Watch The Yard and NPHC West Africa Launch Joint Project to Preserve the Legacy of D9 Fraternities and Sororities in West Africa

Watch The Yard has officially partnered with NPHC West Africa to launch a joint history project, “Bridges Built: The Rich History of NPHC Fraternities and Sororities in West Africa” documenting the history, presence, and impact of National Pan-Hellenic Council fraternities and sororities across West Africa.

Founded in the United States more than a century ago, Black fraternities and sororities have long served as pillars of leadership, scholarship, service, and community. Over time, that legacy extended beyond national borders not as a claim of origin, but as a continuation of shared values rooted in service, leadership, and collective responsibility. This project focuses on documenting the intentional relationships, sustained efforts, and pathways that carried Black Greek life across the Atlantic and allowed it to grow over generations.

The initiative is being spearheaded by President of NPHC West Africa, Freda Koomson, a Liberian-Ghanaian-American and soror of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., who spent months documenting, compiling, and preserving these histories. Through her work, community voices, archival research, and firsthand accounts were gathered to ensure this story is told with care, accuracy, and respect.

Together, Watch The Yard and NPHC West Africa will roll out the project as a five-part series exploring the depth, complexity, and future of Black Greek life on the continent.

Over five articles, the series will explore:

• Article 1: Liberia’s Role in the Divine Nine, examining how the nation became the first chapter home of the Divine Nine in Africa and why that history matters.
• Article 2: The Growth and Expansion of the Divine Nine in Africa, tracing the spread of chapters across the continent and the forces that shaped that expansion.
• Article 3: The Future of the Divine Nine in Africa, focusing on institutional leadership, strategic alliances, and youth engagement shaping what comes next.
• Article 4: NPHC of West Africa Inaugural Service Project: Medical Debt Relief, a deep dive into the council’s first major regional initiative and what it represents for service leadership.
• Article 5: A Shared Journey, a reflective and conversational piece on experiences on the continent and a call to action ahead of the January 2026 gathering in Ghana.

For Watch The Yard, the project reflects its core purpose as a cultural archive.

“The work of archiving Black Greek life is about more than memory, it’s about responsibility,” said Jonathan Rabb, founder of Watch The Yard. “Our culture deserves to be documented with care, context, and intention, especially as it continues to grow across borders and generations.”

As a newly formed regional council, NPHC West Africa represents a coordinated effort to bring structure, collaboration, and shared vision to existing chapters and members across the region. This partnership reflects a forward-looking commitment to documentation, service, and intentional leadership as Black Greek life continues to grow globally.

Special thanks are extended to the Council of Presidents of NPHC Headquarters for contributing valuable insight and historical records. Additional gratitude goes to all who answered the call to share and celebrate these histories so they are not reimagined or forgotten, including but not limited to T. Nelson Williams, Clarine Simpson, Noelle Bonham, Elaina Hamilton, and Dr. Jobila Sy, who contributed scholarly research, archival photographs, and anthologies that strengthened this project.

These bridges were built with intention. And now, their story will be told.