Kappa Kappa Gamma is filled with a wide range of women who strive for excellence, inclusion, and long lasting friendships across social and academic settings, but these values are not being embodied by the organization at large nor in the environment fostered. 

Many steps need to be taken in order for us to fully achieve inclusivity, but the time for action is now. As an organization, we need to reflect on our policies and the culture we have created; at the same time, we must look in the mirror and examine our individual behaviors. We have the unique opportunity and responsibility to drive change in this area at this time. I believe Kappa Kappa Gamma can be the strong leader our Greek Community needs after our long history of perpetuating a fundamentally racist system in need of reform. Our action, and our actions alone enable us to be on the right side of history.

These changes include but should not be limited to;

1. Diversifying Philanthropic Organizations 

• There are notable organizations in addition to Reading is Fundamental (RIF) that warrant our support, including the following: 
  • Black Girls Code
  • Know Your Rights Camp
  • Anti-Racism Fund
  • Black Voters Matter
  • Black Table Arts
• Integrate matching alumni donations to notable organizations into philanthropy 

2. Replacing the "Behind Happy Faces" programming with a Mental Health Task Force

• Provide Peer Health Educators who are trained in wellness & prevention services 
  • There are existing, effective programs offered by UW & WWU
• Create partnerships with the National Multicultural Greek Council
  • Promote interdisciplinary education
• Feature a summer reading book for members 
  • Use this opportunity to address and educate on systemic and institutionalized racism, especially in our Greek System
  • Highlight BIPOC Author’s
  • I suggest our first book for the summer be, “So You Want To Talk About Race”, by renowned author Ijeoma Oluo. 

3. Reconsidering Legacy Preference and Letters of Recommendation

• Limiting preferential treatment of legacies during the recruitment process, which favors those historically involved in a predominantly white system
  • These calls have already been answered by astounding sorority Delta Gamma;
    • https://s3.amazonaws.com/dg-library/Membership-Selection-Process-Changes-FAQ.pdf

4. Creating Scholarship Funds Exclusively for Our Members of Color

• This action would promote equity and serve as a facet of the reparations for historically oppressed members of our community
• We can mirror the actions of the esteemed leadership of the first African-American Greek-Lettered sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, who have created scholarships for George Floyd’s Family to attend any Historical Black College or University

If you agree with the statement above and want to bring about structural change, please sign our petition on Change.org to show support. This document, along with a more detailed letter, will be sent to our executive board demanding changes be made. 

We leave you with this quote as you ponder the decision to support our call for transformative justice: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor” -Desmond TuTu

If you are interested in reading this letter please visit the link below:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cjtHhb9xQUTQM3KKamej9EOntT2NytJwhKDpnWLwjgs/edit?usp=sharing