53 Sent Off To HBCUs In Style

Xavier Mom. Spel-Bound. HBCU Strong Hampton University. Aggie Dad. hbcu-ish. Morgan. Alumni North Carolina A&T State University. 

Participants donned T‑shirts with those logos Sunday at a send-off celebration for 53 students headed for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Three hundred family members and friends joined the celebration, which took place Sunday at ConnCAT in Science Park. The fourth annual HBCU Send-Off Celebration, it featured a jubilant mix of premier marching bands, scholarship presentations, and a parade through Newhallville.

The event was organized by the CT HBCU Alumni Network, a nonprofit that exists ​“to support HBCUs by developing a community of its students and alumni living in Connecticut,” as its website reads. 

With 103 HBCUs across the country and none in New England, the mission is simple: Spread the word. 

“A lot of recruiters don’t come this far north,” said Network President Talima Andrews. ​“That’s why we exist, to introduce incoming freshmen to HBCU alumni and current students, and to provide the network of support and resources that these college students need.”

Providing a material assist in the send-off, which Andrews called the network’s ​“signature event,” was national sponsor Home Depot, which donated almost $20,000 in dorm room essentials for the students.

Jamila Epps and her husband Terrell stood on one side of the 4 Science Park driveway, watching small groups break into impromptu line dances as hip hop swelled through the speakers. Their daughter Kayla, a graduate of Co-op High School, will attend North Carolina A&T Greensboro to study psychology. 

“I’m excited for her and her future and also a little bit overwhelmed,” said Jamila, who was sporting a T‑shirt that read ​“NC A&T Aggie Mom.” ​“This was all her decision.” 

At that moment, Karen Glover appeared, her T‑shirt announcing her as an alumna of NC A&T.

“Best decision I made in my life,” she told them, as the bass drum of Bowie State’s Symphony of Soul Marching Band (pictured) began its thunder from the top of the drive. 

HBCUs are crucial for Black students, she said, because ​“it means that all of their energy can go into learning and growing, not fitting in.” 

Across the way, Carolyn Scott reclined in a lawn chair. 

Her great niece, Gabrielle Douglas, ​“got accepted into the nursing program at Florida A&M, did it all on her own,” she said.

“They got the best marching band,” said Rasheen Dixon of WYBC FM, who was passing by. ​“Went to Paris, all that.”

“That’s right,” Scott said.

When Scott hurt her back, Gabrielle took care of her. ​“She’s a natural,” she said of her great niece, who got her CNA certification while at Career High School. Later in the afternoon she would win the Nursing Book Award from the Southern CT Black Nurses Association. 

When Gabrielle found out she got into the nursing program at Florida A&M, ​“she was so hyped, I started getting hyped too,” Scott said.

“It’s far,” said Gabrielle’s father Maurice Douglas, who had been quiet until then. ​“But I gotta let her fly.” 

“You are entering into a legacy of excellence,” the Network’s Alice Coleman told the students. ​“It is important to reach back and touch the next person and share it with them.” 

Coleman, who attended Hampton University, is the assistant principal at Career High School. The network’s president, Talima Andrews, a Spelman alum, is an educator at Engineering and Science University Magnet School (ESUMS). Then there is Howard University’s Keisha Redd-Hannans, who’s the New Haven Public Schools’ assistant superintendent for instructional leadership.

“We are repping HBCUs for New Haven Public Schools,” Coleman said. With that, she ushered Erik Clemons and his four daughters to the front to introduce the winners of the Butterflies Fund.

Clemons said he and his daughters created the fund, which supports young Black women attending college, to honor the legacy of his wife Sharon, who died of Covid in November 2020.

“She was a community builder and she had a vigilance around education for young Black women,” he said. ​“She saw how important it was to help them realize their full potential.” 

Ashlyn Mallard, who’s studying strategic communications at Hampton University, was among the winners. 

“I’m so grateful,” she said, adding that it will help pay for her tuition and books. 

Mallard is the niece of Sharon Clemons.

“My aunt was always an advocate for education, especially for young Black women, so this is a perfect way to honor her legacy,” she said.

As the North Carolina A&T Mighty Marching Blue Machine began its routine, Alysia Gibbs, whose son Matthew will attend Morgan State University on a track scholarship, took in the scene. 

“They say so many negative things about African American children, but take a look around,” she said. ​“They’re all going to school so they can gain the skills to contribute to society and make the world a better place. That’s a beautiful thing.”