The Black Alumni Chapter hosted its “Black In The Day” Homecoming event at Oscar Ritchie Hall Friday.

The homecoming event was a whole weekend affair, beginning on Thursday and ending on Sunday afternoon with a 90s-style unity brunch to close out the weekend. The group had a tailgating event on Saturday, followed by a “Black On the Block” awards ceremony. 

On Friday, they had a hip-hop-inspired mixer to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the genre. 

The event included five Black dance groups around campus, food trucks, three DJs, several vendors and an old-school versus new-school hip-hop trivia game. The vendors varied from sweet treats to authors and artists, all former attendees of Kent State. 

One vendor, Lacy Talley, who graduated with a Visual Communication Design degree in 2018, returned to sell her artwork at the party. 

“I wanted to be around the alumni and like-minded individuals,” she said. “I really just want to celebrate the blackness within our community and how we stay unified even after graduating.”

Talley also founded The Flashettes in 2016, one of the dancing groups that performed. 

Other performing groups at the event included Barefeet Dance, which is approaching its 15-year anniversary in February, as well as Asé Xpressions and The Royal Flashes. 

Award-winning author Dr. Tameka Ellington showcased her five books centered around activism and woman empowerment. Ellington graduated in 1995 and taught at Kent State for fifteen years.

“I love coming back to homecoming,” Ellington said. “It gives me the opportunity to see my sisters.”

Chatiera Ray, one of the hosts, says she shed tears as she watched the Royal Flashes perform and hopes the weekend helps bring more culture to the parades and other homecoming events. 

“We wanted to bring the experience and culture of an HBCU to a PWI,” Ray said. “I hope that the younger generation continues it on.”

After the dance performances, attendees were encouraged to visit the first-floor bar, listen to DJ Kennedy Blaque and DJ Smallz and check out the exhibit in the Uumbaji art gallery.

Different black organizations around the campus occupied rooms around the Oscar Ritchie building, with the night ending with a bar crawl downtown.

Samira Brown is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].