“Stomp the Yard,” the No. 1 box office film for two weekends running, may be popular among the general public, but raises concerns among active Black Greeks.
Bowie State University student Eunique N. Jones says she fears that the ideals of Greek protocol could step off line. Jones would like to stomp out any misconstrued ideas the youth may have picked up from the film.
“I’m just afraid that we are going to have a number of kids going to school with the wrong conceptions about our organizations. We are about service,” says Jones, the national second vice president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Jones’s position is the most prestigious undergraduate leadership position in the organization.
Other Black fraternity and sorority members are expressing concern that the movie may impact membership in their organizations. Instead of emphasizing the community service aspects of Greek life, they say the movie focuses solely on the narrow world of stepping.
Two alumni members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Will Packer and Rob Hardy produced “Stomp the Yard.” Gregory Anderson, their classmate at Florida A&M University and a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, wrote the script. The title of the film indicates that the movie’s main focus is about stepping, though much of the film showcases battle dancing more than traditional stepping.
“I think that if it was focusing on stepping, there should have been talk of purpose; why sororities and fraternities step,” says Nicole Bramletta, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. “The image portrayed was nothing of brotherhood.”
Stepping originated as a symbol of unity and a celebration to embrace African- American history. Today, many Greek-lettered organizations host step shows to raise money to donate to special community causes. They often go into the high schools and teach stepping as an alternative for at-risk youth.
