There’s nothing like an HBCU homecoming 

There are homecomings, and then there are HBCU homecomings.

If you have ever experienced an HBCU homecoming, you understand that it is difficult to explain exactly what makes it so special. Every HBCU has its own traditions, its own energy, its own soundtrack and its own way of welcoming alumni home. No two homecomings are exactly alike.

But what they share is something much deeper than a football game, a concert or a week of events. An HBCU homecoming is culture. It is family. It is history. It is pride. And, for me, it has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.

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I grew up going to Florida A&M University’s homecoming.    

Every year, my family traveled to Tallahassee, and homecoming was something we looked forward to. I remember the parades, the football games, the tailgating and simply being surrounded by what felt like thousands of people dressed in orange and green. As a child, I may not have fully understood the significance of what I was experiencing, but I knew it felt special.

Then came the years when I was finally old enough for my parents to drop my siblings and me off at the homecoming concert. Now that felt like freedom. I thought I was so cool because I was at a concert without my parents. And Florida A&M University (FAMU) brought everybody: Ginuwine. Jagged Edge. Lil Wayne. Jeezy. The list goes on. I didn’t realize it then, but those nights were becoming part of the soundtrack of my teenage years. They are memories that still immediately take me back to Tallahassee.

As I got older, my homecoming experience deepened and expanded. Eventually, I was old enough to bring friends with me when we traveled to Tallahassee. There was something even more exciting about introducing them to FAMU’s homecoming. Now I wasn’t just experiencing it; I was showing someone else why I loved it. We would walk around campus, experience “Set Friday,” which is our on-campus yard where everyone would gather, go to the step show and head to the game.

Anyone who knows an HBCU homecoming knows that sometimes simply walking across campus is an event itself. You never know who you’re going to see. Alumni are reconnecting. Students are everywhere. Music is playing. Organizations are representing. Vendors are selling everything imaginable. Everybody is wearing their best fit. And there is this unmistakable feeling that you are part of something.

Then came the inevitable chapter.   

I finally became a student at Florida A&M University. Duh! After spending so many years growing up and attending FAMU’s homecoming, I finally got to experience it not as a Baby Rattler (FAMU’s mascot), but as an actual Rattler.

And then, once again, homecoming changed for me. I wasn’t just the little girl watching the parade anymore. I wasn’t the teenager excited because her parents had finally dropped her off at the concert. I wasn’t just bringing my friends to Tallahassee to show them what FAMU was all about. This time, it was my university. As a student, I began seeing homecoming through an entirely different lens. I understood more about the work behind everything I had enjoyed for so many years.

Through my involvement in the Student Government Association, I even had opportunities to participate in some of the planning and events. Suddenly, I could see what it took to create the homecoming experience that so many generations of Rattlers knew. That gave me an entirely new appreciation for it.

Because an HBCU homecoming doesn't just happen.   

Behind the concerts, step shows, parades, tailgates and packed stadiums are students, staff, alumni, volunteers and countless others working to create an experience worthy of the institution and its traditions. And when it all comes together, something remarkable happens: generations meet each other in the same place.

You see freshman experiencing their first homecoming alongside alumni celebrating their fiftieth.

You see people reconnecting with friends they haven’t seen since graduation.

You see children walking around campus, children who may one day become students—just like I did.

For me, FAMU’s homecoming will always hold a particularly special place in my heart. Some of my earliest memories of Black excellence, tradition, music, fellowship and college life happened on that campus long before I understood that one day, I would call it my alma mater. And every time I return, no matter how much has changed, there’s still a little bit of that girl who can’t wait for the parade, the game, the music, the people—and that feeling you can only get when you’re back home.

That is an HBCU homecoming—and there is simply nothing else like it.

Ursula James is a multimedia journalist and communications strategist working with sports teams, public figures, universities and non-profits. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Florida A&M University, and she is the AVP for Marketing & Communications at Virginia Union University. Ursula enjoys fashion, laughing with friends and family, serving her community, and exploring new territory.