Cultural Solidarity, Free Space, and African Consciousness in the Formation of the Black Fraternity

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes and broadens the discourse regarding the impact of culture and the emergence of the social movement by focusing on some of the links between culture and social movements. Drawing upon the idea of cycle of protests this work explains how African Americans were able to materialize, communicate, and ultimately sustain separate identities under antagonistic social conditions. Critical to the understanding of this work is the role the "free space" had in shaping the identity of both African Americans and the movement which occurred as a result of their attitudes. The free space can be described as a protected area, haven, or a small-scale setting which provides activist autonomy from dominant groups where they can nurture oppositional movement identities. This study is a multifaceted account of the Black Greek-letter organizations that explains the creation of these organizations within the Black community. There are four steps or levels which were examined in order to understand the rise or the establishment of the Black organization as a means of social protest. They are: 1) mediating factors or social grievances within a community, 2) the creation of the cultural free space, 3) the framing of the organization in relation to other social movements, 4) the personal orientation or cultural affiliation (African agency) of the organizations' members. Subsequently, this study analyzed how internal conflicts, hostile social and political environments, the creation of new organizations, and the dissemination of community grievances combine to create an atmosphere which allowed the African American community to create its own separate conscious identity. By dissecting the anatomy of the social movement and the interrelated patterns that define them one will be able to recognize and ultimately predict the rise of future social movements.