Historically Black fraternities, sororities look to invest in Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS -- Three years ago, Minneapolis found itself in the national spotlight over race relations, and now several national organizations are giving their time and money to the Twin Cities.
The men of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc are holding their 10th District conference in Minneapolis.
They come from throughout the Midwest - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota - and are making their presence known in the land of 10,000 lakes.
"Let's be clear - millions of dollars are coming into the city this weekend to help community, and that can be turned into an investment into our community as well," said James Burroughs, a proud member of Omega Psi Phi.
Burroughs and other fraternity members are doing their best to come into this community and make an impact.
The Que's, as they are often called, not only partnered with the People of Color Career Fair - they also sponsored a youth leadership conference at a local high school.
"We also collected 1,000 books by African American authors that we are going to distribute out to the kids in these schools here," said fraternity member Sean Long. "We also had a blood drive."
The men of Omega join a list of historically Black fraternities and sororities that chose Minneapolis as a place to hold their conferences.
Two weeks ago, the women of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc held their regional conference in Minneapolis. Their brothers of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc held their leadership conference the same weekend. Last Fall, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc had its conference in the city, and all had the same reason for choosing Minneapolis.
"We are the home of the murder of George Floyd, and three years ago we said 'what can we do as a community' and I'm impressed that my fraternity decided in spite of that they want to come here, have their district convention and understand that they can help and put back into the community all these 700 brothers coming to town to address scholarship, manhood and uplift for the community as well," said Burroughs.
The men of Omega are inviting anyone to come out and support their scholarship fundraisers.
Chub Rock performs Friday night and a Sneaker Ball is set for Saturday. Click here for more information.
