Immortalized in song (and easily by word of mouth), Howard University’s homecoming week draws hundreds of people to Mecca every year. The crowds on the primary campus, affectionately referred to as The Yard, will include generations of students, alumni and people just in search of a good time: old friends and latest families, former marching band members and college, Black Greeks and former athletes – a community connected by fraternity.
This 12 months’s celebration marks Howard’s one centesimal anniversary. In 1924the university welcomed back graduates for its first homecoming, organized around the favored annual Thanksgiving Day football game against Lincoln University. Although the festivities are actually held in October and Howard hosts homecoming events at different schools every year, the tradition of annual homecoming has remained.
There is a saying within the Howard community, “We never lost a party,” and going home proves that statement. Take a have a look at Howard’s homecoming traditions through the years.
The annual naming of Howard State University is a homecoming tradition. Left photo: Miss Howard 1974 Right photo: Mr. Howard, Jalen Saunders (left) and Miss Howard, Victoria Gray (right) are announced because the 2016 Royal Court during halftime of the homecoming football game.
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Photo left: Howard University’s Aray Williams (center) jumps over North Carolina A&T University defenders to assist the Bison gain a 21-0 halftime advantage within the 1996 homecoming game. Right photo, left to right: Howard students Lynda Wade, Erica Betrand and her twin sister Erdye Betrand cheer within the stands through the 1996 homecoming game. Howard won 38-3.
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Howard University cheerleaders perform at Yardfest during homecoming week in 2005.
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Members of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity dance across the fraternity’s sundial on the Howard University campus during Homecoming week in 2016.
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Every 12 months, highschool bands take part in the Howard Homecoming Parade. The highschool band marches down Georgia Avenue past a review booth through the 2006 parade.
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Actor Taraji P. Henson (right), a 1995 graduate of Howard University, and rapper Ludacris (left) drive down Georgia Avenue through the 2009 Howard Homecoming Parade.
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Parades celebrating Howard’s homecoming are held on the King’s Court. Top photo: Howard University Grant Robertson (left) and Miss Howard University Kyla Cole (right) take part in the parade in 2019. Bottom photo: School organizations and color guards just like the Friendly High Flag Corps take part School from Maryland Homecoming Parade in 2007.
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Drummer major Christopher Cloud begins Howard’s Showtime Marching Band’s halftime performance through the 2014 homecoming game against Florida A&M University.
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The Showtime Marching Band leaves the sphere after acting at halftime of Howard’s game against North Carolina A&T in 2016.
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Members of Divine Nine sororities and sororities and Howard University dorm organizations compete within the annual Homecoming Steps Show. Clockwise from top left: The 2016 program included participants from Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and Drew Hall Freshman Men’s Residence Hall.
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Makaela James, an 18-12 months-old Howard University student, participates within the 2011 homecoming fashion show. The show, which Howard students placed on every year, provides an economic boost to the community by bringing in alums and increasing student spending.
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Rapper Wale steps into the Yardfest crowd at Howard University in 2010. The music festival attracts established and emerging music artists.
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This article was originally published on : andscape.com
