After 10 years of encouraging academic excellence among ethnic minority male high school students at Oakland Mills, the Alpha Achievers will celebrate Jan. 14 and take a bow. The program has greatly changed the academic climate at Oakland Mills. "Now students are taking honors, AP [Advanced Placement] and gifted-and-talented courses," James said. "Now, students are not isolated. There are more students challenging themselves."

Besides community service, the group holds a mix of social events and fundraisers. The annual video game tournament regularly attracts numerous participants, and the group's annual calendar -- in which members pose in tuxedos -- has become a tradition at Oakland Mills. Proceeds pay for college scholarships, field trips and operating costs.

The program started at Oakland Mills in 1997 by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. -- a historically black organization -- with fewer than 20 members. Since then, more than 100 members at the Columbia school have graduated. Originally founded for African-American males, the program now includes males of all ethnic minority groups.  more >>

Stepping may look like a cross between a military drill and a street fight, but it's neither. Stepping is featured in a new movie, "Stomp the Yard," which comes out later this week. Black fraternities and sororities were born of necessity on the campuses of historically black colleges roughly a hundred years ago.

"African-American Greek letter organizations, unlike many other mainstream fraternities and sororities, were founded because at the time African Americans couldn't join the other fraternities and sororities," said Packer. "They couldn't join the white fraternities and they weren't accepted in mainstream America as part of the general society brotherhood so they formed these organizations to create a brotherhood amongst themselves, a sisterhood amongst themselves, and also reach out and give back to those less fortunate than them."

Some of the moves in stepping are said to come from the Welly dance, a traditional stomp that South African laborers would perform in rubber Wellington work boots.

The old Welly dance has been adapted, modified and stylized into stepping. Nearly all step routines share some basic elements that set it apart from dance — for instance, dancers follow the beat of a drum, but steppers are the drum.  more >>

Movie producers are members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

When I first heard Greg was back, hanging on campus, I thought he was going through a mid-life crisis twenty years too soon," says Tenele Dennard, cousin of the writer of upcoming Sony / Screen Gems release "Stomp the Yard," opening nationwide January 12.

As audiences across the country prepare to dance down the aisles for the pop culture breakthrough of the season, the creation of the film's story has proven to be just as exhilarating. Originally conceived by writer Gregory Anderson in the mid 90's, the film is an ode to fraternities and sororities at Historically Black Universities. This has special resonance because while writing the original draft, Gregory was a student at FAMU, a historically black institution, where he and his classmates Rob Hardy and Will Packer (Producers of "Stomp the Yard") dreamed of making it in Hollywood. After college, Gregory worked on the script, as he produced independent films with Rob and Will, but eventually other projects took center stage. Gregory hoped one day they could bring that story to life.  more >>