Disciplining Women: Alpha Kappa Alpha, Black Counterpublics, and the Cultural Politics of Black Sororities

Glossary

GLOSSARY BENEVOLENT ORGANIZATION Organizations that provide assistance to their and other communities in the name of mutual benefit and interest. BLACK GREEK-LETTER ORGANIZATIONS (BGLOS) Greek-letter organizations that are historically, not exclusively, African American or Black. The organizations developed out of specific historic and social arrangements, which mark them as cultural-, social-, and service-oriented fraternal apparatuses. CHAPTER Fraternities and sororities have individual chapters, which are designated in sequence by a letter of the Greek alphabet. A regional director and the national headquarters oversee chapters. CRACKING Verbal or nonverbal parody during step routines. CROSSING THE BURNING SANDS A secret and sacred (i.e., highly revered, with religious connotations) ceremony that takes place after initiation. DROPPING LINE Pledges who drop out of their pledge process. FOUNDERS Original members who began, chartered, and incorporated their fraternal organizations. FRATERNAL A social body of men or women, not necessarily Greek in its organizational structure, that convenes in the name of mutual cooperation and fellowship. FRATERNITY A social body of men that convenes in the name of brotherhood. 177 FREAKING A moment in step routines where an individual steps outside the synchronized movements to gain attention from a crowd. GREEK-LETTER ORGANIZATION A social body that uses the Greek alphabet and mythology as organizing principles. HAMBONING A choreographed movement performed during step routines that involves hand-slapping motions between hands, on thighs, and behind the back of the knees. HAZING Actions required of pledges by members of Greekletter organizations that do not have direct bearing upon the pledge’s contribution. Hazing often involves emotional and physical abuse. INCORPORATION OF GREEK-LETTER ORGANIZATIONS All nine African American Greek-letter organizations are nonprofit corporations. Each group thus includes “incorporated” at the end of its fraternal name. For example, AKA is referred to as Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. INITIATION A ceremony that pledges endure to become a member. IVY CENTER The headquarters of AKA. Its national magazine is named the Ivy Leaf. IVY LEAF One of AKA’s primary symbols, which for them represents the growth, strength, and endurance of members. IVY PLEDGE CLUB During the official pledge process, initiates were referred to as a “club of women” in the process of becoming an “ivy,” which is synonymous with an AKA. IVY PRIMER The pledge handbook given to initiates during official pledge processes. LINE OF INITIATES Pledges are referred to as a sequential line, wherein each person has a “line number.” The idea of having a line of pledges is taken from military lineups, wherein one stands at attention to take orders from those in a position of power. LINE SISTER/BROTHER Pledges refer to each other as such if they pledged at the same time. MUTUAL AID BENEFIT SOCIETY A social body organized to provide life insurance and benefits for members of its organizing body and its larger communities. 178 GLOSSARY OLD SCHOOL PLEDGERS Men and women in Black Greek-letter organizations who engage in post-1990 pledge rites. ON LINE The former pledge process. PADDLING Striking a pledge or member of a fraternal with a wooden paddle, often during pledging. Paddling is also referred to as “taking wood.” PLEDGES Potential fraternal initiates. PLEDGE SESSIONS A process wherein members and pledges convene to review the aims and objectives of their organization through tests and rites. PLEDGESHIP The duration that pledges go through to become a member. PLEDGING A process that men and women go through to become a member of a fraternal. This process is usually secret, and its intricacies are kept within the respective organizations . RUSH A series of parties or get-togethers wherein fraternals court potential members. SALUTING A ritualized greeting or verbal call done in Black Greek-letter organizations to other members. Saluting is often done during step performance. SANDS Members who cross the burning sands together. SECRET SOCIETY A social body of men or women that convenes in secret and uses rites, ritual, and symbols to create a collective identity and purpose. SOROR Members of Black sororities; a Black sister among members . SORORITY A social body of women that convenes in the name of sisterhood. STEPPING Choreographed dance and marching movements that involve chanting, signifying, and innuendo. TAKING WOOD See Paddling. TURN BACK NIGHT The night before initiation in Black fraternities and sororities; also known as “hell night” in White sororities and fraternities, wherein pledges are put through a series of difficult rites to weed out weaker pledges from...