Suddenly, for the second time that day, we heard gunfire.

My school, which had attracted thousands of her graduates back to campus on that crisp, sunny Saturday afternoon, had become part of a growing and disturbing trend of gun violence that is threatening to change the nature of Black colleges’ most sacred institution — homecoming.

Last weekend, it happened at Tuskegee University, the school made famous by its founding principal, Booker T. Washington, and its groundbreaking scientist, George Washington Carver. One man was killed and at least 16 others were hurt when a man using a machine gun launched a hail of bullets through a homecoming crowd.

Last month, it was Albany State University, where a metro Atlanta teenager was shot dead and five others were injured in a crowded area near a campus concert during homecoming.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

At nearly every school, homecoming went off without a hitch.

But those few shootings are forcing schools to ask difficult questions about how to balance what homecoming is supposed to be, against what it is slowly becoming.

I caught up with Walter Kimbrough, the current interim president of Talladega College. Most know him as “The Hip Hop Prez.”

Credit: Contributed

Credit: Contributed

He told me the heightened popularity of Black colleges makes people want to be around them.

“Especially at homecoming,” he said. “We are anchor institutions and we want people to come to our events. But a rash of people are coming in and bringing problems.”

The culture

The word “homecoming,” and the context of what it means is explicitly wrapped in HBCU culture.

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Douglas L. Allen, an expert on race and ethnicity, has written that the modern alumni-centered homecoming dates back at least to a 1924 Morehouse football game, although Howard University and Tuskegee each celebrated their 100th homecomings this year.

HBCU graduates have annually returned to campus for a family reunion, revival, therapy session and rebaptism into the joys and comforts of Blackness.

Heck, the football game — which the weekend is supposed to be centered around — often takes a back seat to the parades, parties, pageants, choir balls, tailgates, Greek step shows, marching bands, concerts, convocations and scholarship galas.

‘The Greatest Homecoming on Earth’

I must admit that the model of the modern homecoming resides in Greensboro at North Carolina A&T State University — NCCU’s bitter in-state rival.

A&T has brilliantly marketed its annual event as “The Greatest Homecoming on Earth.”

This year, A&T officials reported 131,000 people attended events throughout their homecoming weekend, pumping millions of dollars into the Greensboro economy.

“Homecoming has become more than homecoming,” said Kimberly Johnson, a 1994 A&T graduate who lives in Atlanta. “It has become a huge party. There are a lot of people not from A&T who come to GHOE.”

Credit: Kimberly Johnson

Credit: Kimberly Johnson

Johnson told me about a moment at GHOE when a DJ asked the large crowd who was “not” from A&T. The crowd roared.

“As an A&T alum, sometimes I felt overwhelmed by the magnitude of the people,” she said.

N.C. Central’s homecoming was always smaller and more intimate.

But GHOE was dominating the homecoming conversation and social media with its wide, expansive drone shots of the throngs of people gathered on their campus.

Other schools saw that. We started calling ourselves “The Ultimate Homecoming Experience.” Not to be outdone, there was also, Norfolk State’s “Not Your Typical Homecoming,” and Morehouse and Spelman College’s “Spelhouse,” among many others.

“People want to have bigger and better homecomings,” Kimbrough said. “And in this social media age that means that everybody wants to be a part of it.”

Like Woodstock

I saw that firsthand this year when my fraternity brothers and I walked over to our plot in Greek Bowl to step and sing the hymn.

Credit: Ernie Suggs

Credit: Ernie Suggs

When we got there, the music was so loud and the marijuana smell was so thick that you could have confused it for Woodstock. We couldn’t even see our plot.

We turned around and walked back to our RV.

About 15 minutes later, the first round of shootings occurred. No one was hurt, but a lot of people were shaken.

This was the first time that I can recall gunfire occurring at an NCCU homecoming, but Kimbrough reminded me of how common this is becoming.

A scary pattern

In 2022, four people, including three students, were wounded near Clark Atlanta University after a drive-by shooting during a homecoming celebration.

In 2023, five people, including four students, were shot at Morgan State University. It was the third consecutive year that homecoming festivities at the Baltimore school were marred by gunfire.

Kimbrough said schools are doing as much as possible to beef up security on their campuses, “but you don’t want to be a police state.”

“We want the community to come, but don’t bring that other stuff here,” he said.

Tuskegee acts

Following the Tuskegee shooting, the school required everyone on campus to wear an identification badge at all times.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

“Tuskegee University is no longer an open campus,” declared Tuskegee President Mark A. Brown.

Lisa Walker, a 1995 Tuskegee graduate, goes to homecoming every year and is undeterred.

On the Saturday after this year’s game, she went to “The Ave,” as she always did, and held hands with her Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority sisters as they sang their hymn around their tree.

Credit: Lisa Walker

Credit: Lisa Walker

Next year, Tuskegee’s homecoming will mark both her 30th graduation year and her 30th year as an AKA.

“Unfortunately, there was a cloud over homecoming this year,” she told me. “But as always, we persevere. We look forward to going to homecoming next year.”

Stop running

Walking to the car that night after the NCCU homecoming game, we all clearly heard about 10 rapid-fire shots a good 50 yards from the spot we had just passed.

We started to run, but after about three steps, we all just kind of stopped.

Credit: Ernie Suggs

Credit: Ernie Suggs

We quietly walked to the car as police cruisers streamed past us.

We later found out that four people, including one student, were wounded.

We then made plans for next year’s homecoming.

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