TruthClinic.com

Stepping is a rhythmic dance style, popularized by fraternities and sororities of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), which uses hand claps, foot stomps and shouts to create an infectious beat as the steppers perform elaborately synchronized precision routines that incorporate complex military, cheerleading and drill-team movements.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council is made up of nine historically Black Greek letter organizations (BGLOs) that are often referred to as “The Divine Nine.” Established on May 10, 1930 at Howard University, Washington, D.C. NPHC had five charter members: Omega Psi Phi and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternities, and Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta and Zeta Phi Beta Sororities.  In 1931, Alpha Phi Alpha and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternities joined the Council.  Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority joined in 1937 and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity completed the list of member organizations in 1997.

While there is some debate on the origin of stepping it is generally believed that the black Greeks started using it around the mid 1960’s as part of their crossing over celebration when bringing new members into the organizations.  Once the local sororities and fraternities began to show off their step moves the competitive aspects of stepping began to take root and by the 1990s the competitions had moved beyond the campus and large sponsors began to host step events.

When the Sprite Step Off tournament kicked of in September 2009 it was touted as the largest Greek step competition ever.  Sprite announced that it had partnered with the nine organizations of the National Pan-Hellenic Council to launch a dynamic multicultural competition featuring 30 events in over 20 cities in which step teams from undergraduate fraternities and sororities from all across the country could compete for a share of a $1.5 million prize pool; the largest in the history of stepping competition.

Stepping had finally become big time with big money. Qualifying rounds were held in various cities with the Grand National finals hosted in the back yard of Black Greekdom, Atlanta, Georgia.

All went well during the Sprite 2010 Step Off finals until Zeta Tau Alpha, the lone white team in the competition, was declared the winning sorority and received the grand prize of $100,000.

The Zeta Tau Alpha team, comprised of nine white females, clad in matrix like black trench coats, dark shades and black boots came out and turned on the capacity crowd with eight minutes of awesome stepping, precision routines, and an over the top finale.  The predominately black audience gave them a standing ovation as they exited the stage.

However, the audience erupted in boo’s when Zeta was awarded the top prize.  This seemed odd since they had given the Zeta team the loudest applause and most boisterous cheers of the night for their mesmerizing Matrix inspired performance.

Hate-filled comments and race based dialogue filled the internet sites following the competition with nonsense ranting about cultural theft, the inferiority of Zeta’s performance, vote rigging, and the need for black only contests.

The troubling part of this unwarranted ending to the step contest is the message being sent that blacks have no qualms against perpetrating the same discriminatory practices that they fought so hard to eliminate.  And to make the point even stronger this incident occurred in Atlanta the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Sprite, as the sponsoring organization, made the wrong decision to capitulate to the pressure.  Five days after the contest they announced that because of a scoring discrepancy in the sorority results, the second-place winners, Tau Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. from Indiana University, would be recognized as co-winners and awarded the same $100,000 prize as Zeta Tau Alpha.  This is disingenuous and in direct opposition to the Step Off rules that state the decision of the judges is final.  No proof of a discrepancy and no comment from the judges were offered.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council needs to seriously evaluate who is in control.  There is an age old rule that he who has the gold makes the rules.  In essence you can’t sell your heritage/traditions and control them at the same time.  Taking Sprite’s money opens the door to the ego busting situation of having strangers come into your house and beat you at your own game.

Ironically, the Zeta team got into stepping because of a unity outreach program sponsored by the Alpha Kappa Alpha black sorority at the University of Arkansas some 15 years ago.  Zeta took it seriously, worked hard, learned a variety of steps and the history of stepping and began to enter competitions.  They qualified at every level for the Sprite Step Off.  Is this backlash to be their reward for their diligence?

After watching the videos of both ZETA and AKA performances any objective observer would come to the conclusion that both teams were outstanding.  Either team could have been declared the winner.  But in any competition the judges make the decision.  In this case they selected ZETA who not only gave an outstanding performance but showed a total understanding of the art form.

In that light the black Greeks should congratulate the girls of Zeta Tau Alpha and strive to improve their own routine for the next competition. Real champions also act like champions.  Whining and complaining sends the wrong message about who and what black Greeks are.

James W. Breedlove

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