“Old South Ball”

Annually the majority of Kappa Alpha Fraternity Orders across the south participate in their “Old South” event this past month. According to Kappa Alpha Law R16-113, Section B, “The Old South Ball and/ or Dixie Ball has evolved since 1920 as a traditional social function of the Active Chapters of the Order with the purpose to celebrate and to perpetuate the social attributes of courtesy, graciousness, and open hospitality, which are values of the Old South and were prominent in Virginia when (the) Order was founded in 1865.”This party or ball as they call it is a romanization of the south when slaves worked on plantations was the norm of white society. The privileged white college-age men and women dress in antebellum suits and dresses and normally travel to an old plantation. In years past there have been complaints from fellow students of the Kappa Alpha members wearing Confederate uniforms during the “Old South” parade. The Kappa Alpha Chapter at Ole Miss even went as far as to travel to St. Joseph Plantation, where 12 Years a Slave was filmed, to celebrate this function all weekend. This idealizes an oppressive part of our history and does not take into consideration the black slaves that died from being overworked, beaten, and overall extremely oppressed. Agreeing to let these racists ceremonies remain is honoring them. Greek life across America, especially at large schools in the south, are prominently white. Most of the organizations are founded by prominent southern white males that had ties to slavery. Yes, this might be the history of the organization, but it does not make it okay to honor them. There was never mention that “whites were the superior race” explicitly but every single part of this weekend-long parade and celebration implies that. There is a Kappa Alpha Chapter at Rhodes and as far as I know, the chapter here has not been involved in these celebrations.

 Here is a link to a video of FSU “ceremonies” in 2012: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2t3brc