Alabama's sororities admit black students following race bias claims

Black women are joining traditionally white sororities at the University of Alabama, amid efforts to end racial segregation within Greek-letter social groups.

University President Judy Bonner said Friday that four black students and two other minority students have accepted bids to pledge white sororities.

The move comes after hundreds of protesters marched silently across campus Wednesday, sparked by complaints following a student newspaper report about some sororities rejecting prospective members because of their race last month.

The demonstration came five decades after then-Gov. George Wallace made his famous "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" protest against racial integration on the same campus, as two black students, James Hood and Vivian Malone, were escorted past him by the Alabama National Guard. 

On Wednesday, protesters carried a banner with the words "The Final Stand in the Schoolhouse Door." 

"The blame lies with people like me in sororities 20 years ago, because we didn't do anything about it then," said Meredith Cummings, a professor at the school as well as an alumna. "But I'm so glad to see students today have made it their fight."

The university changed recruitment rules in an attempt to make it easier for the groups to accept minority members.

A few black students have joined white groups in the past and vice versa, but most groups have remained segregated.

Bonner has called for "systemic" change in Greek organizations at Alabama, where about one-quarter of undergraduates are members.

The Associated Press