Historically Black frat Alpha Phi Alpha moves to ban trans members

Alpha Phi Alpha, the oldest historically Black fraternity in the U.S., has reportedly moved to ban transgender members, a decision that has caused a rift between the older members that make up the organization’s national leadership and its younger general body and collegiate and alumni chapter leadership, according to GLAAD.

Earlier this month, the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization reported that delegates representing at least 706 active chapters at Alpha Phi Alpha’s Constitutional Convention in Chicago July 10–14 would consider amendments and changes to its bylaws, one of which add a definition of “male” that excludes trans people to the fraternity’s operating procedures.

Related:

Cop kills Lyft driver because he thought he was part of a “gay fraternity”

He said voices in his head told him the Lyft driver was going to kidnap him.

On July 15, a day after the convention concluded, GLAAD reported that delegates had “overwhelmingly” voted in favor of the proposed change, which now faces voting and approval by individual chapters and the fraternity’s general body.

Stay connected to your community

Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter.

Daily

Weekly

Good News

Alpha Phi Alpha is not the first historically Black fraternity to approve such a ban. In 2017, Phi Beta Sigma, which along with Alpha Phi Alpha is one of the nine historically Black Greek-letter organizations of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, known collectively as the Divine Nine, approved a clause in its constitution and bylaws stating that: “Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. is an exclusively male organization. Its membership is limited to natural-born males who identify as such.”

The clause was approved a year after Phi Beta Sigma accepted its first transgender member, and the individual’s membership was later rescinded.

Alpha Phi Alpha’s trans ban also reportedly follows a March letter written by 16 members urging the organization’s national and regional leadership to “express public support for Alphas and men who are part of the GBTQ+ communities during Pride month and World AIDS Day,” to adopt more inclusive language in its official documents, and to define membership as being for “​​any cisgender man, transgender man, and/or nonbinary student who identifies with upholding the ‘manly deed’ principles of the fraternity.”

Several Alpha Phi Alpha members blasted the move ahead of its approval last week. “Their decision to alienate trans and nonbinary people from membership is reactionary, asinine, and unbecoming of an organization with a professed commitment to human rights,” Deandre Miles-Hercules, an Alpha member who uses they/them pronouns told GLAAD. “It’s ludicrous to be the fraternity of Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King Jr. and come up with a policy that bans trans people.”

“It’s not surprising to me that there are transphobic sentiments within the organization — because I’ve experienced it,” Miles-Hercules added. “But it is surprising that the organizational leadership would move forward with attempting to enshrine it in organization policy in the year 2024. That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“Trans men are men,” one Philadelphia-based member said. “I just feel like at the end of the day, if you identify as a man and you want to be in fellowship with other men, then you should be allowed to. It doesn’t sit well with me that a white man can be a member of Alpha, this historic Black institution, with no problem, but we’re going to tell Black trans men that they can’t. We’ve got all types of men in this fraternity, so to me, that’s how I look at it. It’s just another type of man.”

On Monday, the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) condemned the move.

“These proposed policies are not only discriminatory and exclusionary but also an infringement on the basic human rights of those who simply want the freedom to be who they are,” NBJC CEO and executive director Dr. David J. Johns said in a statement.

Noting Phi Beta Sigma 2017 policy, Johns wrote that both fraternities’ efforts at trans exclusion fly in the face of their history of advocating for civil rights and social justice. “By seeking to exclude transgender people, these fraternities are turning their backs on the very principles of brotherhood and inclusivity that they were founded upon and are a betrayal of the legacy of activism and leadership that these organizations have upheld for over a century,” Johns wrote.

“Such policies and exclusionary practices perpetuate harmful stereotypes and further marginalize individuals who already face significant barriers and discrimination in society, and send a dangerous message that it is acceptable to ostracize and discriminate against individuals based on their gender identity,” he continued. “These politics and practices are tools of white supremacy and the white racial actors who elect to do their bidding. Our transgender siblings deserve the same respect, dignity, and opportunities as non-trans members of our community.”

Johns and the NBJC called on both Alpha Phi Alpha and Phi Beta Sigma to reject the trans bans and on the Divine Nine “to honor enduring commitments to uplift and empower our beautifully diverse community.”

“It is imperative that our organizations lead by example, embracing diversity and standing united in the fight against any form of discrimination and hate,” Johns wrote.

As The Guardian noted, it remains unclear how Alpha Phi Alpha’s trans ban will be enforced if approved, how many members it will affect, and whether it will apply only to new members.

Alpha Phi Alpha’s leadership has not commented on the proposed trans ban, with director of communications Eric Webb telling The Guardian Tuesday, “We have no comment.”

Don't forget to share: