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SORORITY

STORY

A documentary film about race & the open secret of a "social club" with 6 million members, embedded in higher education, discriminating since 1870.

In 2013, members of the historically white sororities at the University of Alabama denounce racial discrimination during "rush" -- the recruitment program for new members.

The sororities call them liars and try to silence them.

In this new documentary, women young and older, Black and white, witnesses and activists, expose how the sororities' open secret works.

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Hear their voices

Black and white photo of four young women in school uniforms standing outdoors.
Black and white photo of four young women in school uniforms standing outdoors.

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Screenings of Sorority Story (65 minutes) are followed by a dialogue-based discussion, with the filmmaker and participants in the film.

The film can be viewed virtually but only as a time-restricted link for a private screening and discussion.

A screening fee is requested as a tax-deductible contribution to the film's Impact Fund.

Black and white photograph of a young woman with short dark hair, looking to the side, next to a list of school or club activities and honors from 1961-1965.

College leaders and alumni recognize a “seismic shift” in higher education today,  with traditional expectations and assumptions up for grabs.

The white sororities are embedded in a centuries-old education model that seems out of step with that shift. 

An urgent debate about monuments to the past and obsolete institutions continues in many spheres today.

There’s a sense that it’s time for a change.

Close-up of a hand holding a sheet of personalized postage stamps with images of a religious figure, with a background showing more stamps and possibly other printed material.
American flag waving on a flagpole against a dark background.
Close-up of a printed text that repeats the phrases "unwritten rule" and "written rule" in quotation marks.
A man protesting with a sign in front of a Civil War monument at Gettysburg.

Sorority Story premiered at The Women’s Film Festival in Philadelphia in 2025. 

Since then, college classes, informal networks of sorority alumni, and groups of concerned college alums have screened the film with a discussion afterward. 


Sorority alumni at a “house party” in Delaware echoed a line in the film: “We were bullied by the national office, but why didn’t we speak out?”

Members of a church social justice committee in Florida asked, “What responsibility do the schools have that host the white sororities?”

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Sorority Story
Conversation Guide

It draws on a framework developed by the Difficult Dialogues National Resource Center, which aims to facilitate transformative change among higher education institutions and its partners.

The guide is designed for a range of audiences: college classes; college admin staff and trustees; anti-racism committees; and sorority women and college alumni who want a structured space to reflect.

Inside The Guide

About the Film


The historical context of exclusion practiced by the white sororities.

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How to Use This Guide


Accessible tools and orientation for a post-screening dialogue.

Two women are looking at a laptop screen together. One woman has short, curly hair and is wearing an orange zip-up jacket, while the other woman has short, straight hair, glasses, and is wearing a gray hoodie with a necklace.
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resources


A curated bibliography of the sources behind the film.

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Close-up of a woman with curly gray hair and glasses, smiling, wearing colorful bead earrings.
Black and white portrait of a smiling woman with short, styled hair, wearing a dark sleeveless top.

About the filmmakers

Kathryn Smith Pyle is a “social issue” documentary filmmaker; a Sundance Institute fellow with a doctorate from the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.  

She belonged to a sorority at Gettysburg College that discriminated. 

consulting producers 

Vicky Funari


Marty Syjuco

composer

Linda May Han Oh

Director of Photography/ cinematographer 

Nadia Hallgren

supervising editor

Kyle Crichton

Two women posing together in a room with musical instruments, including drums, in the background.
A dining room prepared for a holiday celebration with a long table set with red plates, glassware, and napkins. A small decorated Christmas tree, a doll figure, and seasonal decorations are visible near large windows showing a wintery outdoor scene.
Group of four people in radio studio, smiling, with microphones, audio mixing equipment, and WPPM 106.5 FM signage on blue wall in the background.
An instructor or speaker standing at the front of a classroom full of students, gesturing with her hands. The classroom has a ceiling with lights and a projector, and the students are seated at tables, listening attentively.

Other sorority stories

  • C

    “I joined a sorority at a university in Washington DC in 1963. In 1965 a Black woman was banned because "the southern chapters would not invite our chapter to visit if she was a member!" I wanted no part of that. I deactivated and was shunned by former "sisters" and other sorority members.”

  • M

    “As a woman of color, I had heard that the white sororities discriminated but I decided to go through rush with an open mind when I began college on the East Coast in 2022. After two days of conversations with sorority members that made it clear to me that I was not welcome, I dropped out.”

  • J

    “From the day I started college in 1975, my goal was to be part of student government and I quickly perceived that the white sororities and fraternities controlled that, so I joined a sorority. In my senior year, I was elected President with their support and have stayed connected through alumni networks.”

Two women in a cozy indoor setting are engaged in a conversation. The woman on the left has short, curly hair, glasses, and is wearing a long-sleeve top. The woman on the right has long, braided hair and is wearing a dark hoodie. They are sitting close to each other, and the woman on the left appears to be showing something on her phone, which the woman on the right is looking at attentively. Behind them, there is a side table with a potted plant, a lamp, and some decorative items.

What's your story?

Were you in a white sorority that discriminated? What happened? What did you do? 

Were you in a white sorority chapter that wanted to pledge a Black woman? What happened?

Are you in a white sorority that has published the truth about its racist past?

We want to hear from you! Send us your story in the link below. We’ll condense your story into a short account, without your name or identifying information if desired, to share with other viewers. 

A black wall with a white line drawing of a hand making a peace sign in front of a background of empty chairs.

There’s a sense that it’s time for a change.

In the film, Melanie describes raising her hand during the “rush” meeting to ask

“Are we not gonna talk about the Black girl?”