Across four days from Feb. 25 through March 1, the Brandeis Black Student Organization hosted its annual Black Homecoming, a celebration of Black identity and culture. The organization divided programming into distinct spaces: “Talk About It,” a Blackout party, a formal gala and the BLK Homecoming Showcase, titled “Tailored In Black: A Living Revolution.” Each event targeted a different part of campus life, from structured dialogue to public recognition to artistic performance.

The weekend opened Feb. 25 with “Talk About It,” an open forum where students delivered presentations and led informal discussions on topics. The format intentionally blurred the line between academic and personal interests. “It’s an event where you go for a community to listen and engage,” said BBSO treasurer Avie Parker ’29 in a March 2 interview with The Justice. “Especially in the world of academia, it’s really important that students feel like they can speak up and that they are heard,” she said.

Attendees described the atmosphere as unusually candid. Cate Lee ’29 said students were articulating experiences that often remain unspoken in campus settings. “People were saying the things that a lot of students just don’t often say out loud,” Lee said in a March 2 interview with The Justice, adding that the space felt “honest and authentic.” 

Destinee Ponder ’29, BBSO Publicity Coordinator and a model for the Homecoming Showcase: Tailored in Black: Dandy by Design, emphasized both the variety and tone of the presentations. “I liked how a [past BBSO President] said, ‘Make Brandeis your HBCU.’ I thought that was a very valuable sentiment,” Ponder said in a March 2 interview with The Justice, recalling a phrase shared during the introduction. She added that the range of topics went beyond traditional discussions. “I liked how there were some that were more informal, like the one about Mortal Kombat. I also liked how passionate people were about the topics that they were presenting about.” 

“For especially Black students in a predominantly white school, it’s important for us to be able to come together and talk about things like whether they’re academic or informal subjects. It’s important to have these conversations in general,” Ponder said.

After centering student voices, the gala shifted the focus to recognition. Held in Levin Ballroom on Feb. 28, the event adopted a formal awards format with staged lighting, a runway extension and themed decor. “The theme was Enchanted Forest and all the BBSO members and a lot of audience members, even I came dressed up,” said attendee Daphne Lin ’29 in a March 2 interview with The Justice. 

Lin described the staging as particularly elaborate for a student organization event. “They had really cool orange-gold lighting on the stage, and they had a runway that really elevated the whole thing,” she said. “To really make the event regal solidifies impact.”

The awards emphasized community contribution over anything else. Lee said the public recognition highlighted labor that often goes unnoticed. “A lot of the work people do isn’t always visible, so seeing it celebrated very publicly was very inspiring,” she said. 

Parker said the ceremony was foundational to how BBSO defines Black excellence. “I think it’s really important that we recognize the people in our communities that create such a strong foundation for our communities. We have to understand that [excellence] was built upon people who took that extra step, who made the extra sacrifice. So we really wanted to recognize them and also come together as a community and support each other,” said Parker. 

The weekend culminated on March 1 with the BLK Homecoming Showcase, titled “Tailored In Black: A Living Revolution.” "The Showcase, which is our last event, was the ultimate showcase of Black excellence. We had a fashion show. The theme was Dandyism so we had the opportunity to show different eras in Black history through fashion. We also had singers, dancers and we had poems read by Black poets,” Parker explained.

The runway celebrated the history of Dandyism, as models walked in looks tied to different eras. “Dandyism began in the 1920s, and from then until now you see the progression and the evolution. If you think of Black dandyism, it’s how you dress, how you appear, but now that also ties into your career. You see an increase of Black individuals being in spaces of medicine, of law, of business, of entrepreneurship. It looks like building on what you want in your life and going further in terms of career in cases that we weren’t previously accepted into or recognized in,” Parker said. 

Ponder described the preparation process as collaborative most of all. “Everyone who participated in the fashion show was really nice. We hyped each other up,” she said. For her, modeling was both a social and personal milestone. “I wanted to take part in more school events and to meet new people,” she said.

Throughout the weekend, organizers emphasized that BBSO programming is not intended to be insular. “I hope that they walk away feeling a level of recognition,” Parker said. “I hear a lot about Black students feeling like they’ve had experiences of being called too white because they do this or they do that, just having any of their experiences invalidated. So I hope that Black students leave this event feeling recognized.” 

She emphasized that the organization was founded to serve the broader minority community. “BBSO is not just for Black students. It is for any minority student to come and feel seen. We were founded on the idea that not just Black students, but every minority student on this campus has a place to express themselves, be seen and be recognized,” Parker said.

For attendees outside the organization, the weekend altered how campus felt. “It made campus feel more like a community instead of a school where I just go to class,” Lee said.

Parker said that a sense of connection is the underlying objective. “For us, community building is literally just unity. It’s eating a meal together. It’s sharing jokes. Doing the cha-cha slide together. It’s all those things,” she said. Throughout the weekend, BBSO’s events created spaces that brought students from across campus together.

 — Clarification: The original version of this article did not include the full Homecoming Showcase name or Destinee Ponder ’29’s role as BBSO Publicity Coordinator. “Tailored in Black: Dandy by Design” and the title Publicity Coordinator have been added.