Black alumni reflect on the University of Maryland’s first Black Alumni Weekend

From left to right, co-host Len Elmore ‘78, Uchenna Aduaka ‘21, Auzinea Bacon ‘24 and co-host Lauren Hamilton ‘22 posing for their awards during the Gift of Giving Gala award ceremony. (Aaron Wright/ The Black Explosion)

Black alumni, students and faculty attended the Gift of Giving Gala on April 23 as a part of the first-ever Black Alumni Weekend at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center.

The event, hosted by Vice President of the Student Success Leadership Council (SSLC) Lauren Hamilton and former NBA player Len Elmore, served as an awards ceremony for celebrating the achievements of Black students, alumni and faculty.

Senior African American studies and criminology and criminal justice double major Iyana Moore, served as the chair of the G3 committee at the SSLC, who organized this event in tandem with the Black Alumni Weekend. 

She said that the meetings with alumni were productive and that she’s glad something like a Black Alumni Weekend happens at a predominately white institute.

“I think it just speaks volumes for us to have a full on, just Black weekend dedicated to Black alumni,” Moore said. “I expect it to happen next year as well so I can kind of take it in [and] be the alumni that comes back.” 

In addition to G3, Black Alumni Weekend featured other in-person and virtual events, such as Terpchella, a movie night and a walking tour of African-American history at UMD.

Director at the Institute for Responsible Citizenship and 2014 Maryland graduate Andrew Mulinge said that he’s glad that the conversations with Black alumni culminated in an event like G3.

“This is beautiful to see generations of Terps here,” Mulinge said. “Happy to be here, happy to be back in the area …just to support this movement.”

G3 gave recognition and awards to many older Black Terps, including Tasha Inniss, Sherry Scott and Kimberly Weems. The three earned the Trailblazing Award for being the first Black female mathematicians to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics in 2000.

Among student recipients, the honorees of the Alexandra Givan and Damien Pinkett Involvement Award are Auzinea Bacon and Uchenna Aduaka, the co-managing editor of The Black Explosion and a software engineer at Goldman Sachs respectively.

G3 also featured guest speakers, including a panel on Hollywood and Black media from James Brown, Cherisse McKenzie and Scott Simpson. President Darryll Pines of the University of Maryland was also a guest speaker.

During the awards ceremony, Pines gave closing remarks on the G3 event and Black Alumni Weekend as a whole, amazed at what the event brought together. 

“I just got to keep this real with you guys — I’ve never been in a room at the University of Maryland with this many Black people,” said Pines, to which he received applause from attendees. 

During his speech, Pines said that it took 72 years for there to be an event such as the Black Alumni Weekend. 

Investigator and 2005 Maryland graduate April Smith said that she’s glad an event like this happened, but noted that the time it takes for achievements like the three mathematicians and the organization of a Black Alumni Weekend shows that there’s still progress to be made. 

“We’re happy to see it, but it’s also, you know, we have to know that we have to keep it going. We have to keep it pushing,” Smith said