Motivations and Rewards for Membership in a Historically Black Sorority at a Predominantly White Institution
Open AccessHistorically black sororities have existed at American institutions of higher education since the early 1900s (Kimbrough 2003). Initially established because black students were prohibited from joining the large and powerful white Greek-letter system, historically black sororities are now operating in a different social environment in which they were founded (Kimbrough 2003). Public support for the characterizations of "colorblind" and "post-racial" to describe contemporary society complicates the continuing missions of single-race groups such as historically black sororities (McClure 2006). This thesis seeks to help reveal the roles of historically black sororities on contemporary college campuses by examining the motivations black female students have for seeking membership and the ways in which they feel they benefit from membership. This thesis utilizes in-depth interviews with sorority members at a predominantly white institution, and then compares them to their counterparts at a predominantly black institution, to help determine whether the racial composition of their educational environment impacts their experiences of membership.
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