Author - Gregory Parks
For many years now, at least as long as I have been a brother of
Alpha Phi Alpha—17 years—I have heard that “we are one lawsuit away from
being out of business.” I am sure other BGLO (
Black Greek Lettered Organizations) members have heard the
same thing. I always took it as hyperbole; and over the years, maybe it
was such or at least a scare tactic. Having been a researcher on BGLOs
for the past 14 years and a law professor who has studied BGLOs for the
past 3 years, I would bank on the fact that within 25 years the Divine
Nine will be the Great Eight, Stellar Seven or Six…maybe the Fabulous
Five or Four. Honestly, at the rate that BGLOs are going, I can only
foresee two having any longevity. Given their sizes, financial
resources, and frequency of hazing litigation, my prediction is that the
organizations will fall by the wayside in the following order: Omega
Psi Phi, Kappa Alpha Psi/Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho,
Iota Phi Theta, Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha/Delta Sigma Theta.
The typical narrative about how BGLOs will meet their demise is
typically one that consists of errant undergrads hazing and getting
their organization sued out of existence. That is, from where I sit,
part of the narrative, but not the whole or even the bulk of the story.
Here are the factors that I think will do-in BGLOs:
First: To call someone “paper” or a “skater” is
taboo, but the reality is that the current generation of college
students is more entitled and less inclined to sacrifice for achievement
than prior generations, on average. And that fact will only become
amplified with time. I think a person who loses his or her sight, has to
get skin grafts on their posterior, or has their kidney ruptured may
have strong grounds to sue for hazing-related injuries. Such victims in
the past would have been less-likely to sue, because they would have
accepted such injuries as part of the hazards that went along with
pledging a BGLO. Even more, this new generation may be more inclined to
sue for even milder harms or real/perceived slights. Indeed, we live in
an increasingly litigious society.
Second: In a study my colleagues and I conducted on
over 1,300 BGLO members, we found that BGLO hazing has become more
violent at least since the 1950s. More violence likely means more
injuries, and more injuries likely mean more lawsuits against BGLOs. In
another study, my colleagues and I found that BGLOs have more violent
hazing than white fraternities and sororities. Black fraternities are
the most violent. Part of this likely has to do with constrained notions
of masculinity among black men, including black fraternity members. And
given that black fraternities likely will not have any meaningful
dialogue about masculinity and black fraternalism, they will not likely
sort these issues out, especially as they relate to hazing. As such,
hazing will remain particularly violent within these groups.
Third: The only thing that truly stands between
BGLOs and plaintiffs in hazing lawsuits is the insurance industry.
Unfortunately, there are few insurers of college fraternities and
sororities. With the steady flow of hazing litigation involving BGLOs,
it is not inconceivable that at some point it becomes unprofitable for
any insurer to cover any particular BGLO. For example, let’s say BGLO A
pays a $500,000 premium each year to Insurer A, but over the course of
three years, Insurer A pays out $1,000,000 a year in hazing settlements
involving BGLO A. It would likely make sense for that insurer to drop
BGLO from coverage. BGLO A must then move on to Insurer B. With a
limited number of such insurers out there, once Insurer B begins to lose
money, BGLO A will then have to move on to Insurer C and so on until
there is no insurer to cover BGLO A. A possible option is for an insurer
to raise the premium, which would trickle down to each chapter in BGLO
A. Higher insurance fees, especially for smaller chapters, would kill
many BGLO A chapters, especially collegiate chapters. It is doubtful
that any campus would let a fraternity or sorority chapter operate on
its campus without insurance. As for the national organization of BGLO
A, with no insurer, its only option would be to insure itself. And given
the financial resources of each BGLO (consider the net assets or fund
balances from 2011 and 2010 for each NPHC organization: Alpha Phi Alpha
($6,809,028/$7,258,956); Alpha Kappa Alpha ($24,384,894/$23,654,672);
Kappa Alpha Psi ($5,817,499/$5,148,046); Omega Psi Phi
($2,624,479/$2,575,365); Delta Sigma Theta ($19,188,109/$19,555,631);
Phi Beta Sigma ($1,835,670/$1,766,064); Zeta Phi Beta
($1,008,703/$1,091,217); Sigma Gamma Rho ($2,559,860/$1,817,088); and
Iota Phi Theta ($300,857/$308,047)), it would take few law suits to
reduce most BGLOs to bankruptcy. As an additional point, as a recent
case between Admiralty Insurance and Kappa Alpha Psi shows, insurers
will not insure, or seek to not insure, the hazing activities of BGLO
members. Such an outcome would further expose BGLOs’ direct resources to
judgment.
Another critical point: whenever a BGLO is sued, let us say in North
Carolina just as an example, the BGLO’s General Counsel does not swoop
into North Carolina to litigate the case. Rather, the insurance company
gives the BGLO a panel of lawyers in the area to choose from—one who
will represent the BGLO. I suspect that most of these lawyers are
competent, but few are likely to be black, BGLO members, or experienced
in litigating hazing cases dealing with BGLOs. Even more, most of them
are not likely to affiliate with such a lawyer or hire an expert witness
or trial consultant to aid them in navigating the unique terrain of
BGLO hazing issues. As such, the parents of a young man or woman
allegedly killed by hazing, or one with a severe injury, is a
sympathetic plaintiff to a potential jury, and because of that the
BGLO-defendant and their local attorney are somewhat outgunned.
Fourth: BGLOs have too many blind spots when it
comes to hazing. Most of the organizations do not pay attention to the
legal trends. Most of them do not pay attention to broader bodies of
knowledge that could aid them in addressing the issue proactively or
once litigation arises. They do not mine the data they already have on
past litigations and likely do not share such information across
organizations. As such, they fail to capture the big picture either in
strategies that plaintiffs’ counsels have used against BGLOs, the ebb
and flow of the law in the area, types of evidence that has been or not
been useful in litigation, best practices, arguments that expert
witnesses and trial consultants have made.
Photo: Tuskeege Airmen who are members of Omega Psi Phi, Inc.
Fifth: Similar to number four, BGLOs are
information/data adverse. This includes bodies of knowledge that are
available outside of the respective organization files. I have attended
the Fraternal Law Conference two years in a row. Most BGLOs are not
represented there. Arguably, there has been more research on BGLO hazing
conducted in the past five years than on any other type of
organization. However, I would bet that most BGLO members and leaders
have never looked at this research to see how it may aid them in
addressing this issue within their own ranks. Part of this has to do
with organizational politics. For example, given the petty
intra-organizational rivalries between the groups, do you think Kappa
Alpha Psi leadership would consult with a Phi Beta Sigma researcher on
BGLO hazing? I doubt it, because they won’t consult with a Kappa, like
Dr. Ricky Jones, who has researched the issue. What about vice-versa?
Nope! Phi Beta Sigma has never even consulted with the only Sigma, Dr.
Matthew Hughey, who currently studies the issue—ironic given that they
have a national, anti-hazing initiative. These organizations do not
solicit feedback, certainly not on a regular basis, from non-BGLO hazing
experts or even BGLO members who are hazing experts, even within their
own ranks. The ironic thing about BGLOs is that, for the most part, they
have tremendous intellectual capital, given the nature of alumni
membership within these groups, but the vast majority of this
intellectual capital goes untapped. So, BGLOs remain in an information
vacuum due to their own actions or inactions.
Sixth: In one study my colleagues and I conducted,
we found that a determinant of hazing was the extent to which BGLO
members were truly aware of sanctions associated with hazing. Arguably,
most do not know how bad the problem is or how high the stakes truly
are. Leadership within BGLOs seem to believe that their current efforts
are the best possible, and they are not. Telling BGLO members that
hazing will destroy BGLOs is very different from laying out the case
systematically and regularly. But that all turns on having sufficient
information—e.g., aggregating the major hazing incidents across BGLOs,
resultant injuries, lawsuits, settlement/judgment figures, criminal
convictions—to make such a case. But, as I have said, BGLOs do not keep
such records, and to date they have not invested in gathering and
consolidating such information. I suspect that given their indifference
to information consolidated and analyzed by outside sources, even those
efforts would be snubbed. With all that said, BGLO members are woefully
under-informed about hazing, its nature, and the challenges it raises.
And these very members are expected to either create and reform the
Membership Intake Process within their own organizations or vote on its
form and application.
Seventh: Black Greek-letter organizations have also
lost their luster. We now live in an age in which many college students
do not feel the need to join any fraternity or sorority. Some choose to
join something other than a BGLO. It is problematic that BGLOs have
built no real pipeline to membership by seeing mentoring K-12 African
Americans as not simply good for the community but also necessary for
the future viability of these organizations. At this rate, a decade or
two from now, the pickings will be remarkably slim for college students
who are interested in BGLO membership and possessed of the requisite
qualities and characteristics that will sustain BGLOs. Even more, BGLOs
have not thought through an optimal MIP that will commit members to
their respective BGLO in real and tangible—financially and physically
active—ways. As such, while BGLOs are likely to see fewer and fewer
aspiring members or ones with poorer credentials than decades before,
they are also likely to witness a greater hemorrhaging of active
members. And for organizations with an economic model that depends
largely on initiation fees and membership dues, their best hope will be
to lower the bar to membership. This will fundamentally alter the nature
of these organizations, not guarantee long-term membership commitment,
and continue to leave them vulnerable to limited coffers and increasing
hazing allegations, among other things.
In the end, I am hopeful about the longevity of BGLOs but not
optimistic. Their demise will be blamed on 19-23 year-olds, but how
responsible can you expect “kids” to be, even those who espouse high
ideals? The end of BGLOs will ultimately have resulted from the failure
of the adults, especially those in leadership, from doing, not simply
something(s) about hazing, but all that needed to be done. Within BGLOs,
there is not the will to be transformative. These are inherently
conservative organizations where new modes of thinking are strenuously
resisted, organizational politics prevails, and provincialism rules the
day. Only time will tell; but time is not on their side.
About the author:
Gregory
Parks is an Assistant Professor of Law at Wake Forest University School
of Law, where he has taught since the Fall of 2011. Professor Parks
holds an M.A., an M.S., and a Ph.D. (all in Psychology) and a J.D. He
served as a law clerk on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals to
The Honorable Anna Blackburne-Rigsby and the United States Court of
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to The Honorable Andre M. Davis. After
clerking, Professor Parks took a Visiting Fellowship at Cornell Law
School and then worked as a Litigation Associate at McDermott, Will
& Emery LLP in their Washington, D.C. office where he worked on
trial and appellate matters.
Professor
Parks' research interests lie in a number of domains: (1) how social
and cognitive psychology explain legal phenomena; (2) the application of
empirical methods to legal questions; (3) race and law issues; and (4)
the ways in which black fraternal networks intersect with the law. He
teaches in the areas of civil procedure, social science and law, as well
as race and law.
Professor
Parks’ scholarly books have been published with Oxford University
Press, The New Press, the University Press of Kentucky, the University
Press of Mississippi, and Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. He
recently completed two books - one entitled The Wrongs of the Right: Race and the GOP in the Age of Obama
with Matthew Hughey (NYU Press) and another on implicit/subconscious
race bias and the law (Oxford University Press). In 2013, he will turn
his attention to writing two books - one on hazing within black
Greek-letter organizations through the lens of law and other
disciplines; another on the myriad challenges that face black
Greek-letter organizations and how to solve those problems.
His scholarly articles have appeared in such journals as: Florida State University Law Review; Howard Law Journal; University of California-Irvine Law Review; University of Pennsylvania Law Review (PENNumbra); Cardozo Law Review de novo; Wake Forest Law Review Common Law; Cornell Journal of Law & Public Policy; Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology; Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender & Class; Rutgers Race & Law Review; William and Mary Journal of Women and the Law; Hastings Women's Law Journal; and Psychology, Public Policy & Law.
Professor Parks
is member of a number of professional (i.e., law- and social
science-related) and fraternal organizations. His hobbies include
martial arts (Karate (black belt), Tae Kwon Do (red belt), Gracie
Brazilian Jujitsu (blue belt), Small Circle Jujitsu, kickboxing, Judo,
and wrestling) and travel.
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A few responses:
VP says:
You have been in existence for over 100 years and your primary
operating income is initiation, then you deserve what you get or what
you are getting. If you have not put together a plan to sustain your
organization with the thousands college grads not to mention all the
legal minds, educators and business owners that exist in these
organization. 2014 and you are still looking to initiation i.e. 18-22
year olds to carry your organization financially. Then, well, I hate to
say, excuse me but leave the keys in the mailbox and good night.
Dre says:
This blog hits home big time. Hazing is serious and detrimental to
all BGLOs. We can lay out the facts and the financial side of how this
would ultimately shut us all down and someone will still believe ‘they
have to be brought in RIGHT!’ No matter what anyone says it all comes
down to individual decisions. As a member of a BGLO I’ve seen first
hand how this practice destroys the chapter and everyone involved. It’s
not worth it. If it continues (and it will) were going to go from the
divine nine to the divine none.
Rob says:
To me, the elephant in the room is Black people inadvertently
promoting white supremacy by calling themselves “Black Greeks.” The
Africans on the Nile were the teachers of the Greeks and responsible for
so-called Greek philosophy. We know that Pythagoras spent 21 years
sitting at the feet of black people to receive his education. Most of
the first Greek “philosophers” received their education in Africa. That
is the major reason they were prosecuted for teaching a “foreign”
doctrine. Dr. George G. M. James’ masterpiece, “Stolen Legacy” clearly
proves beyond a reasonable doubt that: “The Greeks were not the
authors of Greek Philosophy, but the people of North Africa, commonly
called the Egyptians.” It should be a requirement that each Alpha
brother reads, at a minimum, Stolen Legacy. The question is: are we as
men, knowledgeable enough about who we are to embrace Africa and our
ancestors who left us the Medu Neter (Words of God) to follow? The Medu
Neter contains all of the wisdom and knowledge that black men need to
resurrect themselves back to be the giants they once were when they
ruled the ancient world. That is why our ancestors left Medu Neter on
the walls and doorways of ancient African temples: “Know Thyself.”
Stephen Washington says:
Good stuff. I’ve been advocating that all BGLO should come together for collective survival and:
Suspend all undergraduate intake temporarily (one academic year)
Use that time to come together to share best practices and come up with a
common set solution options including alternative collective risk management strategies.
Consider using using more internet technology in the undergraduate
intake process. (that’s right, online intake….you heard it here first)
Eric Woods says:
Mr. Parks,
Interesting read. While I disagree with some of the details, I do
agree with the overall “head in the sand” indictment of the leadership
of these organizations. I have said may times within my own network of
BGLO friends (I am an initiate of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity
Incorporated & quickly approaching my 25th anniversary since being a
Scroller) that the new intake process is crippling. It hasn’t solved
the liability issue and it exacerbates the issue of entitlement since
there is no sacrifice required. To that end, paragraph 7 resonates
greatly.
You do a good job of outlining the problems, but you haven’t put forth any potential solutions. What say you on that front?
Lastly, you might want to investigate integrating Discus for
comments. That way, a discussion can ensue that will allow dialogue to
flourish.
Best,
Eric
Scholarly: Black Greek-letter Organizations 
Victimology, Personality, and Hazing: A Study of Black Greek-letter Organizations
Gregory S. Parks, Shayne E. Jones, & Matthew W. Hughey
36 North Carolina Central University Law Review 16
Year published: 2014
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The Psychology and Law of Hazing Consent
Gregory S. Parks & Tiffany Southerland
__ Marquette L. Rev. 101
Year published: 2014
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The Great Divide: Black Fraternal Ideals and Reality
Gregory S. Parks, Matthew W. Hughey, & Rodney T. Cohen
8 Sociology Compass 129
Year published: 2014
Follow to article
Belief, Truth, and Organizational Deviance
Gregory S. Parks, Shayne E. Jones, & Matthew W. Hughey
56 Howard Law Journal 201
Year published: 2013
Follow to article
Belford Vance Lawson, Jr.: Life of A Civil Rights Litigator
Gregory S. Parks
12 U. MD Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender & Class 1
Year published: 2013
Follow to article
Student Affairs Professionals, Black "Greek" Hazing, and University Civil Liability
Gregory S. Parks & Dorsey Spencer
31 College Student Affairs J. 125
Year published: 2013
Follow to article
Poetry as Evidence
Gregory S. Parks & Rashawn Ray
3 University of California Law Review 101
Year published: 2013
Follow to article
Black Fraternal Organizations: Systems, Secrecy, and Solace
Matthew W. Hughey and Gregory S. Parks
16 Journal of African American Studies 595
Year published: 2012
Follow to article
Social Networking and Leadership Accountability in (Quasi) Secret Organizations
Gregory S. Parks
2 Wake Forest L. Rev. Common Law 39
Year published: 2012
Follow to article
"18 Million Cracks": Gender's Role in the 2008 Presidential Campaign
Gregory S. Parks & Quinetta M. Roberson
17 William & Mary Journal of Women & the Law 321
Year published: 2011
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