Ten students received scholarships at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Lavender Reception in the east ballroom of the Blackburn Center at Howard University.
The reception, which was founded by Christopher Cross in 2015, is a benefit for the Lavender Fund and a highlight of homecoming week. The Lavender Fund was created to provide financial resources to help students in the LBGTQIA+ community complete their education.
A.J. King, the director of Intercultural Affairs and the LGBTQIA+ Resource Center, said this is an opportunity not only to celebrate these students, but also for alumni to continue to raise money so the Lavender Fund can continue to provide scholarships.
Sophomore Trinity Wright, one of 50 scholarship applicants, said she was thrilled to have other queer students around her to support and celebrate one another.
Wright, who is from Kansas City, Missouri, is a health sciences major on the pre-med track with a double minor in chemistry and biology. She plans to use her scholarship toward medical research opportunities.
A previous recipient, David-Edward Brown, felt it was crucial to be at the 10th annual Lavender Reception. Brown said that the reception and fund cultivate a space in which everyone feels included.
That’s also the focus of Tabara Fall, chair of the HUSA Senate Lavender Committee, which was created two years ago.
“We write a lot of legislation to protect queer students, to advocate for queer students and to support them in any ways we can through the funding that we get from student government,” Fall said.
David J. Johns, Ph.D., chief executive officer and executive director of the National Black Justice Collective, focused his speech on racial and LGBTQIA+ equity.
Johns encouraged the audience to stay devoted to the traditions of gathering, storytelling and refusing to change, leaving attendees with lasting thoughts of the footprints they leave at Howard University.
The evening, which opened with remarks by President Wayne A.I. Frederick and a student serenade, closed with a performance by actor, musician and producer Jesse Smollett. Smollett performed several songs from his albums and the TV show “Empire,” concluding a night of inclusiveness.
Nailah Williams is a reporter for HUNewsService.com and works with the Spotlight Network at WHUT, Howard University’s PBS station.
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