When Mynyon Minor was a little girl, she watched her aunties and cousins take part in a century-old tradition called “strolling.”
Now that she’s a grown-up, she’s following in their footsteps.
“Being around that type of environment is exciting. I wanted to get up and dance too,” Minor said.
She’ll finally get her chance at this year’s Black Joy Parade in Oakland along with dozens of her sorority sisters all dressed in their signature pink and green colors.
“I’m very happy right now,” she said during a rehearsal at St. Leo’s the Great Catholic School in Oakland. “I’m excited that we’re learning a new stroll.”
Strolling is synchronized dance that traces back to the early 1900s. Over the years, it became a visual representation of the spirit of black sororities during events and public appearances.
“It’s really kind of like a rite of passage,” said Maya Mosley, the president of the San Francisco Graduate Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha , the oldest African American sorority. “Often times on college campuses that’s your first introduction to Black Greek letter organization and so you want to be part of that. you want to be a part of that energy.”