White sororities shut out black: Alabama student is rejected second time
Melody Twilley, a junior at the University of Alabama, wanted to be the first black student to get accepted openly by a white sorority in the school's history.
But "the Machine," a shadowy organization of the all-white fraternities and sororities whose influence extends far beyond campus, didn't want to let her in.
At 7:21 Sunday morning, Twilley got a call that creased her heart. "I'm sorry," her sorority rush counselor told her. "You didn't get asked back."
Her progress through the rush-selection process had been followed by the university's top officials, civil-rights leaders and the vast alumni network that dominates politics and business in the state.
Administrators, vexed for years by the school's segregated social order, tried to boost Twilley's prospects by meeting with her, encouraging white sororities to take her in and lining up important recommendations at several houses.
The issue was especially charged because of Alabama's legacy as the school where segregationist Gov. George Wallace made his stand in an auditorium doorway in 1963.
But now that Twilley, of Camden, Ala., has been rejected, there's a certain frustration that the university's old image will be reinforced.
"Most students here are not racist at all," English professor Pat Hermann said. "But now we're going to be seen as a racial disaster area."
The University of Alabama is the last college in the South where no openly black student has been accepted to a traditionally white fraternity or sorority. A few Latina and Asian-American students have been accepted, and last year a woman who did not advertise her racial background was picked. Last week, she said she was half-black.
The faculty senate recommended that if the Greek system wouldn't voluntarily integrate, it should be sanctioned and maybe kicked off campus. Most of the fraternity and sorority houses are on campus-owned land and have subsidized leases.
"God almighty, this is sad," said E. Culpepper Clark, a dean at the university, when he learned all 15 white sororities had rejected Twilley.
For some black students, the segregation isn't a problem. There are several black social organizations with their own rich traditions, and many black students don't want to be a part of the white system.
Twilley was considered the brightest hope in years for integrating the system. She has a 3.87 grade-point average and sings first soprano in the campus choir. She's young to be a junior — 18 — because she skipped two grades.
"I'm not trying to be the next Rosa Parks," she said. "I'm just rushing because I think it would be fun to be a sorority girl. I like the idea of sisterhood."
Twilley rushed last year but didn't get past the second round. Of 731 women who participated in rush this year, about 625 received membership invitations.
The situation is similar for fraternities. No black man has been accepted by any of the school's 21 white fraternities.
Twilley grew up in a predominantly black town. At 15, she was accepted to a prestigious math and science school in Mobile, Ala., that's 90 percent white. There she won several awards and gave the graduation speech.
Hermann, the English professor, and several administrators said it was the work of the Machine. "The Machine ... put the word out that any sorority that accepted a black girl wouldn't get invited to parties," Hermann said.
The Machine is a mysterious force on campus. No one knows exactly who's in it, but it's run by representatives from the most exclusive white fraternities and sororities, several people said.
The University of Alabama Machine controls student government and Machine-backed candidates have won 14 of the last 15 elections for president.
Sunday, Twilley sat in a purple bathrobe crying in her bedroom, though she was reluctant to say it was bigotry that defeated her.
"I love Alabama and I don't want to think that the best school in the state is racist," she said.
Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.