Homecoming--HBCU style!

Tuskegee, thou pride of the swift growing South
We pay thee our homage today
For the worth of thy teaching, the joy of thy care;
And the good we have known 'neath thy sway.

Oh, long-striving mother of diligent sons
And of daughters whose strength is their pride,
We will love thee forever and ever shall walk
Through the oncoming years at thy side.

Oh, mother Tuskegee, thou shinest today
As a gem in the fairest of lands;
Thou gavest the heav'n-blessed power to see
The worth of our minds and our hands.

We thank thee, we bless thee, we pray for thee years
Imploring with grateful accord,
Full fruit for thy striving, time longer to strive,
Sweet love and true labor's reward.

~ Paul Lawrence Dunbar, The Tuskegee Song

(always sung loud and proud with your right fist in the air!)

_________________________________________________

I still remember the first day I arrived at Tuskegee University as a freshman. Dad and I pulled right in front of Fredrick Douglass Hall unpacking my things and stacking them up on the curb. The air was so thick with humidity that my California lungs felt suffocated by it. Sure, I'd visited the South before--and even Tuskegee--but this was different. This air was now my air. These buildings were now my buildings. And yes. I was now in the epicenter of this history that had been my history all along.

I remembered those grainy black and white photos of my maternal grandmother and grandfather. Standing side by side and looking doe-eyed in the 1940's --  right there on the same campus. I could see Mom's cherubic face as she sat cross-legged on a brick fountain and Daddy marching down "the ave" as an Omega pledgee proudly holding his Lampados club shield. I'd seen those images for years and even had newer ones from my brother, Will, and older sister, Deanna, to add to that collection. Him yucking it up with sorority girls in tight apartment kitchens with his collegiate swagger. Her laughing out loud with a backpack slung over her shoulder on the yard. 

Now it was my turn. And yes, that air was thick with humidity. But also with anticipation of what was to come. An experience all my own at a historically black college. All my own. 

So. Why an HBCU (historically black college/university)? Why, when you were sixth in your high school class and when you had excellent SAT scores? Why, when you are all the way from California and all of the schools that meet that description are no further west than Texas? Especially when you have places like UCLA and UC Berkley and Stanford right in your back yard? Why? Why? Why?

Those were the questions I heard often. But for me, it was a no-brainer. One that stemmed way back from something my daddy once told me--"The great will be great." He let me know that those destined to do great things should choose carefully about life experiences and also who will get credit later on. That helped me when I was trying to listen to my spirit and go to Meharry Medical College (also historically black). But it also assisted me in embracing Tuskegee University as my college of choice. 

Douglass Hall, Tuskegee

 This place? This place had history. Not just history for my own family but history. That dorm that my daddy was hauling my padlocked trunk into had been built by hand by students in the 1800's. I would be living in a building that was named for a man who made his name as a slavery abolitionist. And I would be in an environment designed to nurture me and ground me in who I am as an African-American. 

That was important to me. It always will be, too.

I wanted all of that. And I especially wanted the part affectionately known as "the black college experience." Man, oh man. The marching bands with their high kicking, leg splitting drum majors. The laugh out loud moments in campus hangouts and the excitement of sorority and fraternity probate performances, step shows and, of course, the parties in between. The loyalty built into hearts after spending those important years there and the magnetic pull it has to return for homecoming celebrations year after year with countless others of all ages. 

And so. This past weekend, for my fellow alums, all roads led to Tuskegee. Old ones, young ones, and all those in between followed the band and made their way back home. Even Mother Nature seemed to be in cahoots as she blessed us with spectacular blue skies and pleasant fall weather. For me? This was a special one. The 20th anniversary of the year I pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated--which meant a BIG OL' reunion with all of my linesisters! Woot! Woot!

Now. Since we always like cultural competency on this-here-blog, I'll explain a few things. Black sororities and fraternities are lifetime commitments. In fact, most of the work begins AFTER you've graduated. While many pledge as collegiates, just as many (if not more) pledge into graduate chapters. All have the expectation that you'll continue to serve the community, embrace and encourage scholarship and foster a bond with fellow members. This explains why you see black people driving around with Greek letter placards on their cars or sorority t-shirts well into middle age. No, they aren't reliving their golden days as frat boys or sorority girls (although some are.) Seriously, though, mostly it means that they're proud of their lifelong affiliation with the organization.

My car

These fraternities and sororities are often family traditions just like the schools. Like to the point of parents completely losing their minds when their kids choose to go a different way. ("Going a different way" means pledging something other than what your family mostly did.)

The mean expression is just an Omega thing--at least with the younger ones.

(I can't say that we're terribly worried about what ours will want to do. . .ha ha ha.)

They also have lots of fun traditions tied to them that are easily recognizable to most African-Americans. I pledged Delta--short for Delta Sigma Theta--in the Gamma Tau Chapter at Tuskegee University. Many refer to the place or time that you pledged as the time that you were "made" and those who pledged you "made" you. Case in point, this conversation I had with my dad at homecoming one year:

Me:  "Hey Poopdeck, was he your linebrother?"

Dad:  "Naww! I made him!"

Me: "Oh, my bad."

Those who pledged with you are referred to as "linesisters" or "linebrothers." The group that pledges is collectively called a "line," drawn from the tradition of lining up pledges by height during the pledge process. The moment of initiation is called "crossing over." This refers to the act of (often literally) "crossing over the burning sands" that bridge being a pledge from being a sho nuff and bona fide member. Anyone who pledged the same year and semester as you did is affectionately called your "sands." And all fellow members of your sorority are your "sorors." (The guys keep it a little simpler by just saying "brother" or "bruh" -- and depending upon the organization there's all sorts of other names, too.)

Whew! I know this is a lot but stay with me, y'all--I'm going somewhere. (Black people who attended HBCUs or who are in greek letter organizations, I'm sure y'all are bored to death, but y'all stay with me, too.)

Well, for me, 2012 marked twenty years since I crossed in 1992. And even cooler? It was Poopdeck's FIFTIETH YEAR since he was made into Omega Psi Phi at the very same college!

Dad's pledge line in Fall of '62 marching on the yard at Tuskegee. Poopdeck was #12 -- the "taildog."

Oh, and did I mention? The Deltas and the Omegas are unofficial brother-sister organizations. And did I also mention that Harry also happens to be an Omega man just like my dad?And that HE, too, pledged in 1992 and was celebrating HIS twentieth year at his own alma mater, Virginia State?

OMG. I remember the night I first met Harry I went over to say good bye and just as I did one of his frat brothers came over to greet him at the same time. The bulldog is the Omega mascot and many of them affectionately refer to each other as "dog" or "dogteam." (Confusing, I know.) But check it, y'all. I was already feeling him, but SERIOUSLY I was thinking, "if this guy is an Omega, this would officially make him my future husband." And don't you know that when the dude was leaving, I saw him giving Harry a secret handshake (which could be any fraternity) but then almost FAINTED when I heard him say to the guy, "Alright then, dogteam!" 

I was all like:

You. Are. SO. My. Husband.

Harry and his (and Poopdeck's) Omega fraternity brothers at an alumni chapter function

Yup. 

Which reminds me. One of my favorite moments from my wedding day was sitting in the middle of the big Omega circle on Harry's lap as my dad and all of the rest of their fraternity brothers sang all around us. Way cool.

Almost as cool as having all of my sorors serenading me that day. :)

Anywho. Where was I? Oh yeah, homecoming. Okay, so I've said ALL of that to get you ready for what was HANDS DOWN the best homecoming I've had since the year I pledged Delta in 1992.

For those who have never been to or even heard of a black college homecoming weekend experience, consider this post your very first one. I intend to take you right into the thick of it so that you, too, can feel it right along with those who know it so well.

Like to hear it? Here it go!

YOUR FIRST OR MAYBE UMPTEENTH BLACK COLLEGE HOMECOMING WEEKEND (DEPENDING UPON WHO YOU ARE) THROUGH THE EYES OF THE LITTLE BLOG THAT COULD!

Give me your hand. . . . .you ready? You well rested? I hope so. . . . . 

Homecoming -- HBCU style. . . .

We did it big this year. Our line delegated the planning to an amazing committee who put together a whole package for us.  Those who arrived in Atlanta (which is ~ two hours away from Tuskegee) met up for lunch. Afterward the rest of us all converged on an awesome rooftop bar for a daytime party in downtown Atlanta. How great was it to reconnect with so many of my old friends and especially my linesisters!

If we look like we were having fun, it's because we were.

Roomdog! Woof! Woof!

Me and Tasha, my college roommate and linesister showing those young girls how the forty-somethings do it!

I'd never been to a "daytime party." But let me tell you, this one? This one was a WHOLE HEAP of fun and a perfect way to kick off our 20th reunion for sure! We got to see lots of friends from our college years and also got to just yuck it up and reconnect.

But mostly we acted silly just like we did in college.

Next up? An awesome dinner in a private room in a Buckhead restaurant (Maggianos.) Lots and lots of food but mostly lots of fun. We had THIRTY ONE grown-ass women in attendance. How awesome is that?

But it wasn't over there. After dinner, we all went to The Grand Hyatt where a block of rooms including a hospitality suite awaited us. And these adorable bags holding all of our "swag" and the itinerary for the weekend. Go planning committee!

Everyone changed into their fun pajamas and old sorority t-shirts and convened in the hospitality suite. This was what I'd like to call an "adult pajama party"-- and what I mean by that is that we all hung out 'til the wee hours of the morning snacking, gossiping and drinking margaritas . . . but when it came for some real sleep, we retreated our grown selves to our own hotel rooms. Ha. My kind of pajama party!

Early the next morning, the good ones got up and worked out. I wasn't one of the good ones, but I did manage to snag my linesister Glencia after her early run to join me for breakfast! It was awesome to catch up one on one with her before the real antics started. 

Including this other photo of us from the day before since Glencia will surely fuss at me for posting her post-run hair! 

After breakfast we all changed into our special "blinged out" anniversary t-shirts. Everyone looked so amazing and it was neat to see how everyone had their own style infused into their look. The shirts were these adorable stretchy numbers with "Made in '92" on the front and Roman numeral for twenty on the back with our chapter. Everyone looked so good!

I'm sure you're wondering if they only selected gorgeous and successful women that year. We don't know the answer to that, but we do say, "Why, thank you for the compliment, daahhhling."

I was a little cold at first so had on a red jacket. Don't worry, I was a good sport and took it off when the time came.

Hey, can't you tell Ebony was my roommate in the hotel? She totally tzujjed me up with eyelashes and smokey eyes. Told you she would!

We met up in front of the hotel where our chariot awaited us. And by "chariot" I mean a luxury limo bus (complete with a pole!) Twenty-nine of us jumped in and off we went for two hours of laughing, imbibing and . . .uhh. . . .dancing.

Those are my feet in those fancy socks laughing as Ebony strikes a pose upon my request to "look fierce." 

Yes. It was EXACTLY as much fun as it appears on these photos.

We laughed so hard that it seemed like that ride only took five minutes. Somebody yelled out of the window, "We're here! We're home!" And all of us started belting out Tuskegee spirit chants followed by our old school sorority party cheers. 

The T! The U! S-K-E the G-double E! TUSKEGEE! WOOO! TUSKEGEE! WOOOOOOO!

The bus pulled right onto campus and dropped us all off next to the historic Booker T. Washington monument where we hugged those who weren't on the bus and took photos. This statue represents our school's founder, Booker T. Washington, lifting the veil of ignorance from his people and is a symbol of the university for Tuskegeeans everywhere. Our family has scores of photos in that very same place.

Then we headed to the Homecoming Game! Woo Hooo!

The sky could not have been bluer and more cloudless. The energy was pulsatile and the smiles were so full and genuine that I wished I could just bottle them up and take them with me for later. Our committee was so organized that we even had a TENT and a BANNER with FOOD and DRINKS inside the game. (Go committee!)

In addition to seeing some old friends, I met some new ones, too. I got to hug the neck of one of the girls from the most recent pledge class who happens to be my same linenumber. Yay!

I totally commended them for being FAR more organized than we ever were as collegiate Deltas. Ha ha ha. We never would have gotten our own tent and food had we known that the young'ns were gonna set it out like that! Ha ha ha!

Two of my sands even have CHILDREN in school at Tuskegee now. Can you even believe that? I guess we are old enough for that now, aren't we? Wow.

Tanya and her son, LJ, a freshman at Tuskegee. (Husband, Spence, is also a TU alum.)

Super excited to have also met Kurlylicious who reads my blog (and also has an awesome blog herself.) Yaahooooo! You know how hyped I get to know that someone other than my mama is reading this thing. (Although after all these photos and this long post, though, y'all might not come back. .ha ha!)

Kurlylicious is in our "rival" sorority -- Alpha Kappa Alpha and her hubby is a Tuskegee alumnus. (Good choice, girlfriend!)  I use that word "rival" very gently because at our school there was nothing contentious about our relationship. We were all the best of friends and loved ribbing each other any chance we got.

It's good to know that Kurly didn't hold my choice of sororities against me! She even came up and introduced herself to Tounces and Poopdeck when she saw them on the yard before me. How EXCITED were they?

Speaking of which. Remember, my dad was celebrating FIFTY years so if you think WE had good stuff as forty-somethings, just imagine how the sixty-somethings do it! The "old school" people come in big RVs complete with full bars and deep fryers.

Why does fried fish taste so much better at homecoming games and tailgates?

Dad and some of his '62 line brothers. These guys were a HOOT, do you hear me? A HOOT.

More Omegas from Poopdeck's era.  They were having a blast. In fact, they got started on THURSDAY with a service project and still had the party going on Saturday.

Glencia and I promptly hit up their stash of refreshments and food. But of course we did!

One of MANY, MANY laugh out loud moments with Poopdeck and his frat brothers.

After the game, everyone hits the yard to socialize and hang out. My sisters were there, too, but I have to snag some of their pictures to add to these. Come back and check for those. 

Oh. Here you go--including Tounces. :)

 

Once a little time has passed, it's our tradition at homecoming for all of the sororities and fraternities to meet up and serenade at their "rocks." That's the place were your chapter brothers or sisters can be found on campus at any given time. 

We were SO proud to roll in THIRTY plus as a line for our serenade! The circle of Deltas is huge at homecoming and the love just fills you heart when those voices start rising over the campus. This is one of my favorite parts of homecoming. 

Here's a quick clip of some "old school" Gamma Tau Delta girls singing the solo part on one of our traditional songs. You can see how HUGE our Delta circle is on this little video clip. Forgive my wretched filming job--I was a little . . .uhh. . excited. Yeah, that's it. Excited.

Funny. Someone notified me that I am now officially "old school", too. Hmmmm.

Since we had our awesome party bus, we were all able to stop back by to grab jackets (or in my case to change into more comfortable shoes.) Those who needed a breather or to take a load off did while others kept the party going at the Conference Center on campus or just socializing on the yard until dusk.

How cute is Poopdeck in all of his frat gear?

My next stop was my grandmother's house which happens to be walking distance from campus. It was amazing to see her and talk to her. I love knowing that she met and fell in love with my grandfather there.

That part was awesome. We were happy to see each other. Ninety years old and still sharp as a tack. I know that having her there is a treat now just as it was when I was a student. My linesister Michele came with me to my grandma's house, which I super-duper appreciated.

Just when things couldn't get better, I got this picture texted to me from the BHE who was at his own homecoming in Virginia. I was quickly reminded of how freakin' HOT that man is. Ha ha ha.

He and his linebrothers chose to dress more swanky than us. But then, you already know from reading this blog how swanky he is anyway.

Harry and his Omega linebrother and best friend, Shannon J.

We laughed, hugged and partied until we were fully spent. We crawled back to the bus, stopping occasionally for a second wind at the historic sites.

Finally, we all boarded the bus and headed back to Atlanta where our chariot dropped us back at the hotel. Shoes immediately got peeled off of feet and replaced with slippers.

The morning brought more fellowship over omelets and coffee.

Finally it was time to return to our real lives again. So sad! Can you believe I left there and went straight to do the AIDS Walk with my SG students? Can you say EXHAUSTED? Ha ha ha. (More on the AIDS Walk later.)

Hands down. Best. Homecoming. Ever.

Admit it. Wasn't it your best, too?

So glad you were able to come along for the ride with me. Aren't you glad you didn't miss it? See you there next year, okay?

***
Happy Homecoming. To all o' y'all.

Here's our 20th Anniversary Line Celebration video. Full of some great moments over the last twenty years with my linesisters. Enjoy.
Coalescent Spring '92 Line Anniversary from Kimberly Manning on Vimeo.