I saw a post on Facebook that read something like: “To all of you non-Howardites at our homecoming, stop asking if we are coming to yours. We are not. There is a reason why Howard is called the Mecca!” I couldn’t say it better if I tried.
Howard’s homecoming is a multi-generational family reunion. It is a tribute to Black culture and liberation. It’s the one time of year when Black students attending predominantly white institutions (PWIs) descend on Howard’s campus to “get their Black on.” Black students attending PWIs literally come to Howard’s campus to bathe in the Black love Howard students receive all school year, nourishing their souls for the rest of the academic year. Whether you are a Howard student or alumnus, the feeling one gets when attending Howard’s homecoming is the way one feels after reuniting with your favorite cousin for the first time in 10 years. It is just pure joy.
This year’s homecoming was particularly special because we celebrated 100th years of reunions, fun, happiness, love and joy for the Howard community and for all who thrive in it. We reminisced about 100 years of Black culture and life on our campus and what it means to be a Howardite, dedicated to “excellence in truth in service.”
Every member of my family has attended Howard University, making me a third generation Howard Student. As we like to say, my entire family “bleeds blue.” My grandmother always says that she will forever love Howard University because it gave her everything— her education, her husband, their four children, and their ten grandchildren, three of whom are Howard students. Like my grandmother, I will be forever grateful for the opportunity given to me by God and by Howard. I have dyslexia and was the first student in my high school (a high school dedicated to students with learning differences), admitted to Howard in fifty-five years. The amount of love shown to me by my friends and professors at Howard has given me a chance to reflect on and see the strong, Black man that I am. I am not “other” or “different.” I am a man and I am a soldier with a camera and a pen, on a quest to become a multimedia journalist advocating for the human rights and dignity of the members of the African diaspora.
After the hardest and most emotionally difficult year of my life, this year’s homecoming allowed me to really look at my life as a blessing. I was only able to do so because of the amount of love my biological and Howard University family has shown me. I have been given the opportunity to love my family and friends and praise the most divine, the most merciful, and the most loving God. If I was not a god-fearing man, the individual you see today would not be here. Howard’s homecoming 2024 opened my eyes wide and clear and I have been awakened to my true vision for the future.
The photos below are of Howard University students and alumni and non-Howardaites who attend PWIs but came to Howard’s homecoming, showing school spirit and a love for Howard and Black culture. These photos were taken during yardfest and a birthday party and fundraiser for Vice President Kamala Harris in Potomac, Maryland. Harris is a 1986 graduate of Howard University.
Happy Homecoming and all praise to Howard University and to the Most High.
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