They are adorned with legacies of achievement and histories that helped to shape African-American culture and tradition. Howard University and Morgan State University will meet on tomorrow to commemorate one of black college football’s greatest traditions, Howard University’s homecoming celebration.
Many eyes from the worlds of entertainment and sports will rest on Gerogia Avenue tomorrow, as parades, fashion shows, concerts and parties will energize a city and glavanize a culture around the alumni, friends and supporters returning home; returning to that city on a hill, from which descends leaders and innovators that captivate and demonstrate the best of what we are, and the potential of what we could be.
And yet, come next Monday, it will all be over. We will go back to our places of work, reflective about how fun it was to catch up with so-and-so, or how this fraternity or sorority hasn’t changed since we were last in school, and marvel at how much the campus has grown and stayed the same, both at the same time.
We won’t think about the students that will be leaving the campus just a few weeks after homecoming because they won’t be able to afford the tuition and fees. We probably won’t consider those pending and recent graduates who need continuous networking opportunities to make it in these tough financial times.
And we probably won’t think that Howard and Morgan State, or any other HBCU could have much stronger athletic programs with our help.
The truth is, we should never leave home. Howard, Morgan or anywhere else. Minority students are attending college a record-breaking levels, yet alumni giving at black colleges is dramatically down. We lament poor leadership, cry about old buildings, and talk about what should and could be done without ever answering the question of “what would we give up to make it happen?”
Would we go the Barack Obama route, and challenge all of our class members to give five dollars a month to the unrestricted fund of a black college or university? Would we take a weekend and conduct a seminar for juniors and seniors studying a discipline that has been professionally kind to us?
Would we buy a game program and go to every game that we can – men’s and women’s – to show our support for black college athletics?
Or do we give our love to alma mater one weekend in October and say we’re good until the next big game?
What is it that jades us to supporting our institutions? Is it bad experiences we’ve had with administration? Traumatic times that we encountered as college students? Or is it the classic association some black graduates work hard to earn in life:
I’m better than from whence I came.
We aren’t better than the circumstances from which we’ve come. We are better because of them, but not better than. There is no reason or excuse short of poverty and general ignorance that could qualify any graduate of an HBCU to not want more for the university that gave them so much. Morgan State allowed me the opportunity to earn a degree, make life-long friends, and to learn under brilliant minds of academia.
And it introduced me to the love of my life. The very least I can do is ensure that another student has the same sustainable opportunity.
This is not to shame anyone, or to minimize circumstances in these times of financial crisis. But if there is one thing the histories of Howard, Morgan and countless other black colleges has shown us is that our people have done much more with much less. You wouldn’t dare show your face at your mother’s home without offering to cut grass, change light bulbs and checking for bills she might need help with.
Take the same view for the mother of your education, your culture, and your heritage.
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