Students Stroll To College In HBCU Senior Sendoff

Danielle Campbell Photos. 

Aspiring nurse Brianna West doesn’t remember the first time she heard the pitch for an HBCU. But by her junior year at James Hillhouse High School, one name—Morgan State University—had thoroughly piqued her interest. She knew that the school was right for her after a visit.

Sunday afternoon, West was one of over 50 Connecticut students to attend the fourth annual HBCU Sendoff Celebration, hosted by the CT HBCU Alumni Network at the Connecticut Center for Arts & Technology (ConnCAT). Over 300 parents, HBCU alumni, and members from regional chapters of the Divine Nine—the nine elite Black sororities and fraternities that build the National Pan-Hellenic Council—all showed up to see the students off in style.

All of them made sure that students and their families knew that as they head to HBCUs—Historically Black Colleges and Universities—they are not doing it alone.

“To all of our students that are entering into their HBCU, let me just tell you, you're entering into a legacy of excellence,” said Keisha Redd-Hannans, assistant superintendent for instructional leadership at the New Haven Public Schools. “It is a legacy where we expect you to be the best and we know you are the best.

“We expect you to come back and give back to your community,” she continued. “It is important when you go and attend an HBCU to reach back and teach the next person and share with them.”

Danielle Campbell Photos. 

That air of celebration permeated every square inch of the event. In ConnCAT’s parking lot, tents sprang up with music, vendors, HBCU swag, and dancing. By 3 p.m., cars gathered at the entrance waiting for information on where to go. To the right, tents from veteran-owned One Stop Entertainment and 94.3 WYBC kept music flowing over the space.

Across the lot, stations emblazoned with the names of different HBCUs had gifts for the students provided by Home Depot. They included mini-refrigerators for their dorm rooms and other supplies that might be helpful to an incoming freshman.

As students went from station to station, parents stayed in the shade, sat in their cars and walked around to mingle with the other parents and the future HBCU students. Refreshments rolled in from Ricky D’s Rib shack, located across the street from the event before the main festivities ensued.

Danielle Campbell Photos. 

Vendors like Chelsea Wearing showed off her nascent business, Boujee Bunch Boutique, which sells bedazzled shorts, blinged-out football-themed purses and other stylish clothing. Lee Bethea came with shades from with Positivlee Eyewear, right on time as some attendees squinted through the summer sun. Veronica Moses, who runs the business Sangella, offered jewelry to students, making the pitch that they could show off at their homecoming events.

Proud mom Toni Ligon rolled up to the sendoff to celebrate her son Myles, who is going to Xavier University of Louisiana. While he was unable to make it—he is currently enrolled in a summer program at New York University (NYU)—she came sporting a “Xavier Mom” t-shirt. She jumped at the opportunity to talk about her pride in her son.

Myles chose Xavier because it dovetails with his dreams to go into medicine, she said. In high school, her son had the chance to shadow a Black female anesthesiologist, and the school kept coming up. Once he and his mom traveled to Xavier and met with the pre-med director, they knew the school was the right fit for him.

It also helped that Xavier prepares students for the MCAT from their first year, she said. She knows he’s in good hands.

Danielle Campbell Photos. 

Thais Moore, mother of rising Hampton University freshman Eddie Moore Jr, was also excited to represent her son while he did an early college summer enrichment program. His younger siblings, mother and father all attended in his honor.

“I think it's important for me, for my kids, for all the other people that are here to see the representation for and support for HBCUs,” she said.

Dancers in black and gold came into the lot, displaying their moves to the bouncing drums and classy brass of Bowie State University’s Symphony of Soul Marching Band. It was a well-loved sight to those familiar with HBCU marching bands and majorettes: a dance leader goes, and the rest of the dancers follow.

With music still hanging in the air, several of the students in attendance received scholarships for school, including the annual recipients of the Sharon M. Clemons “Butterflies” Fund. The award is presented each year to young women attending Smith College, Hampton University, Spelman College, Tuskegee University in honor of Clemons, who passed away unexpectedly of Covid-19 in November 2020. Her four daughters, Kiara Osborn, Nyle Clemons, Nia Clemons and Kai Clemons, attended those schools. 

Danielle Campbell Photos. 

Before the afternoon was over, students also celebrated the schools they were attending, gathering together as organizers called out the name of their school. Clark Atlanta University and Morgan State University both had the most students going to attend. They also got some HBCU history, as representatives of the Divine Nine led—and taught the legacy of—a stroll in the students’ honor.

Future HBCU attendees were also part of the conversation. Kai Weaver of the Bridgeport-based Village Initiative Project announced two high school winners of a raffle to have an all-expenses-paid trip to visit Howard University.

It was time for the final sendoff.  Members of Southern Connecticut State University’s Blue Steel Marching Band cued up in their yellow and blue outfits, the Pearl and Diamond Dolls Dancers ready to move alongside them. Both showed the attendees their showmanship with chants and poses. The marching band had both beats and moves as they faced the crowd head on.

This was truly a sneak peek into what the students could enjoy.