wrote was the first black man to receive a nomination for membership in SAE.

Sheehan, who said he was social chairman of SAE’s Harvard chapter in 1966, said Williamson’s was the first name he called when it was time to vote for new members.

He and Williamson, a defensive lineman on the Crimson football team, both lived at Kirkland House.

On the first ballot, Sheehan said, Williamson received three “blackballs,” or negative votes.

Sheehan then announced he would blackball every other nominee until whoever had blocked Williamson “fessed up and gave us their reasons,” he wrote. It took six more ballots for a member to admit that he was voting against Williamson because he’d heard that the Piedmont, California, native dated white women.

Sheehan said Williamson’s nomination was approved on the seventh ballot. But when Sheehan told him how the vote had gone down, he wrote, Williamson declined the invitation.

Reached by telephone Tuesday, Williamson, who practices employment law in Washington, D.C., told The Associated Press that he wasn’t really interested in joining a fraternity, especially if some members didn’t want him.

“I didn’t want to be the sort of obsessive token negro,” he said.

Weghorst was unable to say whether Williamson was indeed the first black man formally invited to join a chapter because only within the last couple of years has the organization started to track the ethnicity of people who join, he said.

SAE has had its share of controversy in more recent years.

— In 1988, the founding chapter was suspended for violations of the university’s drug codes. The suspension was lifted two years later, only to be levied again in 1992 when the chapter failed to meet the goals outlined for reinstatement.

Most of the actions taken against SAE in the past have been for infractions of a non-racial nature. But the University of Oklahoma video is not an isolated incident.

— In October 2006, the University of Memphis chapter was investigated after a freshman member complained that his brothers made inappropriate remarks to and about his black girlfriend. Two members were later suspended.

— In February 2013, Washington University in St. Louis suspended its SAE chapter while investigating claims that pledges engaged in racially offensive behavior toward minorities.

— In December 2014, Clemson University suspended the frat after a gang-themed “Cripmas party” at which white members dressed in T-shirts bearing images of handcuffs and the late rapper Tupac Shakur.

Last year, SAE reached what it called “a historic milestone” — becoming the first large national fraternity to eliminate the pledge process.

“Instead, we have implemented a holistic education known as the True Gentleman Experience,” SAE says on its website. “It provides education throughout a member’s collegiate tenure and fosters both personal and professional development.”

___

Associated Press writers Kelly P. Kissel in Little Rock and Teresa Crawford in Chicago also contributed to this story.

___

Allen G. Breed is an AP national writer based in Raleigh, North Carolina. He can be reached at features@ap.org. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AllenGBreed.

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Oakland Post: Week of October 30 – November 5, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of October 30 – November 5, 2024

Published

1 day ago

November 1, 2024

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New Filing: Trump’s Attempts to Overturn 2020 Election Were Part of Private Scheme, Not Official Acts

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The filing reveals the extent of Trump’s interactions with figures such as attorney Rudy Giuliani and other senior officials, some of whose names were withheld. Trump persisted with a plan to undercut Joe Biden’s victory despite numerous warnings from people in his circle that his claims of a stolen election were untrue.

Published

4 days ago

October 29, 2024

Oakland Post

Jack Smith during a statement regarding the indictment of Donald J. Trump. (Wikimedia Commons)

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Special Counsel Jack Smith has delivered a powerful legal blow to former President Donald Trump, unveiling new evidence that the twice-impeached Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results were part of a private scheme rather than actions taken in his official capacity as president.

In a 165-page legal brief unsealed Wednesday, Smith provided new details about Trump’s behind-the-scenes maneuvers to subvert the election, including pressure campaigns targeting key officials, attempts to create false electors, and private discussions with his vice president, Mike Pence.

The filing reveals the extent of Trump’s interactions with figures such as attorney Rudy Giuliani and other senior officials, some of whose names were withheld. Trump persisted with a plan to undercut Joe Biden’s victory despite numerous warnings from people in his circle that his claims of a stolen election were untrue.

Smith’s brief is part of a broader strategy to prove that Trump can face trial for his actions, even after a Supreme Court ruling granted him immunity for official acts as president. The special counsel argues that Trump’s efforts to enlist Pence in blocking Congress’s certification of the election results were part of a private, illegal campaign to retain power, not part of his official duties.

“At its core, the defendant’s scheme was a private criminal effort,” Smith wrote in the filing. “In his capacity as a candidate, he used deceit to target every stage of the electoral process.”

The document provides new evidence of Trump’s attempts to sway election officials in critical swing states to alter the results in his favor. The brief quotes a lawyer advising Trump, who gave an “honest assessment” that his claims of widespread fraud would not withstand scrutiny in court. Yet, Trump dismissed the warning. “The details don’t matter,” Trump said, according to the filing.

Further, the brief recounts private conversations between Trump and Pence, in which Pence urged Trump to accept defeat and consider another run in 2024. Trump, however, expressed reluctance, saying, “2024 is so far off.”

Smith’s filing depicts Trump’s actions as part of a desperate and illegal campaign to remain in power after losing the 2020 election. The brief also points to Trump’s reliance on Giuliani and other private allies in his election subversion attempts, asserting that none of these efforts fell under the scope of presidential duties.

“The defendant asserts that he is immune from prosecution for his criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election because, he claims, it entailed official conduct,” the filing reads. “Not so. Although the defendant was the incumbent president during the charged conspiracies, his scheme was fundamentally a private one.”

A sealed appendix to the legal brief contains FBI interviews, search warrant affidavits, and grand jury testimony that might soon become public. Smith’s filing builds on the indictment released last year, expanding the evidence and reinforcing the argument that Trump’s conduct was criminal and not shielded by presidential immunity.

Smith concluded the brief with an explicit request to the court: “The government respectfully submits that the defendant’s conduct described in this motion is not subject to presidential immunity and that he should face trial for his private acts of subversion.”

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Special Interview: Rep. Barbara Lee Discusses Kamala Harris’ Plan for Black Men

On Oct. 16, California Black Media (CBM) spoke with Harris-Walz campaign surrogate, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA-12), who shared more insights on Harris’ agenda and the importance of securing the Black Male vote. “She has said very clearly that she wants to earn the vote of everyone. And that means earning the vote of Black men,” said Lee of Harris. “She understands the systemic and historic challenges that Black men have. You haven’ t heard of a presidential candidate coming up with a concrete actual plan and policy agenda.” The agenda includes five focus areas based on insights she gleaned from hosting discussions with Black men during her Economic Opportunity Tour.

Published

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Oakland Post

(File Photo) U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-13-Oakland) chides Justices on the Supreme Court of the United States for voting to strike down Affirmative Action. She is shown here speaking in front of the California Reparations Task Force in Oakland on May 6, 2023. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey. By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

Last week, the Kamala Harris campaign released its Opportunity Agenda for Black Men.

“She has said very clearly that she wants to earn the vote of everyone. And that means earning the vote of Black men,” said Lee of Harris. “She understands the systemic and historic challenges that Black men have. You haven’ t heard of a presidential candidate coming up with a concrete actual plan and policy agenda.”

The agenda includes five focus areas based on insights she gleaned from hosting discussions with Black men during her Economic Opportunity Tour:

Provide 1 million loans that are fully forgivable to Black entrepreneurs and others disadvantaged groups to start businesses.
Champion education, training, and mentorship programs that help Black men get good-paying jobs in high-demand industries It will also develop more accessible pathways for Black men to become teachers.
Support a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and other digital assets so Black men who invest in and own these assets are protected.
Launch a National Health Equity Initiative focused on Black men that addresses sickle cell disease, diabetes, mental health, prostate cancer, and other health challenges that disproportionately impact them.
Legalize recreational marijuana and creating opportunities for Black Americans to succeed in this new industry.

“[Vice President Harris] knows that Black men have long felt that too often their voice in our political process has gone unheard and that there is so much untapped ambition and leadership within the Black male community,” the language in the agenda states. “Black men and boys deserve a president who will provide the opportunity to unleash this talent and potential by removing historic barriers to wealth creation, education, employment, earnings, health, and improving the criminal justice system.”

Diving into Harris’ agenda, Lee says, reminded her of her own record of supporting Black men over the years as an elected official. In the 90’s, she established the first California Commission on African American Males through which she pressured the state to address urgent economic, health and social challenges specific to Black men.

“No group of people are a monolithic group of people,” said Lee She’ s not taking any vote for granted. I’ve known her over three decades and I believe she is being herself. She’ s authentic,” Lee added.

Each of the 5 key points addressed in the Harris Campaign’s agenda, Lee says, has additional clauses that can potentially help Black men and their families thrive. This includes lowering rent; up to $25,000 in downpayment help for first time homebuyers; and cutting taxes for Black men in lower-wage jobs by increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit maximum to $1,500.

“I think the messages is one of empowerment for Black men — regardless of whether they’ re a blue-collar worker, if they’ re not working, if they’ re in business, if they’ re an entrepreneur, whatever background or whatever they’re doing or experiencing life. I think the authenticity of their experience can only be articulated through them,” said Lee.