Howard University, affectionately known as ‘The Mecca,’ is celebrating its 100th homecoming on the hilltop campus overlooking Washington, D.C. The globally lauded event brings thousands of alumni and supporters to The Yard each year to relish in the camaraderie, legacy, and rich traditions of Black culture through the lens of the Black college experience.
EBONY sat down with Howard University’s 18th President, Dr. Ben Vinson III who is celebrating his second homecoming as president. “It’s about football, but it’s about celebrating culture,” Vinson told EBONY. “It’s about coming back to a capstone institution that for 157 years, and counting, has served as one of the pinnacles of the educational experience for African Americans in this nation,” Vinson explained.
Vinson believes the United States is seeing an “HBCU Renaissance” that will lead Black America forward. “The amount of attention and investment in our institutions over the past couple of years has reinfused new energy in our institutions,” Vinson said. “We’re getting stronger enrollments. We’re getting investments into our research infrastructure and into our physical spaces, into our buildings. It makes us stronger and better able to deliver on our mission.” He says part of Howard’s mission is building a “new middle class” and the “next-gen HBCU.”
“Homecoming, in a way, is a touchstone into that process,” Vinson remarked. “It is also opening up the community gates for people— in our case, for people throughout the D.C. region— and those who also make the pilgrimage to ‘The Mecca’ to come and sample what’s happening here and to take that with them wherever they may travel. That’s part of the magic of this moment,” Vinson stated.
The magic of the Howard homecoming began in 1924 when the school competed against Lincoln University. That year, Howard became the first historically Black college or university to hold a homecoming game. “Our alumni thought it would be a wonderful idea for us to congregate and celebrate and have a bonfire and really make this game special,” Vinson said, adding that the tradition lived on and began to spread to other HBCUs.
Howard’s 100th homecoming will feature a Friday YardFest of concerts and musical acts, a Divine Nine Greek step show, a student-led fashion show, family-friendly activities on the yard, galas, and the homecoming football game, where The Howard Bison will compete against the Tennessee State University Tigers. The halftime show will feature Howard’s Showtime Marching Band and the Royal Court.”
This homecoming, Howard plans to roll out the red carpet to welcome Vice President Kamala Harris back to the campus. The democratic nominee for President is an alumna of Howard University, where she pledged Alpha Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and competed for student government as an undergraduate. Harris often says her toughest political campaign was during student election season at Howard. Now, running for the nation’s highest office, Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, have planned a stop at Howard’s homecoming. The visit will be a part of the Harris-Walz campaign’s HBCU tour ahead of the November presidential election.
Homecoming festivities on The Yard at Howard are expected to be a mammoth series of events and a memorable experience for every generation.
