Historic Sorority Bans Transgender Women

As historically Black colleges and universities make LGBTQ-positive inroads, a sorority is committed to sticking with the past.

Zeta Phi Beta, which has more than 100,000 members and over 800 chapters around the globe, enacted a policy earlier this year that states an "individual must be a cisgender woman" to join, according to the Washington Blade.

A copy of the sorority's "diversity statement" was obtained by the Blade, which tried unsuccessfully to reach sorority officials for comment.

Zeta Phi Beta has a long history; it was founded in 1920 at Washington, D.C.'s Howard University and quickly established itself among the nation's HBCUs. The sorority maintains a mission to effect "positive change" and "foster a greater sense of unity among its members," according the its website.

While few sororities and fraternities have established policies welcoming trans members, there are also few that specifically bar such individuals. Meanwhile, Atlanta's Morehouse University, a prominent all-male HBCU, announced this month that it is now admitting openly transgender students.