‘Forward Ever, Backward Never’—Harlem Divine 9 organizations Get Out the Vote

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The First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem gathered members of Divine Nine fraternities and sororities to help register people to vote this past weekend.

Divine Nine organizations include the Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho, and Zeta Phi Beta sororities and the Alpha Phi Alpha, Iota Phi Theta, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, and Phi Beta Sigma fraternities.

The voter-registration drive started with an early breakfast for participants at the Angel of Harlem restaurant, a local brunch spot on Frederick Douglass Boulevard. People showed up in vibrant colors and outfits that showed off their fraternity or sorority voting paraphernalia. Having pledged in college or graduate school, many were eager for a chance to reconnect with other Divine Nine members and fulfill their organizations’ legacy of community service.

The Rev. Dr. Michael A. Walrond, Jr., senior pastor at the First Corinthian Baptist Church and a member of Omega Psi Phi for the last 31 years, said he was inspired to pledge during his time attending Morehouse College because of the influential history of Black fraternities in the church and social justice causes. When his congregation came up with the idea of a voter drive centered around the Divine Nine, he was excited.

“I thought it was a way to get members of the Divine Nine involved by going throughout the community and actually registering voters,” said Walrond. “All of our organizations do something. Service is at the forefront, and historically, service to our community is what inspired and motivated most of these organizations at a time where we were experiencing segregation and the diminishing of who we were as a people.”

Ariama C. Long photos

Kercena A. Dozier, social justice ministry leader at First Corinthian and a Delta Sigma Theta soror from Loyola University, came up with the idea for a voter registration drive to educate community members about the upcoming presidential and local elections. “We’re just moving in the spirit of our ancestors, and understanding that it is our time to pick up that torch and move this country forward,” Dozier said at the breakfast.

A long list of Black historical figures, both past and present, were part of the Divine Nine, including Shirley Chisholm, Fannie Lou Hamer, Marian Wright Edelman, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Rev. Jesse Jackson.

The planning committee for the event consisted of Dozier; AKAs Shana Harmongoff, Athena Moore, and Effie Donaldson; Deltas Erika Ewing and Pascale Bernard; Alphas Larry Scott Blackmon, Nakiim Bey, and Thomas Donaldson; Zeta TaShana Pace; Kappa Keith Tubbs; Omegas John Staton and Donnell Bolden; Phi Beta Sigma Muhammed Bilal; and Sigma Gamma Rho Hope Maddox and Jazmin McBride. Other pastors involved were Rev. Dr. Jesse Williams, Jr., pastor of Convent Avenue Baptist Church and member of Phi Beta Sigma; Rev. Dr. Lisa D. Jenkins, pastor of St. Matthews Baptist Church and member of Delta Sigma Theta; Rev. Dr. Kevin Johnson, pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church and member of Omega Psi Phi; and Ambassador Rev. Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook and member of Delta Sigma Theta.

After breakfast, the Divine Nine members held a press conference with New York State Attorney General Letitia James at the Harriet Tubman Memorial (W.122nd Street). Pastors and organizers from all over Harlem joined to speak about the importance of the Black vote.

“This election is probably the most existential election—an election that will have so many consequential impacts on all of your lives,” said James, who’s been embroiled in litigation against former President Donald Trump since 2016. He’s been indicted on 34 counts of felony charges.

“This vote, this election, is about rights, liberties, and our democracy as we know it, because [Trump] wants to concentrate power in his corrupt hands,” she continued. “…the 4 million of Divine 9 in this nation represent 4 million patriots, individuals, who share camaraderie, who share academic excellence, but who are also committed to community service. Today is the day of community service, where you’ve got to go out and let people know what is at stake.”

James warned that over the years, the courts and judges have changed with initiatives like Project 2025. In that time, James said, she’s dealt with death threats and protestors showing up to her home.

After the conference wrapped, the sorority and fraternity participants set up voter registration tables throughout Harlem, from 116th Street to 145th Street. Some members, like the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, partnered with local restaurants and businesses to entice passersby with giveaways if they signed up. The Zetas and Ma Smith’s Dessert Café, owned by JoAnn Baylor, gave out free cupcakes to registrants and offered a raffle for a tray of assorted cupcakes every hour.

Baylor, 81, grew up at Harlem River Houses and remembers going to vote for the first time with her mother before she was registered. She was amazed at the process, she said.

“I am very excited to vote this year and even more excited to get other people involved,” Baylor said. “There’s not just me. I can’t do it alone. It’s what all of us can do collectively to get a Democrat back in office. Listen, I would’ve voted for Biden had they rolled him up there in a wheelchair, okay?”

[updated Wed, Oct. 23]