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Rating: 
Summary: Justifying The Unjustifiable
Review: After my 2nd month on line, which included 1 month "underground," I one day woke up with an epiphany. As I changed the bandages on my ribs, I realized how absolutely stupid I'd have to be to ever want to turn to the people who inflicted that much violence on me and call them "Brother." I knew my history inside and out, I was loyal to a fault, and I still, in the name of "Brotherhood" had to endure whatever my line "brothers" endured at the hands of some pathetic individuals who called themselves "men." Fortunately for me, I dropped and never looked back. Today I'm a lawyer, husband, and father of two; never once having to wonder what "The Mysteries of Omega" would've offered me. What it GAVE me was a permanent sinus condition due to a broken nose, a bruised larynx from a punch to the throat, and the aforementioned cracked ribs.
The emphasis on academia? What a delightfully humorous and boldfaced lie. I know for a fact that 11 of my 14 line "brothers" had their transcripts doctored by an employee in the registrar's office; who also happened to be the wife of the frat's president. I'm confident ... make that positive ... that a simple comparison of that line's transcripts that were submitted to the National Chapter to the transcripts at the college would prove it.
Rename the book in a truthful manner: "Black on Black Crime: The Black Greek Experience"
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent start but further work needed.
Review: R.L. Jones has produced an exceptional book. His scholarship and presentation are pioneering and expert. Speaking as a reader who has "survived" the brutality of hazing while pledging a chapter of Omega Psi Phi, this book brought back many recollections about the 'process'. Prof. Jones has written about some of the very things that motivated my line brothers and I to endure such harsh treatment. To be "made right" and not be "cat" or an "Eternal Lamp". Making illogical and inhumane treatment seem totally acceptable and even caring or 'loving' on the part of our Big Brothers. The author talks of what contributes to the cycle of the abuse. For many folks 'on line' often dream about what hell they will be able to put others through when they in turn attempt to gain membership in the fraternity after them.I found the book lacking (only somewhat) in several areas:
1. A more detailed analysis of intraracial ("light skin or dark skin") African American conflict and how it effects membership, economic class and even attraction of black individuals to certain Black Greek Fraternities and Sororities. 2. A discussion of Homosexuality and Black Greek Male Societies. The Homophobia that permeates the African American Community is often magnified in these groups which are founded on Christian heterosexual mores. Every group that I have come across on the Eastern seaboard at various campuses has always spoken negativly about gays while certain members have to remain 'closeted'. These men in turn may even be more brutal hazers as they attempt to prove to themselves that they are "real men" and quell any suspicions about their own sexuality. But as said, these groups mirror society. 3. More details in the Appendix of actual BGF hazing incidents were needed. Names and exact dates if possible so that those who want to research those incidents further (parents of students entering some of the institutions named for example). But the book is very good and well worth the cost (softcover). I also recommend:
Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing
by Hank Nuwer and The Color Complex: The Politics of Skin Color Among African Americans
by Kathy Russell
Rating:
Summary: Excellent start but further work needed.
Review: R.L. Jones has produced an exceptional book. His scholarship and presentation are pioneering and expert. Speaking as a reader who has "survived" the brutality of hazing while pledging a chapter of Omega Psi Phi, this book brought back many recollections about the 'process'. Prof. Jones has written about some of the very things that motivated my line brothers and I to endure such harsh treatment. To be "made right" and not be "cat" or an "Eternal Lamp". Making illogical and inhumane treatment seem totally acceptable and even caring or 'loving' on the part of our Big Brothers. The author talks of what contributes to the cycle of the abuse. For many folks 'on line' often dream about what hell they will be able to put others through when they in turn attempt to gain membership in the fraternity after them. I found the book lacking (only somewhat) in several areas:
1. A more detailed analysis of intraracial ("light skin or dark skin") African American conflict and how it effects membership, economic class and even attraction of black individuals to certain Black Greek Fraternities and Sororities. 2. A discussion of Homosexuality and Black Greek Male Societies. The Homophobia that permeates the African American Community is often magnified in these groups which are founded on Christian heterosexual mores. Every group that I have come across on the Eastern seaboard at various campuses has always spoken negativly about gays while certain members have to remain 'closeted'. These men in turn may even be more brutal hazers as they attempt to prove to themselves that they are "real men" and quell any suspicions about their own sexuality. But as said, these groups mirror society. 3. More details in the Appendix of actual BGF hazing incidents were needed. Names and exact dates if possible so that those who want to research those incidents further (parents of students entering some of the institutions named for example). But the book is very good and well worth the cost (softcover). I also recommend:
Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing
by Hank Nuwer and The Color Complex: The Politics of Skin Color Among African Americans
by Kathy Russell
Rating:
Summary: Plenty of answers, but still more questions
Review: This book has it's moments, and with a topic as sensitive as this, I don't know if it could've been done much better. I think I learned more in this one book than any other book I have ever picked up. I'm not Greek, but I have much respect for most of them who go that way, and I've been intrigued by the culture and the significance of Greeks. I recommend this to anyone who is Greek or non-Greek, and hopefully we can all come to some sort of common ground about what is going on so these organizations can continue to grow and prosper in the coming years.
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