Al Green Is a Member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Also Known as One of the Divine Nine

According to U.S. Rep. Al Green's congressional biography, when asked how he is, he always has the same answer. "Better than I deserve," he'll say. U.S. Rep. Green has been a member of Congress since 2005, and has been elected 10 times. During his tenure, Rep. Green has done a lot for his constituents, and his country as a whole.

When it comes to speaking his mind and taking action, the 77-year-old does not shy away from big moves. In 2012, he was arrested outside of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. where "he and other lawmakers at the time protested the civil war policies of Sudan's then-president, and again in 2021, outside of the U.S. Capitol while protesting a voting rights bill," per CBS News. He tends to support causes that affect non-white people. What is his ethnicity? Here's what we know.

While we can't confirm Rep. Green's ethnicity, we do know that he is a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) as well as the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). In his congressional bio, Rep. Green stated he is "steadfast in his commitment to serving the communities he represents in Congress."

Outside of his congressional caucuses, Rep. Green is part of several community organizations, including Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the NAACP, and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.

U.S. Rep. Green attended Florida A&M University, Howard University, and the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, all of which are historically Black colleges, though he didn't graduate from any of them. In 1973, he earned his Juris Doctorate from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, a law school at Texas Southern University, which is a public historically Black college. Before joining Congress, he served as president of the Houston branch of the NAACP for 10 years.

Back in December 2017, U.S. Rep. Green shared a photo to Instagram with the caption, "With my Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity brothers, for our annual Founders Day photo. 111 Years of service and brotherhood." The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity is the "first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African American Men," in 1906, per its website. It is also one of the Divine Nine, which is a nickname given to the nine historically Black fraternities and sororities.

In March 2025, U.S. Rep. Green was asked to leave after he stood up and protested during President Donald Trump's speech to the joint session of Congress. In response to that, Alpha Phi Alpha released a statement applauding his actions. It also said that as Alpha Men, they are "no strangers to the fight for civil rights and the power of civil disobedience."

Included among them are Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Paul Robeson, Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., and famed Civil Rights litigator and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall