Divine Nine Fraternity Leaders Issue Joint Statement Condemning Attacks on Black Women
Five NPHC fraternity presidents speak collectively as attacks on Black women escalate across federal policy and public discourse.
SSC News Desk | Social Storytellers Collective
The presidents of five historically Black fraternities have issued a rare joint statement through the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), publicly condemning what they describe as a pattern of escalating attacks on Black women and calling for greater political engagement and institutional support.
Dated June 20, 2026, the statement was signed by the leaders of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. — organizations that together represent nearly one million members.
Opening with a 1962 quote from Malcolm X — “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman” — the statement argues that Black women have faced compounding institutional pressure since January 2025. It cites federal job cuts the authors say have disproportionately affected Black women, coordinated efforts to restrict educational opportunity and healthcare access, and what they characterize as a deliberate campaign to dehumanize Black women in public discourse.
The fraternity leaders specifically referenced attacks aimed at former First Lady Michelle Obama and called on Donald Trump to denounce those statements. They also urged members to press elected officials in Congress to do the same.
Beyond electoral politics, the statement framed support for Black women as a matter of organizational obligation. The authors noted that the NPHC Council of Presidents works in close partnership with Black women leaders across the Divine Nine and recognized the contributions of Dr. Stacie NC Grant of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Danette Anthony Reed of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Cheryl Turner of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and Marcia Harris of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.
The statement also called on chapters nationwide to remain mobilized during the election season and to actively support policies protecting access to quality healthcare and strengthening safeguards against domestic violence.
It closed with an unusually direct appeal: “ENOUGH. We will not allow this pattern to continue.”
Joint statements from the presidents of the Divine Nine fraternities are relatively uncommon and carry considerable symbolic weight — these are organizations whose combined membership spans generations of Black civic, professional, and political life. Their decision to speak collectively signals that Black Greek-letter organizations are no longer content to function solely as social and service institutions. They are asserting a role as public institutions prepared to take collective positions on questions of representation, policy, and political culture — and making the argument that the health of those institutions is inseparable from the wellbeing of Black women.
