Alpha Phi Alpha's transgender ban is a step backward in protecting 'masculinity'

Recently, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, affectionally known as the Divine Nine of Black fraternities and sororities, passed a transgender member ban.

There may not be anything more quintessentially Alpha than this decision.

Presented to the brotherhood in May and passed in July, the ban is a set of definitions by mostly cisgender heterosexual men defining what maleness is to them. This ban is disappointing, tiring, and isolating.

From its legacy ofcolorism tohomophobia, the Alphas have perpetuated a separation from the larger Black community. This transgender member ban is part of a long history of respectability and proximity to keep the Black elite as close to white American ideals as possible.

It is not lost on me that just last year, Alpha went viral for moving its 2025 general convention out of Florida after Governor Desantis passed an anti-DEI bill. It was a good statement move, but Alpha is aligning itself with these far-right ideals a year later. When you ask brothers who support the ban or are indifferent to the ban, they'll say, "We deserve a space for just us," or "I just don't want women in my organization," or "We must protect ourselves by having a clear definition."

Sadly, staunch Trump supporters and white Christian nationalists also use similar rhetoric.

Alpha and some of its transphobic members are helping the far right accelerate their agenda. As bell hooks put it, this ban exemplifies the "one-dimensional" idea of maleness. As a way to soften the blow of the ban, members will retort and say they support queer members in the organization, but at what cost? Alpha has never acknowledged Pride Month or its members within the LGBTQ+ community. How much more suppression will we endure to continue being mere marginal members of the fraternity?

As we do in the larger society, many of us find our own spaces within as we know larger brotherhood is not always a safe space. However, some queer Alphas used a narrow-minded view of maleness to support the transgender ban. Just like during our process of becoming Alphas, they found ways to morph themselves into fitting the mold of the fraternity into this constricted form of maleness.

Despite there being transgender and nonbinary members in our organizations, no Black fraternity or sorority has a truly gender-inclusive policy, especially for people who transition after initiation. Coming into your gender identity does not equate to wanting to stop affiliation with the organization. But stepping back from our organizations is usually a byproduct of little to no pro-inclusion policies. In a 2020 study, Sydney Epps found that transmasculine people in Black sororities felt isolated because of their gender identity. However, those surveyed overwhelmingly remained interested in being members of and doing the work of their sororities.

Creating a stable and safe space aligns more with what our founders wanted than isolating or ostracizing us. Fostering a truly inclusive space within our exclusive organizations would help to sustain them in the future.

But why the hesitancy to evolve? It is almost as if Alpha knows its positioning toward an inclusive environment would dilute its posturing toward white elites. Our own George Johnson is not only a best-selling author but is one of many fighting against nationwide book bans. Yet, Alpha has been remarkably silent in supporting its brother and equally silent in condemning these book bans. The objectives of our fraternity say we are "servants of all" and sing that we have a "love of all mankind." But it increasingly feels like we do not always love our own brothers, respect all Black women, and serve the entire Black community.

Alpha and other D9 organizations can turn this around. Still, I'm unsure we can maintain relevancy in an ever-changing black community. Aligning ourselves with values that ostracize our own brothers is, quite frankly, nasty work. As a queer Alpha, I stand with my fellow transgender and nonbinary members impacted by this ban once it is ratified later this year.

I joined Alpha as a symbolic lifetime commitment to serve the Black community. But now, I see that Alpha may have never intended to serve a lifetime commitment to us.

L. Cowan (he/they) is a learning specialist and scholar of Black educational studies. He has worked in education for over a decade and is currently completing his doctoral dissertation. They are also a seven-year life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

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