This Biennial Meeting Is a Divine Collaboration

Annual meetings of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, one of the nine Black Greek-letter organizations included in the Pan-Hellenic Council, are so large that the sorority’s 100th anniversary 35,000-person gathering set a Guinness World Record for the world’s largest sit-down dinner. This photo shows one of three rooms set for more than 16,206 diners in 2008.

The nickname “Divine Nine” refers to nine Black Greek-letter fraternities and sororities founded at U.S. colleges and universities between 1903 and 1963 — years when Black students were excluded from other campus fraternities and sororities by official and non-official policies. The organizations became both a “haven and an outlet” for their members, according to the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), which counts all Divine Nine organizations as members and was founded in 1930 to support their mutual interests and focus on education, leadership, community service, and positive change.

Collectively, the Divine Nine now has nearly four million members, and, individually, the organizations’ annual meetings consistently draw devoted, record-breaking crowds.  When Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2008, it broke a Guinness World Record by serving the largest-ever plated dinner to 16,206 guests at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Last year, when more than 20,000 participants met for the sorority’s annual conference at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, they set another Guinness World Record by assembling 8,500 personal hygiene kits in an hour, to be donated to area nonprofits.

By comparison, the number of people — 700 — who registered for NPHC’s 73rd Biennial National Leadership Conference in October might look small. But the potential to leverage and multiply Divine Nine members’ impact through collaboration with others is something that the leadership conference’s volunteer chair, Lloyd Stallings, said has inspired him since he was a young member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

As Stallings began participating in meetings that brought the Black Greek-letter chapters together, he saw ideas and strategies spread, he told Convene. “I just was really in awe of how things can improve themselves based on collaborative effort,” he said. “Getting folks engaged was a huge deal for me.”

The four-day NPHC National Leadership Conference, held at the Omni Houston Hotel, brought undergraduate, graduate, and alumni members together from among the organization’s more than 375 councils, including international councils, along with community partners, sponsors, and other guests, Stallings said. “Our organization started because we couldn’t join other organizations from other ethnic backgrounds. And now we have members from all nationalities, all backgrounds,” he added. “If there’s anything significant within our communities or within any of our service areas or nationwide that may affect one of us, then it affects all of us. So, we ensure that we have collaborative messaging, collaborative strategies, and action plans.”

At the conference, participants shared best practices and strategies at workshops and training sessions, attended a “State of the NPHC” fireside chat, a social justice luncheon, and a National Awards and Gala evening. An exhibit hall, a college and career fair, and a blood drive, as well as a two-hour meeting open to the public, were part of the event.

Journalist Roland Martin, the public meeting’s main speaker, spoke about combating voter suppression — the bipartisan NPHC actively supports voter education and registration initiatives, Stallings said. In his talk, Martin also highlighted the Divine Nine’s collective power, saying, “no other group or collection or organization in the Black community” possesses its “sophistication in terms of infrastructure.” In the clip of his speech posted on Instagram by Isaac Hayes III, he added: “The question then becomes: How do you now harness that infrastructure, how do you harness that capacity, to be able to move in a particular direction?”

Takeaway: Inspiring Tomorrow’s Leaders

 Five out of nine of the “Divine Nine” Greek-letter organizations were started at Howard University in Washington, D.C., founded in 1867 and the oldest of the more than 100 U.S. colleges that are identified as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).

In January, four students enrolled at recognized HBCU schools who have expressed interest in business events industry careers will be selected to receive registration, airfare, and housing to attend PCMA’s Convening Leaders 2026 in Philadelphia, through the PCMA Foundation’s HBCU Rising Star Student Scholarship program.

The scholarships, awarded by the foundation, are supported by Choose Chicago, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, and by former PCMA Chair Desirée Knight, CAE, CMP, DES, senior director of meetings and events for the American Psychological Association.

Barbara Palmer is Convene’s deputy editor