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Juneteenth
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Pasadena Divine Nine celebrates By Luke Netzley
In celebration of Juneteenth, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, members of the Pasadena Divine Nine fraternities and sororities held a Greek Picnic on June 19 at Victory Park.
“Traditionally, our chapter has held our walk and picnic on Father’s Day, and Juneteenth falls on the same day as Father’s Day this year,” says Larry Quishenberry, basileus (president) of the Zeta Tau chapter of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. “I thought it would be a great opportunity to invite the other members of the Divine Nine to join us for the walk and expand our celebration. The invitation was well received by all, and here we are.”
The Juneteenth celebration brought together the nine historically Black Greek letter organizations that make up the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Collectively, these organizations are referred to as “The Divine Nine” and include the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, Zeta Phi Beta sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho sorority and Iota Phi Theta fraternity.
The picnic featured music, food for sale from Rodney’s Ribs food truck, a health walk, and booths by Black-owned businesses and Black authors. The Pasadena Police Department, Pasadena Fire Department and Pasadena Department of Public Health were also present for a meet and greet.
Dr. Khandi Reid, Bibliana Bovery, Neani Cobb-Phillips, Trudy Aldridge, Jackie Reid and Katherine Hunter-Blyden are alumni of Zeta Phi Beta, founded at Howard University in 1920.
Kieth D. Johnson, Dr. Ryeal Simms, chapter President Dr. Stephen Rice, and Ron Carter represented the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity at its booth during the Juneteenth celebration.
