1st Edition
Diversity in Black Greek Letter Organizations Breaking the Line
Introduction: "Why Would You Do That?": Non-Black Members of Black Fraternities and Sororities
Chapter One: Brotherhood and Sisterhood: What Are Black Greek-Letter Organizations?
Chapter Two: "I’m Not Trying to Be You": Identity and Boundary Work
Chapter Three: On the Yard: Race on the College Campus
Chapter Four: Branded for Life: The Impact of Membership
Chapter Five (Conclusion): "I’m Not the First, and I Won’t Be the Last": Crossing the Line, Connecting the Past and Present
Methodological Appendix
Glossary
Biography
Wendy M. Laybourn is a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on the relationship between racial ideology, especially as evidenced through popular culture and raced institutions, and racial and ethnic identity. Wendy’s work has appeared in Ethnic and Racial Studies, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, Sociology Compass, and the Asian Pacific American Law Journal.
Devon R. Goss is a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the University of Connecticut. Her research examines, first, the color-line, particularly in relation to instances of boundary crossing in typically racialized institutions; and second, the impact of racialization in family formation and processes, through an examination of transracial adoption. Devon’s work has appeared in The Annals of the Academy of Political and Social Science, Sociology Compass, the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, and Symbolic Interaction.
Analyzing interview data from non-Black members of Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLO), Laybourn and Goss reveal that there remains much to be learned about integration and crossing the color-line. In this remarkable study, the authors examine what non-Black BGLO members can tell us about race, symbolic boundaries, cultural investments, systems of racial stratification, and allyship. Breaking the Line is an accessible, nuanced, and important piece of scholarship.
Robin R. Means Coleman is Professor of Communication and Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of MichiganMore than sixty years ago, noted sociologist Alfred McClung Lee published his seminal work on discrimination within collegiate fraternities. In that time, an important question has resounded: How is difference within Greek-letter organizations navigated? In their book, two up-and-coming sociologists--Wendy Laybourn and Devon Goss--answer this pressing question with aplomb and perspicacity. Their work promises to take the study of collegiate fraternities and sororities, and black Greek-letter organizations especially, to new heights.
Gregory S. Parks, J.D., Ph.D. is Associate Dean of Research, Public Engagement, & Faculty Development and Professor of Law, Wake Forest University School of Law
