(Todd A. Smith)
The death of Southern University junior Caleb Wilson should have never happened.
The member of Southern’s famed Human Jukebox marching band died while participating in an initiation activity to become a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Initial reports said that he died after passing out in a Baton Rouge, La. park last week.
That information has since been updated.
Full disclaimer.
I am a graduate of Southern University.
While at Southern, I befriended many members of the Beta Sigma Chapter of Omega Psi Phi and many of them are some of the best Black men one would ever meet.
Therefore, this wake-up call of an article is not directed just at them.
It is aimed at all fraternities and sororities, Black or White.
Joining any organization should not cost one his or her life.
And there is nothing about violence that lends itself to brotherhood and/or sisterhood.
Chris Nakamoto of Baton Rouge, La.’s CBS affiliate WAFB reported, “Sources with knowledge of the investigation into Southern University [student] Caleb Wilson’s death told the WAFB I Team Tuesday, the story that was initially told to police about Wilson collapsing at a Baton Rouge BREC park was fabricated.
“Sources said pledges with Omega Psi Phi were actually at a warehouse in Baton Rouge when Wilson was punched in the chest and collapsed. He was later pronounced dead by doctors at an area hospital.
“There were nine pledges in a line during an unsanctioned fraternity ritual and each one was allegedly forced to take blows to the chest, the sources said. When Wilson was hit, sources with knowledge of the events said he reportedly collapsed to the ground and began having a seizure at a warehouse.”
Wilson’s death hit the Divine Nine (the nine predominantly Black fraternities and sororities) community hard, not just Omega Psi Phi.
Thankfully, my intake process into Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. at Southern University did not involve what Wilson went through for his fraternity intake.
But what if it did?
I suffered from seizures as a young person.
Taking a punch to the chest could have ended my life.
Any type of hazing could have led to catastrophe for me and my intake group.
And none of that type of behavior would have promoted brotherhood.
That brotherhood that Wilson desperately wanted is unfortunately something that he will never get to experience.
And believe me, the brotherhood and the sisterhood in Divine Nine organizations are real.
But to a lot of undergraduate students, true brotherhood and sisterhood is reduced to how much physical punishment a person can take.
Since Wilson’s death, all Divine Nine organizations have come under justified scrutiny from people on the outside looking in.
Many have called such organizations cults.
Many have described joining a fraternity or sorority as demonic because a person allegedly must take an oath to join.
And many have called fraternities and sororities idolatry because many of the members love their organization.
I respect people’s opinions.
But from the inside, I respectfully disagree.
When I worked for the government, I took an oath to the United States Constitution.
When politicians take office, they take a similar oath.
Is working for the government demonic?
I love Southern University and Texas Southern University because I received degrees from those Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
I love Houston Texans football, Houston Rockets basketball and Houston Astros baseball.
Is my love for my sports teams considered idolatry?
In our current society, many people have selective outrage and selective morality.
When it is something that they do not like, it is automatically demonic.
When it is something that they like or something about their occupation, it is O.K.
While I do not make light of idolatry and demonic forces, everything in life can lead to something demonic if misused.
Likewise, good can come from everything, including Greek-letter organizations, if business is conducted properly.
When my mother became sick in 2023, I had fraternity brothers checking on me daily.
When bills began to pile up, I suddenly had money in my bank account from my fraternity brothers.
Back in the day when I could not afford my fraternity dues, I had brothers go into their pockets to pay my dues because they wanted me involved.
That is not to say that a person cannot find that brotherhood outside of the fraternity because I have had childhood friends and church members bless me the same way too.
I have heard of Black men getting transferred to another city by their employers.
They know no one in the city.
But they can reach out to their fraternity brothers to help them get accustomed to their new surroundings.
I have a fraternity brother whose mother passed right after he became a member of Kappa.
While other organizations sent letters and flowers, all 18 members of his intake group traveled from Baton Rouge, La. to Grenada, Miss. and physically helped him walk out of the church behind his mother’s casket when the pain became too much for him to bear.
The tears had filled his eyes so much that he did not even realize they were in the back of the church until they physically put their arms around him and comforted him during his darkest times.
Another member of that same intake group did not grow up around educated Black men.
His first exposure to educated Black men were members of Kappa Alpha Psi serving as mentors to the next generation.
That exposure led to him attending Southern University.
When he got to Southern, he said he wanted to join the organization that inspired his decision to attend college in the first place.
That is the brotherhood and appeal that fraternities should display, not possible assault, manslaughter or murder.
Unfortunately, because of someone’s warped and destructive view of brotherhood, Wilson will never get to experience that true brotherhood that Omega Psi Phi has to offer, just like other fraternities.
And many more will never get to experience it either because, if the allegations prove true, the punishment for the chapter, fraternity as a whole and all other Divine Nine organizations will be justifiably substantial.
And that is a shame because fraternities and sororities have much to give to members and the community at large.
But all that pales in comparison to what Wilson could have given to the world.
All of Wilson’s potential is gone forever because someone wanted to make him “real” instead of just being a real brother or friend to Wilson.
And that is the negative mindset that needs removal from all Greek-letter organizations.
Unfortunately, it did not happen before Wilson’s tragedy.
Rest in Peace, young king!
Your death will not be in vain.
