Black Greek Gift
Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:27:15 +0000
It’s the closest thing to Armageddon that many Black Greeks have seen since Laurence Fishburne’s character, Dap, ran around the fictitious Mission College campus yelling, “Wake Up!” in the classic movie, School Daze. Stepping, a bastion of black Greek life, has just undergone a revolution, and some black folks are pretty ticked off about it.
It all started on Feb. 20 when Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority, a predominantly white sorority, entered the Sprite Step Off National Step Competition in Atlanta, and beat three National Pan-Hellenic Council sororities: Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta and Zeta Phi Beta, winning the $100,000 first prize. While many black Greeks gave the ZTAs their due, the blowback was immediate from a lot of angry black Greeks who couldn’t believe a white sorority could honestly beat black sororities.
The Sprite Step Off, broadcast on MTV2, distributed $1.5 million in prize money via regional competitions to winning step teams from around the country. With musical guests like Lupe Fiasco and Ludacris, this was the first national stepping competition to gain such widespread exposure, and the finals in Atlanta were highly anticipated.
And while the nine African-American fraternities and sororities signed a licensing agreement with Sprite, earning an estimated $75,000 per organization, there was nothing in their agreement that prevented a non-African-American fraternity or sorority from competing. Enter Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority from the University of Arkansas.
Immediately after word got out that Zeta Tau Alpha had won, Twitter and Facebook blew up with accusations that Sprite was biased in favor of the white sorority. Others claimed that it was a stunt for MTV2, which broadcasted the contest. Welcome to the Pledge Park Black Greek website.
You are currently viewing our community as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions, articles and access our other FREE features. By joining our free community you will have full access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload your own photos and access many other special features. Pledge Park is an uncensored no-holds-barred type of website that allows its members to speak freely and openly with very little moderation and no restrictions. The same type of conversations you would have if you were just hanging out with friends. Romantic relationships are built here. Friends are made. Businesses are created. This is a real family! However you should know that hanging out in an uncensored neighborhood like this, sometimes feelings get hurt. Well, that's life.
If you PLEDGED then you should be able to handle it. If you SKATED then this is probably not the place for you. MIP is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, pledge with us today!
If you have any problems with the MIP process or your account login, please contact contact the Dean of Pledges.
