Just days before tens of thousands of runners take to Atlanta’s streets for the Peachtree Road Race, a smaller but just as energetic group turned out this weekend for an annual 5K benefitting metro Atlanta students.
The 17th Annual Atlanta HBCU Alumni Alliance 5K Run/Walk, held at Piedmont Park Saturday, is a fundraiser which helps sponsor the education of current and prospective HBCU students. The event, which is also held in cities around the county, also celebrates the legacy, tradition, and mission of those institutions.
Following the race, several $500 book grants and two $5,000 scholarships were awarded to students.
Steve Schaefer /
Steve Schaefer /
Beneath a banner reading “Service is our Legacy and Future,” the event began with the singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black National Anthem, as the low hum of singing accompanied slow moving dark clouds drifting above.
Current chair of the National HBCU Alumni Alliance and CEO of the Atlanta HBCU Alumni Alliance Dan Ford, who is also a North Carolina A&T alum, presented the very first Maynard Jackson Legacy award named for Atlanta’s first black mayor. The award was given to two individuals from West Virginia State University who raised over $100,000 in donations over the past eight years.
Before the awarding, Emmy-winning poet Hank Stewart recited an impactful poem titled “I Accept” as a tribute to Jackson.
“Give me the baton, I’ll carry it with pride. I won’t let the torch burn out. The baton hit the ground. Even when I’m tired. You trained me… I take the baton from my ancestors so one day I can pass it to our descendants,” Stewart said.
Tents representing various schools lined the park including Tennessee State, Jackson State, Tuskegee University, Howard University, and Alabama State University, as well as Black fraternities and sororities like Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Students and alum were dressed in school apparel representing their institutions.
Steve Schaefer /
Steve Schaefer /
After crossing the finish line on Taft Street, runners poured back into the park for traditional line dances, Greek chants and strolling, and singing along to hip-hop and R&B classics.
The event highlighted the pride of HBCU alumni and the need to strengthen relationships among them, participants said.
“What we can’t do individually, we can do collectively,” said Cathy Wilson, an Alabama A&M University alum.
“For me, [hosting] it’s like a love to give back to the city,” said Ford, the Alliance CEO. “The city has done so much for me as an HBCU grad that I know has unlimited potential for HBCU graduates. Anything I can do to encourage our students in Atlanta to attend HBCU’s... whether it’s introducing HBCU’s to them or helping them pay for them. It’s just a way of me repaying the city for what it’s done for me.”
Steve Schaefer /
Steve Schaefer /
One of his favorite moments of the event is seeing up close how he is giving back to the students.
“…Seeing incoming freshmen come up sharing schools they’re gonna attend...the majors..and remembering myself in that moment. And knowing that they have an incredible journey in front of them by entering into this special family we call HBCU’s…,” Ford said.
Ford plans to make the event more inclusive for everyone in the community, not just HBCUs, emphasize the importance of good health and expand the event to more of a community day beyond the 5k run/walk. He also hopes to continue to replicate the annual race in other cities states like the organization has done currently in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.
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