Sisterhood: The Inside Story

We have a number of groups at Queens Preparatory. However, when it comes to those that are the most well-known, it always boils down to the Brotherhood run by Mr. Hargrove and the Sisterhood—their sister club—run by Ms. Wilson.  But we know very little about these two groups, especially Sisterhood.

What is Sisterhood?

Ultimately, we know that the Sisterhood is a group of young ladies who always perform at any special event in our school, which is part of the reason why they’re so well known. One of their most memorable performances was at this year’s Black History Month celebration. The group performed a stomping routine that  had the audience clapping and singing along, and it was a resounding success.

How it Began

However, in this piece I will shed some light on the beginning of  the Sisterhood, which I honestly find quite funny.

It seems the group was created from the need for fairness and equality. Basically, it was decided that if there’s a Brotherhood that supports QPA’s young male scholars, then there has to be a sisterhood to go right with it, and that’s exactly what happened. The Sisterhood followed to support female scholars after the creation of the Brotherhood.

Through further digging I discovered some interesting facts.  “The sisterhood was actually started in 2010 and was lead by a woman named Charlene,” said Brotherhood director, Mr. Hargrove. “The program never ended but was absorbed into the Brotherhood. When Charlene left, Mr. Lancaster and I ran it alongside Brotherhood.”

“It was hard but we made it,” he said with a reminiscent smile. “It was probably the strongest group we ever had. It wasn’t a separate boy girl program, it was ‘the’ program.”

“They recently started coming back when they found out that the Sisterhood was starting back up.” Hargrove added. “The old Sisterhood and Brotherhood saw the new group and realized that all they were lacking were older brothers and sisters.”

Behind the Scenes

During their Advisory period Sisterhood members engage in small wholesome activities. “We do circles where we all get to talk, get to know each other and get closer,” said sisterhood member Aliyah Maliq.

They also actively participate in school events which undoubtedly gained them their popularity alongside the Brotherhood. But the point of the sisterhood seems to extend even deeper than just participating in school events and having bonding sessions behind the closed doors of their assigned classroom. “I feel that it helps girls form bonds. I see that happen with girls who wouldn’t have talked without the program,” Ms. Wilson said. “I feel that it motivates them to be the best young women they can be.”

The Sisterhood helps shape its members to be the best they can be in terms of confidence, and it seems to be working as they have little to no friction when they perform in public.

Breaking the Mold

It seems that the sisterhood has a special member- which despite its name- is male. His name is Brian.

“He’s a boy, but he’s like an unofficial member.” Ms. Wilson said. “He joined because there used to be a girl in Brotherhood and the other Sisterhood members wanted him to join. We’re still trying to work it out.”

Join the Bunch

All in all, the Sisterhood is an empowerment group that builds the character and confidence of QPA’s female scholars. Obviously, our young ladies should do their best to join the Sisterhood for their own benefit as far as self esteem, confidence, community participation and social activism are concerned.