(mellow music) - African American Greek fraternal organizations and sororities have been a major part of African American history for over a century in the United States.

But not only have they been important in United States history and the African American history in general; they've been a very vital part of Detroit's Black history.

We're going to take a tour of this history and these historic places in the City of Detroit that are tied to these African American Greek letter fraternities and sororities.

We are now at the home for the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity house.

So the chapter is the Gamma Lambda chapter in the City of Detroit.

Now Alpha Phi Alpha, of course, is the first African American collegiate Greek letter fraternity, founded in 1906 at Cornell University.

But Detroit's chapter will be founded a few years after that.

And not only will they be founded, they'll be led by some of the most prominent African American Detroiters in history.

There's been two mayors in the City of Detroit who were part of Alpha Phi Alpha, Kwame Kilpatrick and Dennis Archer.

The Alpha Phi Alpha Gamma Lambda chapter moved into this house in 1939.

They are the first African American fraternity and Greek lettered organization to own their own house in the City of Detroit.

At 269 Erskine, we have the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity house, another African American fraternity, founded in 1911.

They're right around the corner from Alpha Phi Alpha's house at 239 Eliot, also in Brush Park.

One of its most well-known members is a man named Dr. Ossian Sweet.

And so Kappa Alpha Psi has enjoyed an important history in the City of Detroit and they've owned their fraternity house in the City of Detroit since 1945.

At 235 East Ferry Street, we have the fraternity house of the Nu Omega chapter of Omega Psi Phi.

Omega Psi Phi is the second Greek letter fraternity to own, African American Greek letter fraternity to own their own home in the City of Detroit, and they own it in this cultural center neighborhood in the City of Detroit, a couple of blocks away from the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Historical Museum, and the campus of Wayne State.

And they buy this home in 1942 and they will get their home being the second fraternity, Black fraternity in the City of Detroit to own their own home in 1942, just three years after Alpha Phi Alpha.

At 24760 West Seven Mile is the Detroit alumni chapter of Delta Sigma Theta's Center.

In 2010, they moved from a smaller building a few miles down the road to this 50,000-square-foot building.

They moved into this car dealership, transformed it to a event center, headquarters, meeting place, office building, and really brain trust of the alumni chapter of the Detroit Delta Sigma Theta.

They've been a vital force in the City of Detroit and they've been in the City of Detroit for years, for decades.

And they've owned their own house, but they moved from a house to a center, of 50,000-square-foot facility, that is a major part in the City of Detroit at 24760 Seven Mile Road at Seven Mile and Grand River.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated is the oldest Black Greek letter sorority in this country.

So as we are at the 100th anniversary of the AKAs, the AKAs, of course, are profoundly involved in Detroit's history, although they do not have a sorority house in the City of Detroit.

The Alpha Rho Omega chapter, the Detroit chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, has a foundation, and that foundation has a headquarters in downtown Detroit at 1525 Howard Street.

It's been there since 1987.

So for 35 years, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, at least the Alpha Rho Omega chapter, has had a building that houses the headquarters for their foundation.

African American Greek letter fraternities and sororities are a major part of American history, a major part of African American history, and a major part of Detroit's Black history.

One of the major reasons why is because what these organizations represent is scholarship.

These are people who have gone to college, who are in college and come out and become leaders.

They become leaders in medicine, and so many of the African American doctors come out of these Greek letter fraternities and sororities.

They're leaders in law.

Many of them end up as attorneys and politicians.

Of course, two mayors have been members of Greek letter fraternities, two mayors of the City of Detroit have been members of African American Greek letter fraternities.

And they have been a major plank in Black leadership and Black success.

And so as the African American community looks at these organizations, they're looking at people who have excelled in college, people who have excelled in business, people who have excelled in their careers and professions, and people who have excelled in political leadership.

The fact that these organizations still have houses speaks to their determination and their ability to weather the storm and they're still around in the City of Detroit to this day.