Johnny B. Moore, Jr. ’88 gazes out at the crowd that has gathered just outside the Bryan Campus Life Center on March 23rd. There are plenty of chairs set up, but more people continue to filter in, extending the group until it reaches almost to the Bill and Carole Troutt Quad. Despite the cold and windy morning, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members have all gathered to commemorate the unveiling of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) Plaza, which pays tribute to the legacy of the nine historically African-American fraternities and sororities on campus. Chapter members, from both Rhodes and far beyond, cannot wait for the proverbial ribbon to be cut.
The NPHC is an umbrella organization comprising nine historically African-American fraternities and sororities, and is frequently referred to as the Divine Nine. The organization was founded in the 1930s as a resource for Black students who faced discrimination at predominantly white institutions. Their impact and history on the Rhodes Campus will be immortalized with the new plaza, which features nine plaques portraying each organization’s founding date, coat of arms, motto, and colors.
“This is a great thing for Rhodes College,” says Moore, regional president for the Tennessee Region at Truist, a Rhodes trustee, and member of the plaza’s Alumni Steering Committee. “My wife, Mary Moore, and I, wanted to help create a lasting legacy of grace and being a difference maker. When we learned of this opportunity to create a monument to recognize the Divine Nine at Rhodes, we got excited about making another positive impact.”
Unlike the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council groups on campus, the NPHC organizations did not have designated physical spaces on the Rhodes Campus. Starting in 2022, several students, including Ammon Turner ’22 and David Caddle ’23, planted the seed for the idea that would turn into the NPHC Plaza. Under the leadership of both student-led and alumni-led steering committees and numerous donors, the project gained steam until the plaza was officially unveiled in March earlier this year.
For Zach Everett ’26, president-elect of the Black Student Association, a leader of the NPHC Steering Committee, and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, unveiling the plaza was a seminal moment. “I was sitting next to Ammon, and we were just in awe that we were there as a part of history,” says Everett. “There are a lot of projects where you’re really operating in the moment and might not fully grasp the magnitude of what’s happening. But we all understood that this is history—it will be here long after we’re gone. If our children come to Rhodes, they will see it: a legacy that has been built, and will continue to be built upon.”
Asya Bray ’24, a legacy member of Zeta Phi Beta, sees the plaza as a way to simultaneously commemorate her experience at Rhodes and pay tribute to her family. “I’m a three-time legacy member of Zeta Phi Beta,” says Bray. “When I toured colleges, my aunt, who is also a member, came with me and we ran into Zetas everywhere. So standing here, and leaving this physical marker on campus for her to see, for my mom to see, and for many other Zetas to see, is amazing.”
During some of the early steering committee meetings, Bray created a few preliminary designs for what the potential plaza might look like on her iPad. With others interested in her ideas, Bray found herself named as the committee’s planning and design chair. As the students tuned up their designs, they frequently ran their ideas by director of physical plant Brian Foshee, who would create professional mock-ups for them to examine. The whole process, according to Bray, was student-led until the fall of 2023, when Rhodes faculty and staff helped to take the project a step further. The Alumni Steering Committee also entered the picture, helping to engage NPHC alumni from around the country and secure the necessary funding for the project.
“When we were formulating the design, we really wanted to stress the unity of the NPHC,” says Bray. “So we thought we’d make it into a circle, with our plaques on the pillars outside and with our letters in the middle that represented all of us. And no matter which angle you look at it from, you can see all of the organizations there.”
But Bray wanted it to extend a welcoming hand to the rest of the Rhodes community, as well. “It’s a space for everyone,” she says. “We have benches so people can sit and relax, and we have the plaques so people can learn about our organizations.”
As a rising junior, Everett looks forward to continuing his participation in Alpha Phi Alpha. “I grew up in a single-mother household, so there weren’t a lot of male figures in my life,” he says. “In Alpha Phi Alpha, I really found that brotherhood, and it’s allowed me to really flourish at Rhodes. For me, and others, the NPHC organizations bring new students together and really push them to be the best people they can possibly be.”
The plaza immediately proved a unifying space upon its unveiling, bringing in chapter members from all the Memphis colleges and universities. Everett says he even met several members from out-of-town schools like Lane College.
The plaza’s purpose won’t just be historic. Everett says he’s seen increased interest in NPHC organizations at Rhodes since he arrived. “Our numbers have grown so significantly over the past two years,” he says. “And I think even from last year, they’ve tripled. So we truly needed a space like this on campus, and hopefully we can create more and attract more interest. And that’s on the students that are still here, to tell incoming students what we’re all about, and the history behind the NPHC.”
For many alumni, the plaza unveiling gave them an opportunity to reflect on their times at Rhodes. But the most lasting impression was the opportunity to think about the future. “I had a great time on campus and playing with the football team, but I’d always felt like I was missing something as a student,” recalls Moore.
“I had friends at HBCUs who would talk about the activities, the parties, the connections they had through NPHC, but we didn’t have those charters on campus at the time. But the students worked hard to bring the Divine Nine to Rhodes, to create an environment of belonging where they had no limitations . . . and that’s the legacy they leave now.”
Follow this link to view an album of photos from the NPHC Plaza dedication festivities.
