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00:00Hello, everyone. My name is Ben Vinson III. I am the president of Howard University and I am delighted to be here to talk about Howard with Ebony.
00:07Homecoming is an incredible moment for HBCUs and it really goes back to the early days after our founding.
00:17For us, this centennial homecoming is special because Howard was the first HBCU to actually have a homecoming.
00:26And that first homecoming game back in 1924, we played Lincoln University, which was, Lincoln was on a tear.
00:36They were pretty much dominant and our alumni thought it would be a wonderful idea for us to congregate and celebrate
00:47and have a bonfire and really make this game special.
00:52Now, we lost that game, unfortunately, but the tradition survived and it began to catch like wildfire through other HBCUs.
01:02And so what this moment is about is, yes, it's about football, but it's also about celebrating culture.
01:10It's about the Mecca. It's about coming back to a capstone institution that has, for 157 years and counting,
01:22served as really one of the pinnacles of the educational experience for African Americans in this nation.
01:29And so when you come back to homecoming, yes, you're enjoying the culture.
01:33Yes, you're enjoying all of the festivities that are surrounding the game.
01:38But you are also participating in that legacy, in that lineage of tradition.
01:45And then you are using that to also project into the future.
01:49So all of this is into a big stew. It's an incredible, incredible event.
01:54I think the sky is the limit for Howard University in this moment in time.
01:59I have been talking about, right now, an HBCU renaissance.
02:04The amount of attention and investment in our institutions over the past couple of years has re-infused a new energy in our institutions.
02:14We're getting stronger enrollments. We're getting investments into our research infrastructure, into our physical spaces, into our buildings.
02:24And what this means is that it makes us stronger and better able to deliver on our mission.
02:29The second dimension of this renaissance moment where we're really creating what I call the next-gen HBCU.
02:36And I think Howard is a prototypical next-gen HBCU.
02:40We are using these investments to also provide new research solutions to the knotty questions and problems of our world
02:49that our unique history and perspective allows us to give us a new flavor on some of the solutions that are needed in our future society.
02:57We're going to go and try to be the very best Howard we can be, realizing that we've got to also pay it forward, not just to our communities,
03:05but also to our brothers and sisters, our other institutions in the HBCU landscape.
03:10Now listen, we have got a step show planned that I'm sure is going to take it to new heights.
03:15I was dazzled by the step show that I saw last year.
03:19The most creative, innovative, and just powerful step show that I've ever seen.
03:25So I know we're going to top that for the hundredth.
03:28We also have, of course, Yardfest, which brings together acts from across the spectrum, across the music spectrum.
03:37Whether it's R&B to hip-hop, rap, we've got it all.
03:42And it's going to be on the yard, and it's going to bring together multi-generations.
03:47This is something, we've got something for everyone, from the youngest of the young to the oldest of the old.
03:53It's going to be a family atmosphere on the yard.
03:56Of course, we're going to have food.
03:58Of course, we're going to have food, and food trucks are going to be lined up all around our perimeter.
04:04And of course, we have to step out in fashion.
04:08And of course, we're going to have an amazing fashion show.
04:11And some of these are, of course, featuring our own student designs, creative and runway ready.
04:17So I've got to say, these are just a few of the things that will outline the main event,
04:23which is our, of course, showcase game against Tennessee State.
04:27I am going to soak it in and enjoy it like any other fan out there.
04:31So I can't wait for the week.
04:33I'm full of energy, and I'm going to be celebrating with the rest of my community.
04:41♪♪