Word: phi
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...black in his class, Ron Brown found himself rushed by the most prestigious fraternities on campus. It was a welcome embrace for the young man whose move from Harlem to rural Vermont had been, he recalls, "a pretty heavy transition." There was one problem: the fraternity he chose, Sigma Phi Epsilon, like most others, had a racial restriction in its charter...
...about what it would mean for the fraternity. Brown said little, though he let it be known that he was unwilling to finesse the issue by accepting house privileges without full membership. Finally, the fraternity brothers rallied around and initiated him. As a result, the national headquarters of Sigma Phi revoked the chapter's charter. Middlebury responded by barring any fraternity with racial barriers. Eventually, all the college's fraternities repealed their exclusionary clauses...
Many of those involved in choosing a new party chairman say -- as did the frat brothers at Sigma Phi -- that they like Brown personally but worry about the effect his election would have on the party. "Ron is a great guy, talented, intelligent and articulate," says Senator John Breaux of Louisiana. "But I think he's the wrong person at the wrong time and the wrong symbol." Brown refers to this as his "but" problem. "My goal is to make it more difficult for people...
...Jordan went through a six-week initiation period to join a national black fraternity, Omega Psi Phi. Omega is the third oldest black fraternity in the country and has 700 chapters nationwide that coordinate social, political and business activities. Among its 80,000 initiates, Omega counts such notables as Jesse Jackson, N.A.A.C.P. director Benjamin Hooks and Philadelphia's Mayor Wilson Goode. "It is another sort of community for me," says Jordan. "It is an organization made up of men who want to give something back to society." An omega tattoo on the left side of Jordan's chest symbolizes...
Jordan does not see his support for Omega Psi Phi as detracting from his goal to be a role model for youngsters of all races. "I try to be seen as Michael Jordan the person, not as black or white," he says. "I guess I am a pioneer, and at some time I may come up against a racial barrier, but at least I have cleared...