By Laura D. Reid Singing along to “can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street,” was a rite of childhood and watching the street’s...
Dame Mary Eugenia Charles, Dominica’s first female prime minister, served from 1980 to 1995, playing a significant role in shaping the island’s political landscape during a...
Did you know that Alpha Kappa Alpha founder Lucy Diggs Slowe was the first African American woman to win a major sports title? Lucy Diggs Slowe...
Did you know that the first Black Major League Umpire Emmett Ashford was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi? Ashford crossed through the Upsilon Chapter of...
Time for another blast from the past! This time we have collected a list of HBCU women’s sports teams and athletic groups from the early 1900s....
August 20th, 2020 celebrates 100 years since the 19th Amendment, which prohibited denying suffrage to anyone on the basis of sex, was ratified and adopted into...
This article is the first part of a two-article series highlighting Black Greek life in the Midwest. The Midwest is a critical site for understanding the...
Did you know that Hattie McDaniel, the first African American to win an Oscar was a member of Sigma Gamma Rho? It is true! Hattie McDaniel...
Were you aware that Anne Gamble Kennedy was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha? Kennedy pledged the Pi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. at...
Did you know that a Delta was crowned Miss America in 2004? Ericka Dunlap pledged the Mu Iota Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta. Ericka Dunlap is...
Did you know that military pioneer Daniel James Jr. was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi? General James pledged the Nashville Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha...
Did you know that Orlando’s first female Chief of Police, Congresswoman Val Demings, is a member of Delta Sigma Theta? Demings was initiated into the Orlando...
Did you know that United States military pioneer Wesley Brown was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha? Brown pledged the Sigma Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha...
Did you know that Robert Morton Duncan was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi? Duncan is a Spring 1946 initiate of the Zeta Chapter of Kappa...
Did you know that the first African American to be elected to United States Congress as a Democrat was a Sigma? During his time at Columbia...
Did you know that Olympic gold medalist Lillie Leatherwood is a member of Zeta Phi Beta? Leatherwood was initiated into the Iota Theta Chapter of Zeta...
Did you know that Ethel L. Payne, known to many as the “First Lady of Black Press,” was an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority,...
Did you know that 3x Olympic gold medalist, Carmelita Jeter is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho? Carmelita Jeter is an African American sprinter who specialized...
Did you know that the late 70s lineup of the iconic Motown singing group “The Temptations” were members of Phi Beta Sigma? Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin,...
Did you know that Samuel Pierce, the first African American Fortune 500 company board member was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha? Pierce pledged the Alpha...
Did you know that Edith Sampson, the first woman to receive a law degree from Loyola University was a member of Zeta Phi Beta? Sampson was...
Did you know that actress/vocalist Etta Moten Barnett was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha? Barnett pledged the Delta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc....
Did you know that Malvin Russell Goode, United Nations correspondent was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha? Goode pledged the Omicron Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha...
Did you know that the first African American woman to practice law before the United States Supreme Court was a member of Zeta Phi Beta? Violette...
Beautiful Black fraternity and sorority couples have existed over 100 years so let’s celebrate their love. We’ve compiled a list of some of the prominent D9...
While searching through online newspaper archives we came across the story of a man named Jack Campbell who claimed to be the last slave auctioneer alive...
Did you know that Atlanta’s first Black millionaire was a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha? In December of 1924, during Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity’s 17th General...
In the summer of 1934 Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority initiated their “Summer School for Rural Teachers” in rural Lexington, Mississippi. The program was intended to improve...
Did you know that most of Kappa Alpha Psi’s founders served in the US military during WWI? It’s true. Of the ten men who founded the...
By Lois G. Russell/ASU Two employees in Alabama State University’s Physical Plant had no idea that they would be a part of history when they came...
The brothers of Phi Beta Sigma are doing their part to help the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter(NAPRPP) Museum with COVID-19 relief funds. The museum, which...
Most of us were taught about Lewis and Clark’s expedition across North America in US History class. We hear about Sacagawea, the difficulty of the terrain,...
The following is a speech given by Frederick Douglass on July 5th, 1852. He was initially asked to give the speech when the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery...
In June of 1924 the Eta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, at this time a mixed chapter composed of both undergraduate and graduate members from New...
The brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi take their mission of “Achievement in Every Field of Human Endeavor” to heart especially when it comes to the field...
It was just announced that the brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. have elected Reuben Shelton III as their fraternity’s 34th Grand Polemarch, the highest...
Did you know that the founder of the The Chicago Defender and the Bud Billiken Parade was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.? It’s true. Robert Sengstacke...
Many Americans winced when they heard Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand use the expression, “sold down the river” during the second night of the Democratic Debate. Why?...
The first black student to ever enroll at the University of Alabama, Autherine Lucy Foster, was presented an honorary doctoral degree on Friday. Foster, a member...
It was just announced that the oldest living descendant of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.’s five founding members was inducted into the sorority. Wynona Kidd, the 95-year-old...
In the 1940s, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity sought to further address the educational, economic, political, and social needs of black Americans. News of the fraternity’s exploits...
News spread quickly that American comic book writer, editor, and publisher, Stan Lee had passed away yesterday at the age of 95. He was the creator...
Did you know that Wilbert McClure, the light middleweight gold medal champion of the 1960 Olympic Summer Games is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi? Wilbert...
On September 5, 1963 James Baldwin and Malcolm X went head to head in a debate about Black identity in the United States. Take a listen...
Did you know that the first Black woman neurosurgeon in the United States is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.? In 1981 at the...
The stories of senior members of Black fraternities and sororities are amazing to hear. In 1942, Victor Roberts was one of the charter members of the...
In 1963, more than a dozen African-American girls, between the ages of 12-15, were arrested and locked in a dilapidated stockade for two months without charges....
The stories of senior members of Black fraternities and sororities are amazing to hear. In 2010, Hanief Saterfield shot an interview with Franklin Henderson for the 1911 Project...
Did you know that Vonetta Flowers, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc., is the first Black person to ever win a gold medal in the...
Many know that the FBI wiretapped Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1960s, but have you ever seen the letters that they sent him threatening him...
The following photograph depicts the Sorors of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. of New Orleans, as they gather to receive and regale the famous contralto and AKA...
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., was founded on January 9th, 1914. A lot of things have happened in the world since 1914 and to put everything in...
When Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity Inc., was founded in 1911 the racial landscape of the United States was much different than it is now. “In The...
American civil rights attorney, the first woman to be appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, and the 14th National President of Delta Sigma...
Did you know that Malcolm X’s wife Dr. Betty Shabazz was a member of Delta Sigma Theta? It is true! Dr. Betty Shabazz, widow of slain...
The brothers of Iota Phi Theta know it, but many outside of their great fraternity don’t know that one of the fraternity’s founders just so happens...
If you want to know about manliness, hard work and grit, look no further than Alpha Phi Alpha’s very own, Woody Strode. Strode was a college...
HBCUs have a long and strong history of athletic programs. For all of you history lovers and football buffs out there we have compiled a list...
On Saturday, Dick Gregory, a pioneering force of comedy in the 1960s who later became an iconic social and political activist died of heart failure at...
Did you know that in the 1850’s a Louisiana scientist claimed to have found a disease called drapetomania which made slaves run away from their masters?...
Did you know that the founding father of the latino-based fraternity Sigma Lambda Beta just so happens to be a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.? The...
Sports teams were one of the ways that Black fraternities showed their influence on college campuses and in the community in the 1910s, 1920s, 1930s and...
It is very rare to find any video relating to Black greek life before the 1980s but boy do we have something for you. We have...
We have compiled a list of 28 rare pictures of what pledging a Black Greek fraternity/sorority looked like back in the day. We feel that these...
In September of 1848, Frederick Douglass wrote an open letter to Thomas Auld — the man who, until a decade previous, had been Douglas’ slave master before...
Written by Laura D. Reid (@thisisldr) When former President Barack Obama ran his 2008 presidential campaign utilizing multi-racial coalitions, he took a page out of Tom...
By Laura D. Reid When Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Kamala Harris became Senator-Elect in California this month, she walked through a glass ceiling that had previously been...
You’ve definitely heard the story of how Ruby Bridges desegregated the New Orleans school system in 1960 at the age of 6. For many young people...
Indiana University Bloomington just released the following press release about honoring their university’s long history of Black fraternities and sororities by dedicating plots to them on...
Did you know that the first white member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., was a freedom rider who was hunted by the KKK for working...
Dorothy Height has been dubbed the “Godmother of Civil Rights” by Barack Obama, has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal...
Alpha Kappa Alpha has made history again. The sorority which is the oldest Greek-letter organization established in America by Black college women, has become the first not-for-profit...
Now this is something everyone needs to see! In 2011, Rainforest Films produced a television documentary for BET about the story of Dr. Martin Luther King,...
Civil Rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is undoubtedly one of the most renowned Alphas of all time. Many know that King was an Alpha...
If you are a member of the African-American community you have definitely heard the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing” sang at churches, political events, HBCUs and...
Author, Zora Neale Hurston, was born 126 years ago today, on Jan. 7, 1891 and members of Black fraternities and sororities are celebrating her. Zora pledged...
He was an amazing inventor, botanist and scientist in the early 1900s and is know for Carver developing hundreds of products using the peanut, sweet potatoes and...
Members of Kappa Alpha Psi have served in every conflict since World War I. Today, Kappas are in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast...
Time for another history lesson! We at WatchTheYard.com just came across this short documentary on the musical traditions and recollections of eight retired African-American railroad track...
It is with great regret that we inform you that Brother Albert C. Spurlock (Beta Chapter 1933) of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. passed away on 2/4/15...
The brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi had a very strong presence among the ranks of Tuskeegee Airmen who served as the first African-American military aviators in the...
Did you know that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the religious group Nation of Islam (NOI) once was on line to pledge Omega...
While shadows of colorism still exist within the culture of African-American fraternities and sororities in the United States, there was a point in which it was blatantly...
Did you know that Martin Luther King Jr. was a big Star Trek fan and that in the 1960s he personally convinced Nichelle Nichols, the African-American...
Yahoo just created a documentary on hymn lining, the disappearing art of African-American singing which dates back to slavery in the American South. For the mini-documentary...
Back in the day, the whole campus knew you were online when you started pledging. We at WatchTheYard.com have scoured the internet and found 10 rare...
The Nupes and the Deltas have always had a special connection and we have a proof! While looking through the State Historical Society of Iowa’s records,...
In honor of Omega Psi Phi, we have created the following list of rare pictures of Lampados Pledge Club members from back in the day when...
Thursday January 28th, 2016 marks the 30th anniversary of the Challenger space shuttle exploding in 1986 just 73 seconds after taking off over Cape Canaveral for its...
Today we celebrate the 72 birthday of American political activist, scholar, and author, Angela Davis (born January 26, 1944). Angela emerged as a prominent counterculture activist...
Time for another great piece of history! We at WatchTheYard.com have stumbled upon a letter from the brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi’s Beta Lambda Chapter to...
Did you know that all of the members of The Temptations are members of Phi Beta Sigma? We were just submitted this picture of the Motown...
Today the NPHC world celebrates Sigma Gamma Rho’s Founders’ Day so we at WatchTheYard.com thought it would be great to make a list of “10 Famous SGRhos.”...
Did you know that Alpha Phi Alpha crossed its first non-Black member in 1946? His name was Bro. Dr. Bernard Levin, and he was the first...
Did you know that many major universities in the United States including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, Rutgers, Williams and the University of North Carolina have deep...
James Baldwin was truly one of the greatest of his time. Check out this short clip of Baldwin on Dick Cavett, explaining institutional racism to people...
Did you know that W.E.B. Du Bois’ daughter, Nina Yolande Du Bois Williams (1900-1961), was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.? We at WatchTheYard.com...
Time for a quick look back into the past! Check out this video of Muhammed Ali responding to a woman who called him “arrogant” on television...
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of Alpha Phi Alpha’s most renowned members. We at WatchTheYard.com have obtained a photograph of his financial membership...
1970’s Deltas did not play and when it came to hair … these ladies were on point! Click on the arrows below to see 15 pictures...
WatchTheYard.com was just submitted this rare photograph from John F Kennedy’s days as a US senator in the 1960s. The photo was taken at Howard University...
The City Council in Ithaca, New York has approved the house that Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. started in as a historic landmark. Earlier in February,...
The women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., know how to support their members. On Wednesday, the Senate hearing room where sorority sister, Loretta Lynch was...
This may be the most well-rounded documentary about Black greekdom that exists! And who is it about? The women of Delta Sigma Theta! In 2006, Derek...
Time for some history! Check out this short documentary about how Sigma Gamma Rho was founded in Indiana during the ’20s where the Ku Klux Klan...
Check out this slideshow of Sigmas back in the day! Share this slideshow with your friends on social media and give them a look back into...