( CNN ) -- What does it mean when a white sorority wins a competition that African-American fraternities and sororities not only created but also consider an essential part of their cultural expression ? It means an uncomfortable discussion about race , history , culture and inclusivity that is not black and white . On February 20 , the University of Arkansas chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha , a predominantly white sorority , won the inaugural Sprite Step Off stepping competition , beating two predominantly black sororities . Stepping , which began in the 1960s , is a intricate rhythmic dance that features synchronized foot stomps , handclaps , choreographed movements and chants . The competition was fierce , and all of the competitors fought hard for the $ 100,000 first-place scholarship . But the results immediately sparked a firestorm within the African-American fraternal community , with many calling foul . How could a white sorority beat black sororities at our own art form ? Why were they even competing in the first place ? Some alleged that judges cheated , while others posited that the novelty of white women performing swayed the judges . To understand why this is a big deal , you have to understand that African-American fraternities and sororities are as close to the Animal House stereotype attached to white fraternities as Pat Boone is to hip-hop . Black fraternities and sororities , known as the Divine Nine , form the fiber of African-American leadership in this country and continue to produce the leaders of tomorrow . The nine predominantly African-American fraternities and sororities -- Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity , Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity , Omega Psi Phi Fraternity , Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity , Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority , Delta Sigma Theta Sorority , Zeta Phi Beta Sorority , Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity -- were founded between 1906 and 1963 to support African-American college students in their quest not only to succeed on campus but to develop into college-educated leaders . The roster of Divine Nine members is a Who 's Who in African America : the Rev . Martin Luther King Jr. , Jesse Jackson , Michael Jordan , Maya Angelou , Dorothy Height and over a million others count themselves as members . The civil rights movement is populated with Divine Nine members who developed leadership skills on college campuses . And the connection does n't end after graduation . African-American fraternal members spend thousand of hours doing service in alumni chapters , raising money for scholarships and mentoring at-risk people . Pride in one 's organization is paramount to Divine Nine members , and one way to express that is through stepping . Divine Nine fraternities and sororities take great pride in being original and innovative in their dances : highly coordinated , with elaborate costumes , and sometimes performed before thousands . It 's a point of pride to perform , but to win for the glory of your fraternity or sorority is the ultimate . So when Zeta Tau Alpha members won the Sprite Step Off , it was not just that they 'd beaten African-American sororities , it was seen as the first assault on yet another African-American cultural tradition that , if not guarded , would be appropriated from blacks like jazz and hip-hop . For many Americans , the notion of African-Americans having a separate culture , uninfluenced by other Americans , makes them uncomfortable . Is n't the point of civil rights to erase the color lines that separate and divide us ? And if we acknowledge that blacks have cultural traditions that have been nurtured within their own community , does that make blacks separate from whites ? This is where the nuances of race and culture come into play . Blacks are keenly aware of their otherness in this country . We 're proud to be Americans yet also proud that we 've built strong traditions that have sustained us through turbulent times . So we zealously protect those traditions from interlopers who may want to exploit or denigrate what we cherish . But this is the very reason why any African-American who dismissed the Zeta Tau Alpha win , or even the sorority 's right to participate in the competition on the basis of being white , was 100 percent wrong . We as African-Americans ca n't protect cultural expression by creating fences that exclude . Those fences never work . But we can demand that anyone who seeks inclusion , and wants to participate in our culture , does so with the same respect and honor that we as African-Americans demand of ourselves . By all accounts , the women of Zeta Tau Alpha did just that . And even later , when Sprite announced that Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority , the African-American sorority that had come in second , would also be awarded a first-place prize because of scoring irregularities , no one could dispute that in a subjective contest , Zeta Tau Alpha met the criteria for winning , regardless of skin color . And that 's something we as Divine Nine members should remember as we continue to strive to eliminate racism and bias . We ca n't fall victim to the same rationale that still is used to deny us first-class citizenship . As the leaders of college campuses and in the community , we must always fight for equality and demand that we 're judged based on our skill . And if we do n't do that , we lose much more than a stepping contest . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Lawrence C. Ross Jr .
Lawrence Ross : White sorority won `` step '' contest , dance form of black frats and sororities . Ross : Black fraternities , sororities are all about creating leaders ; step is proud tradition . Many in African-American fraternal community cried foul , he writes . Ross warns against using same rationale that denies blacks first-class citizenship .