Acknowledging the Past and the Present: Reckoning with Racism in Predominantly White Fraternities and Sororities
Presenter(s)
Jess Seabolt
Files
Description
Predominantly White fraternities and sororities enjoy the past and present spoils of leadership, community, and scholarship while also holding onto past and present histories of racism and exclusion. As these organizations compile and explore such instances of racism, attention can be paid to their current constituents and their understanding and meaning-making of histories and contemporary instances of racism. This project seeks to address the following questions: (1) To what extent do current members of predominantly White fraternities and sororities’ understand racist pasts and presents, and how does that affect the meaning of their involvement? (2) How would they integrate such information into member education? I used qualitative research interviews with current members of predominantly White fraternities and sororities at various institutions. The results articulate meaning-making of the participating members and allow members to think critically about racism with regards to the fraternity/sorority community. This study has implications for better involving general membership in difficult conversations and acknowledging these organizations’ pasts to inform future work.
Publication Date
4-22-2021
Project Designation
Graduate Research
Primary Advisor
Graham F. Hunter
Primary Advisor's Department
Counselor Education
Keywords
Stander Symposium project, student affairs, School of Education and Health Sciences
Recommended Citation
"Acknowledging the Past and the Present: Reckoning with Racism in Predominantly White Fraternities and Sororities" (2021). Stander Symposium Projects. 2314.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/stander_posters/2314
