The Black Alumni Society in 2022. Credit: Courtesy of Jevon Williams
Since the 1990s, Ohio State has annually hosted the Afrikan American Farewell Ceremony to honor graduates of color.
And if not for the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the university’s Sorority and Fraternity Life, this year’s ceremony would have been its last.
Following the Feb. 28 shutdown of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the celebration was at risk of losing funding from the university, according to an April 8 Black Alumni Society Instagram post. Despite these challenges, the National Pan-Hellenic Council — which worked alongside ODI, the Office of Student Life and the Student Life Multicultural Center to host the ceremony each year — partnered with Sorority and Fraternity Life and changed the name to “The Farewell Celebration” presented by NPHC, the post states.
University spokesperson Chris Booker said in a statement Ohio State “has been examining programming, initiatives and projects that have traditionally been considered diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.”
“The historic Afrikan American Farewell Celebration was a part of this review process, and the event is continuing with a few alterations, including that the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) student organization will take the lead on the event,” Booker said. “Because it was also necessary to be clear that the event is open to all students, we recommended revising the name, which will now be the Farewell Celebration, presented by NPHC.”
The Black Alumni Society has raised over $26,000 in community donations since March 21 in order to offset this year’s expenses and cover future commencement ceremonies, according to the post.
Jevon Collins, former interim director of the Black Alumni Society and an alum who graduated in 2004, said he worries about the university’s future students due to recent DEI programming cuts at Ohio State and across the country.
“These changes to the graduation ceremony take progress away — think back to Black alumni like Jesse Owens and Fred Patterson; they weren’t allowed to live on campus,” Collins said.
Collins said he was introduced to Ohio State in sixth grade through the Young Scholars Program, a scholarship designed for first-generation, inner-city, public pre-collegiate school students.
“The program kept me away from pitfalls like drugs and violence that a lot of my peers were getting into in my early teen years,” Collins said. “It enabled me to believe that I was going to go to college.”
By participating in programs offered by ODI, Collins said he was led to his current position as chief operating officer at The King Art Complex, which preserves African American history and culture through art, according to its website.
Collins said the university’s ODI programs and initiatives created opportunities for students from backgrounds like his to succeed, and Black graduates deserve recognition of the hurdles they’ve overcome in the form of a celebration like the Afrikan American Farewell Ceremony.
“I knew Ohio State was more than just the Black experience, but at the same time, I needed my foundation,” Collins said.
Collins said he did not attend the ODI commencement ceremony during his own senior year, but as a Black Alumni Society member, the opportunity to witness graduates walk across the stage with their families watching made Collins realize why the tradition is such a meaningful source of pride.
Mike Williams, who attended Ohio State prior to ODI’s creation and currently works with the Black Alumni Society, said the university’s recent DEI changes make him fear that students will face the same discrimination and lack of institutional support he experienced.
During his time at Ohio State, Williams said minority students had to create ways to support themselves instead of relying on Ohio State for support, which he feels mirrors what the university looks like now.
In light of the cutbacks, Williams said he will continue to support students through his advocacy with the Black Student Union Legacy Group, which consists of the founding members of the BSU from the 1960s and works with the Black Alumni Society to assist graduates of color.
“This university is supposed to represent opportunity, and yet, without ODI, it has no vehicle to ensure that opportunity is real for all students,” Williams said
Ultimately, Collins said it is the alumni network’s role to support current students as the university transitions away from its DEI programming.
“It’s up to the alumni and those who have benefited from ODI and its programs to figure out alternative ways to support minority students,” Collins said.
