6 minute read
SISTER PROFILE: Simone Brooks
At the Head of the Table
After serving as Chapter President in 2019, Simone Brooks, Lambda Delta–Rutgers University, was excited to continue her Greek service as part of the institution’s Panhellenic recruitment team. Her team’s intentionality and hard work paid off, leading to Rutgers’ largest formal recruitment with more than 600 potential new members. However, their success also revealed a significant flaw in the university’s Greek system— not one of the 600 women who had signed up for recruitment identified as a Black woman.
“It was an interesting position to be in. One minute we were celebrating and the next we were questioning all the work we had done,” Simone said.
Simone is familiar with the reasons that might prevent women of color from joining a sorority, having once also felt sorority life was not for her. Simone shared her experience as a Black woman in a predominantly white organization in an address entitled “A Seat at the Table: It’s Not Black and White Anymore” at the National Panhellenic Council’s College Panhellenic Academy meeting this past January.
“I was most nervous about joining Greek Life because I had no idea what to expect, except from what I saw in the media. When I looked at chapters' social media and websites, I felt like I didn't see anyone that looked like me,” Simone said. “Additionally, I felt like the only place I could find sisterhood was in an NPHC "Divine 9" sorority."
Still, Simone wanted to be part of something bigger, and at the time she went through recruitment, there were no active NPHC sororities on campus. "In some ways, joining an NPC group as Black woman almost felt like turning my back on my own identity. For some reason, it just felt like being in an NPC chapter would mean hiding my Blackness as much as possible," she said. "Obviously, years later, I know the exact opposite to be true. But I do know that the hesitancies and concerns that women have about joining a chapter are additionally layered when you are a Black woman.”
To address the inequities in Greek Life at Rutgers, Simone mentioned in passing that she should start a coalition, an alliance dedicated to helping members of color envision themselves as a part of the Panhellenic experience. Her Panhellenic advisor, who happened to be Amy Vojta, Alpha Kappa–Bowling Green State University, encouraged her to pursue the idea.
Through the Coalition for Women of Color, Simone and Rutgers University Panhellenic are celebrating diversity and uniting women of color and their allies in a shared mission of equity and representation in Greek Life. The CWC—which kicked off last spring— began at both a challenging and opportune moment in our national and global history.
The organization’s purpose and resolve were strengthened after George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis last May and the protests that followed it.
“We seized the moment and CWC became not only a space for BIPOC members, but also a space for white counterparts to just listen— and to do so intentionally,” Simone said. The CWC became a necessary outlet for talking about injustice and a space for those seeking ways to stay connected while forced apart due to the pandemic.
While CWC has been unable to have an in-person meeting, the organization has successfully mobilized students through virtual events and online social media platforms. The CWC Instagram page regularly publishes profiles that highlight members of color within Rutgers Greek Life and offers resources for helping Panhellenic members become better allies.
Though it has been challenging to start an organization and keep momentum during Rutgers’s continued campus closure, Simone and the CWC remain energized by the positive response from the Greek community and focused on the CWC’s mission.
“The CWC has been the bridge to help Panhellenic members who want to be a part of the conversation outside of our community and who are ready to do the work within to address diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Simone said.
Simone with her fellow Lambda Delta Executive Council Officers in 2019.
Now a Rutgers alumna, Simone has taken her activism from the local to the international level as a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee for the Fraternity’s Volunteer Service Team. It’s work Simone finds simultaneously exhausting and gratifying.
“Doing DEI work as a marginalized identity is inconsistent, in fulfillment and purpose,” Simone said. “You’ll find yourself disappointed and in doubt, but so fulfilled and understood. This experience has allowed me to make connections with so many phenomenal Alpha Gamsoutside my chapter who really help push me when I don’t feel like I have any strength left to do this important work.”
Strengthened by the support of her Alpha Gam and Panhellenic community, Simone has found the confidence and courage to share her story and advocate for a greater level of diversity and equity within an organization that she loves.
“I am one of Alpha Gam's biggest fans, but I also want to be one of our biggest challengers. If you are not challenging the organization, then how much do you really care?” Simone said.
Simone hopes to inspire other Alpha Gams to find their voice and the courage to begin addressing inequities in fraternity/sorority life at their own institutions or within other organizations that are meaningful to them.
“If there is a metaphorical room you just can’t seem to get into or a table where conversations need to be happening, find a way to get into that room at the table,” Simone said. “Accounting for systemic oppression, don’t give up just because your fists aren’t breaking through the door. Turn around and make your own table and then figure out how to move that table into the room you want to be in.”
Learn more about Rutgers' CWC on Instagram @rucoalitionforwomenofcolor.
Simone recently co-founded Stories of Audacity alongside Kamryn Kurtzner Fraleigh, Zeta Nu–Alma College. In addition to consulting and coaching, Stories of Audacity educates collegiate members of fraternities and sororities on ways to engage in the work of antioppression and strategic disruption thorugh storytelling.
“The conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion has carried an immense amount of buzz and performative-ness,’” said Simone. “With Stories of Audacity, we are excited to push the needle and help grow communities to—not just talk about DE&I, but—have the opportunity to hear how the work has existed within our marginalized experiences since the beginning!”
Simone refers to the ideation and founding of Stories of Audacity with Kamryn as serendipitous.
“Speaking at conferences and workshops and consulting with a myriad of organizations and groups, I have been honored to witness authentic impact and reform," said Simone. "Too often, I invalidated my experiences and perspectives as a Black woman because I believed there wasn't a world where these ideas could live beyond my head. Meeting Kamryn and exchanging our stories, struggles, and successes, reinforced the need to share our stories and the stories of others.”
Learn more about their services, read the stories they share and join the coversation at ® instagram.com/ StoriesOfAudacity.
By Beth Hartnett Jager, Delta Tau– Chapman University. Beth channels her inner Lois Lane for several news outlets in southern California. When not writing, she enjoys being a mom to daughter, Aurora, and serving as a board member for the Orange County Alumnae Chapter. Beth is the Associate Director of Institutional Philanthropy and Sponsored Research at Claremont McKenna College.
