Portfolio
Source: Jamaica Kalika
Journalism:
Howard University Homecoming: Elders of The Mecca reflect on homecoming traditions
Elder alums spoke to the AFRO about the magic of Homecoming and how reconnecting with old friends, supporting their community and returning to Howard reignites their spirits. Saturday morning, tailgaters and members of the Beta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha set up their tents in the parking lot across from Starbucks and food as they chatted after the homecoming parade. 2023 marks 47 years in the Alpha fold for Jonathan Johnson of Mt. Vernon, N.Y., 70, who graduated with a political science degree in 1974. “Because of Howard, I was prepared for the world,” he said.
Celebrating LGBTQ+ Life at Howard
The existence and celebration of queer life is one that has taken place in all forms of Howard’s legacy. As Howard continues to lead institutions, just like their no. 1 rating by the Campus Pride Index, the University showcases the reasons that thriving Black queer life is also a signature of Howard’s commitment to truth and service. “I didn’t come out to my mom as bisexual until my sophomore, junior year,” says Henry. “Being at Howard and being aware of the queer community definitely pushed me in that direction of being open and honest about who I was and the life I wanted to live.”
Howard University’s Class of 2024: The Longest Walk
“It was really hard,” said Christopher Derival, a New Jersey native and first-generation graduate student. “Perseverance got me this degree. I had so many chances where I could’ve quit, and the goal wasn’t in clear sight.”
Beyoncé's Act II and Country's Black Roots: Theater Arts Professor Discusses The Genre's History
In a Q&A segment, Pat Parks, a professor in the Howard University College of Fine Arts, discusses Beyoncé's pivot to country, Black country artists, and the genre's ties to other Black American music genres.
A Centennial of Writers: The Hilltop Celebrates 100 Years of Storytelling
The Hilltop, the oldest Black collegiate paper in America, will celebrate 100 years of publication on January 22, 2024. The entity, founded by Zora Neale Hurston and Louis E. King, continues to serve as the voice and record keeper of Howard University.
“If you go and look at The Hilltop at that time, you just get a taste of what’s going on on campus,” said Tamara Holmes, a writer and editor of The Hilltop. “It has a different spirit with whatever time it is because the people are different, but it’s something that just captures what Howard is about in any given decade. You can just imagine and put yourself there.”
Jane Carpenter-Rock, Ph.D. (M.A. ’95), sat in a global humanities class in high school, the topic of art history resonated instantly. Iconography, the traditional or conventional images or symbols associated with a subject, was the day’s topic.
“That’s when I really understood art to understand different places and times, different moments in time, different cultures, and topics that have inspired people throughout history,” Carpenter-Rock reminisced.
The rest was history. Art history, that is. “I knew that there must be an art history, a visual history of African Americans and I wanted to learn more about it,” Carpenter-Rock said. “I knew Howard was the place to go and study that. Howard had world renowned African American scholars and artists who were experts in that field.”
Adrian Development Hosts Second ‘NY Meets DC Fashion’ Weekend
To close the summer, NY Fashion Meets DC geared up for their second fashion show, highlighting local designers and their ability to display creativity and artistic tastes. This is their first show since 2019. “It was a lot of work, but with everyone that came and helped to assist us, it was pretty good and I appreciate that,” said Adrian Kennedy, the founder of NY Fashion Meets DC. “When you think about people, creativity and what they have to add and distribute, this is for people to show a different perspective of how they can connect with their community and show their creativity.”
Award-Winning Stories of the Indigenous Tribes of the Pacific Northwest
For many artists, the art-making process is spiritual. One must mentally and firmly grasp onto sparks of creativity and deliver it into the physical with care and precision, a meticulous intentionality. Some ideas blossom quickly and take decades. For other people, like architect and artist Shawn Brigman, creating art is an early, swift concept.
7 tribes break ground on wellness center in eastern WA
Nez Perce member Liz Arthur-Attao woke up Friday to a regular spring afternoon: 48 degrees and spotty sunlight. Wind brought a chill. The ground was soft and fertile. It was the perfect weather for The Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations to host its groundbreaking ceremony on a wellness center in Spokane Valley, Washington, extending a mission of healing youth through practices grounded in Indigenous values.
Nonfiction:
Judge Cameron Dezen Hammon on Party Favors as a 2022 Best of the Land Contest Winner:
“Party Favors” is a voice-thick coming-of-self story about a young Black college student negotiating her identity between cliques and subcultures. A party (not a kick back) she doesn’t want to be at erupts in near-violence and the narrator is forced to face the disintegration of freshman-year friendships past their sell-by date, as well her own growing sexual and emotional maturity. At times, “Party Favors” leans toward the psychic force of Kiese Laymon’s "Heavy," and the musicality of Junot Diaz’s "This Is How You Lose Her." This writer is one to watch."
Instagram is nonfiction. Electronic, perhaps. Think subconscious bookscraping. Thumbing backward jumpstarts time machines to pre-epiphany moments, rearranging wool exactly how it covered your eyes during photos. Reminisce on moments you’ve enjoyed. Even moments you pretended existed. Maybe moments that never did.