Donning elegant gowns and sharp tuxedos, and exuding Black excellence, more than 1,000 guests gathered at the Marriott Marquis in Northwest D.C. to commemorate 157 years of Howard University (HU) and celebrate the 100th Charter Day Dinner on March 2.
Serving as a scholarship fundraiser, the event was a party with a purpose that reflected on the past, celebrated the present, and looked toward the future.
Laurence C. Morse, chairman of Howard’s Board of Trustees, called the night a celebration of “100 years of Bison love.”
On March 2, 1867, the institution was founded by Gen. Oliver O. Howard, a Civil War hero, who also served as president of the Freedmen’s Bureau. That same day, then-President Andrew Johnson (D) approved Howard’s Charter as an official act of the United States Congress — incorporating it as an institution of higher education and igniting a long legacy of Black excellence that continues today.
In an evening that honored alumni and staff, and featured former Howard students such as actor Anthony Anderson and singer Kenny Lattimore, the event’s message was clear: for 157 years, HU has been dedicated to developing the best and brightest thinkers, leaders, and citizens. Further, Howard alumni use their skills as change agents in the Black community, nation and world.
“To think that we’ve been congregating and celebrating the founding of Howard for 100 years straight is amazing,” said current student Mahlon West, who serves as the 47th Mr. Howard University. “It’s very inspiring to know that we’re so close to the people we look up to, all the way to the leaders of the generation we’re in. It gives us hope that we’re at the right place at the right time.”
Celebrating the Present: ‘I Did It for Us’
Marking his first Charter Day celebration as the new leader of the 157-year-old university, Howard President Ben Vinson III said he was “bathing in the majesty of the Mecca.”
“I’ve come to understand after my six months at Howard that this is a family, and there’s a lot of love in this family. There’s magic in the room tonight,” said Vinson, the institution’s 18th president.
Since 1943, the dinner has honored Howard’s alumni and staff who have worked to become changemakers in their respective fields, including Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, Justice Thurgood Marshall, and Vice President Kamala Harris. This year’s awardees were Dr. Suzanne Randolph Cunningham and Dr. Andraé Townsel for their monumental achievements in psychology, public health, and education.
Randolph Cunningham graduated from HU in 1974 with her B.S. in psychology and went on to lead groundbreaking research on maternal and child health issues in Black families. She currently serves as chief science officer at MayaTech Corporation, an applied public health research firm in Silver Spring, Maryland.
“To celebrate among my Howard family and to feel their shared joy in this momentous occasion gave me such joy. As I celebrated with them and my own family, I could simply express this shared feeling by exclaiming as I hugged each of them, ‘I did it for you. I did it for your children and grandchildren. I did it for us,’” Randolph Cunningham told the Informer.
Before Townsel made history as the first Black superintendent of Calvert County, Maryland, he earned his bachelor’s (2007), master’s (2009) and doctorate (2015) all from Howard University.
He references much of his professional growth back to the field when he was a student-athlete at Howard – learning to balance both academics and athletics.
Starting July 1, Townsel will become the first black president of the Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland. He lives by a motto he’s shared with children and adults alike: “Set the bar, meet the bar, exceed the bar, and raise the bar.”
In addition, Robert Parker was honored with the Larue V. Barkwell Capstone Distinguished Service Award. Parker has dedicated 24 years of his life to Howard University. Starting as a fire alarm specialist to now serving as director of Life Safety and Compliance, Parker said he was humbled to be recognized for his contribution to the sense of home on Howard’s campus.
“I care about this university. We have a lot of people here on campus to make it the best university. I’m just here to make it safe,” said Parker.
Continuing the Legacy, Looking Toward the Future
With a focus on raising funds for scholarships, the dinner encouraged a continued investment in the university and future generations of students.
“I am excited to be attending my first Charter Day Dinner as president and to be in the room with so many people who care about the university and support its commitment to providing deserving students with scholarships to ease the financial burdens often associated with obtaining a college education,” said Vinson, Howard’s 18th president.
Anderson, who served as the event’s emcee, knows all too well what can happen when a student does not have sufficient financial resources to obtain a higher education.
Before he was an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated artist, Anderson was a student at Howard. However, he had to leave after his junior year, as he couldn’t afford to continue school.
Inspired by his son’s acceptance to the institution, Anderson returned to HU to earn his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts in 2022.
“It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish,” explained Anderson, who made a promise to match another alumnus’ $25,000 donation to support the next generation of Howard students.
Armaní Washington, who serves as the 85th Miss Howard University, was thankful to be in the room with so many esteemed alumni and said she was inspired to continue the legacy.
“It brings me a lot of joy being in a room full of generational powerhouses and trailblazers and being able to say I went to the same university as them,” said Washington. “It’s a blessing [to honor] the legacy of Howard, not just of the university but the people who come from the university.”