By Aswad Walker | Houston Defender | Word In Black
This post was originally published on Defender Network
(WIB) – Black Greek organizations have been celebrated by some and criticized by others. But whatever side of that conversation you fall on, there’s no denying that these organizations — members of the Divine Nine — have produced some incredible individuals who have been counted as some of the greats in their fields.
Here, we focus on members of note from three Black frats: Omega Psi Phi, Alpha Phi Alpha, and Iota Phi Theta.
OMEGA PSI PHI
Reverend Jesse Jackson, political activist
Tom Joyner, radio personality
Joe Torry, comedian, actor
Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer
Rickey Smiley, comedian
Langston Hughes, poet
Steve Harvey, comedian, TV host
Bill Cosby, comedian, actor
Steve McNair, NFL player
Count Basie, composer, band leader
Roy Wilkins, NAACP leader
Benjamin Hooks, lawyer, judge, activist, NAACP leader
ALPHA PHI ALPHA
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights leader, minister
Jesse Owens, Olympic / Track & Field legend
Thurgood Marshall, Supreme Court justice
Dr. Cornel West, scholar
Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, Intellectual, race leader
Donny Hathaway, singer, musician, composer
Hill Harper, actor, US Senate candidate
Dick Gregory, activist, comedian
Stuart Scott, sports journalist
Roland Martin, journalist, owner Black Star Network
Duke Ellington, composer, band leader
Lionel Richie, singer, composer
IOTA PHI THETA
Terrence C. Carson, actor (Living Single)
Spencer Christian, former meteorologist for Good Morning America
Mike City, music producer
Dezi Arnez Hines II, actor
Harry C. Alford, co-founder and former president/CEO, National Black Chamber of Commerce
Bobby Rush, Black Panther, US Congressman
Bishop Talbert W. Swan, II, pastor, activist, author
Major General W. Montague Winfield, retired US Army general
Dr. Stephen Ray, president, Chicago Theological Seminary
Tommie Frazier, University of Nebraska football legend
Elvin Hayes, NBA Hall of Famer
Calvin Murphy, NBA Hall of Famer