Community History

Black Greek-letter organizations have a long and rich history both nationally and locally. So much so, that the National Pan Hellenic Council was founded on May 10th, 1930 at Howard University and incorporated under Illinois laws in 1937. The council which is an umbrella organization that houses all 9 organizations, commonly referred to as the "Divine Nine", was pivotal in the civil rights movement and many other national programs. The first intercollegiate black fraternity in the council was Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., founded December 4th, 1906, at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. However, at the University of Iowa, the first of the black Greek-lettered organizations to be chartered on campus was the Gamma Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. on March 7th, 1914.

Until 1919, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. was the only black Greek-lettered organization chartered on campus. In that year, eight women chartered the Delta Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. on April 4th, 1919. Before the 60s, only one other black Greek-lettered organization was chartered at the University of Iowa, the Alpha Theta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. in 1922). It wasn’t until 1969, with the chartering of the Epsilon Theta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. that we saw more black Greek-lettered organizations make their way to Iowa’s campus. These organizations provided a forum in which Black students could engage in current discourse, serve their communities, and instill leadership skills that would follow them for the rest of their lives. 

The other organizations on Iowa’s campus were chartered as follows: Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (1975); Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (1979); Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. (1980); and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. (1983). Currently, the University of Iowa is home to 4 of the 9 historically Black organizations.