Perhaps the first black male groups at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and a few white universities, black fraternities are among the largest African American organizations. They comprise an undergraduate, graduate, and alumni membership of more than 500,000 today. African and West Indian alumni of US colleges, black students abroad, and military personnel frequently join chapters in United Kingdom, Germany, Africa, South Korea, and the Caribbean. Black Greeks include Alpha Phi Alpha (1906) and Kappa Alpha Psi (1911), begun at Cornell and Indiana universities, respectively. Howard University men founded Omega Psi Phi (1911) and Phi Beta Sigma (1914).

Fraternities play vital roles. On campus they provide academic assistance and social support. In addition to sponsoring dances and other socials, they engage in community service, including voter education and registration. They also donate to the United Negro College Fund. In the1950–60s, Alphas donated generously to brother Martin Luther King Jr.'s nonviolent civil rights and poor people's campaigns. Meantime, Kappas funded a national program of student financial aid and help for the elderly.