HBCU SpringComing Celebrates 10 Years Of Black…
HBCU SpringComing is formally BACK, and this yr marks a main milestone, its tenth anniversary. Appropriately dubbed “TENure,” the 2025 version guarantees to be the most important but, bringing the unforgettable power of HBCU homecomings to 3 main cities throughout the nation; Birmingham, AL; New York City, NY; and Los Angeles, CA.
Founded by HBCU grads Lauren Grove (Florida A&M University) and George A. Peters II (Morehouse College), HBCU SpringComing™ has grown from a spirited NYC reunion to a nationwide celebration of Black excellence, collegiate delight, and cultural connection.
Over the final decade, the pageant has raised over $250,000 in scholarships, serving to pave the best way for future generations of leaders and strengthening the inspiration of traditionally Black establishments.
The “TENure” Tour Line-Up kicked off in Birmingham, AL on April 4-5 the place songstress Teedra Moses was noticed going viral for placing her “boots on the ground” during the School Daze side of Springcoming. It additionally included Sips & Sounds with Grammy-nominated R&B legend Carl Thomas and Tennis Daze, a sun-soaked collab with USTA.
According to the founders who’re bringing SpringComing to NYC this weekend, what began as a post-church dialog between two cousins has blossomed into a love letter to the HBCU expertise and a resolution to a common dilemma.
“George and I are cousins—we like to call ourselves family by choice,” Grove informed BOSSIP “He’s married to my cousin, and we really realized 10 years ago, after church that so many of us were going back for homecoming every year. But we were like, ‘Yo, what do people do if they went to like Alabama A&M or Texas Southern?’ It’s a little harder to get back for homecoming if you went a little further away.”
That easy realization sparked a cultural ripple impact.
“We could tell very early on that there was an appetite for something that really not only celebrated Black excellence in this way, but really just kind of celebrated joy—and the familiarity of, even though we all went to different schools, we had similar experiences.”
Each metropolis mirrors the core components of an HBCU homecoming weekend: recreation nights, alumni mixers, daytime yard experiences, and Sunday brunch recaps that help attendees piece collectively the weekend highlights.
“The weekend really is reminiscent of a typical homecoming weekend,” Grove informed BOSSIP. “There’s a little Friday kickback, there’s a little Saturday on the yard, there’s a little after party to the yard and the game—kind of like a recap brunch, usually at the end of the day on Sundays, where everybody tries to remember what they did.”
When requested why SpringComing isn’t presently within the “expected” HBCU hotspots like Atlanta or D.C., Grove shared:
“If you live in Atlanta, you can go to anybody’s HBCU homecoming—everything’s there,” she mentioned. “From our perspective, we wanted to do it in cities that had the capacity for a number of HBCU grads but maybe needed a little more help in bringing the culture together.”
“People ask us all the time—bring it to DC, bring it to Atlanta—but for us, it’s really about creating an atmosphere where it may be challenging for someone to feel what they feel during homecoming.”
With that in thoughts, Grove shared that SpringComing being held in a metropolis like Birmingham is not only intentional, however logical.
“When town of Birmingham got here to us 4 years in the past to begin producing SpringComing there, our first thought was, what’s the tie-in?” Grove mentioned. (*10*)
HBCU SpringComing co-founder George A. Peters II echoed that sentiment and famous no matter the placement of SpringComing or the placement of alumni’s respective colleges, HBCU grads have commonalities that may’t be denied.
“The beautiful thing about HBCU Springcoming is that all these historically Black colleges and universities have a way to find each other… there’s this threaded underculture that we all share, and it’s excellence.”
And that excellence extends past social occasions.
Over the previous decade, SpringComing has made an extraordinary financial affect offering scholarships that help maintain HBCU enrollment.
“That is the purpose of SpringComing,” said Grove. “If nothing else happens, we give out scholarships. Some years have been harder fundraising years than others, and we’ve had to come out of pocket for them. But we realize, especially in New York City, there are 50-something CUNYs and SUNYs.”
She provides,
“If you’re a student who graduates from high school in New York City, you have a lot of options that may not be an HBCU but are likely much cheaper… So if you see yourself in HBCU life and culture, and you want to go—any little bit helps.”
That “little bit” is now more than $500,000 that’s been awarded over time, and with that comes a dedication to building group earlier than college students even arrive on campus.
“It’s important for us to not only recognize those students, but also embrace them as family before they even get to campus,” mentioned Lauren. “Connect them with the Alumni Associations in their city… figure out if there are any other scholarships they can apply for, do they have any needs.”
Over SpringComing’s final ten years, one particularly poignant second that encapsulated the spirit of occasion was an sudden go to from somebody particular.
“For me, my favorite moment was the word spreading so far that these kids and these scholarships were going to be given out… even on a day when it was supposed to rain and God loves HBCUs, so it didn’t—we had Spike Lee show up on his own,” George recalled. “Ot was absolutely beautiful. The sun came out. There were no clouds in the sky. And everybody was as delighted and excited. It was a perfect moment.”
SpringComing’s legacy, just like the founders’ own journeys, is steeped in a tapestry of proud, personal HBCU recollections.
Lauren beamed when speaking about FAMU to BOSSIP.
“I knew the first time I stepped foot on FAMU’s campus in 10th grade that I wanted to be a Rattler. We had gone through a couple campuses and literally from the time I drove onto campus, I knew this was the school I wanted to attend.”
Beyond commencement and pledging Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Lauren’s most enduring takeaway is the bond.
“There’s a connection that alumni have from HBCUs that I simply suppose doesn’t occur at PWIs.”
George echoed that sentiment when talking about his time at Morehouse.
“You talk about how many seats there are in King Chapel. They always say that Martin King always said there’s always room for one more, right?” he started “They have a ceremony called ‘Welcome to the House,’ where all the upperclassmen come and march in as they sing ‘I’m Building Me a Home’… and at the time you are not one, but you’re invited into it when you’re literally encircled by all of these capable, toned, audacious Black men who are inviting you into this space. This is home.”
And now, ten years later, that very same power of invitation, of belonging, and legacy-building reverberates by means of each nook of SpringComing.
See the HBCU SpringComing lineup beneath:
New York City, NY | April 11-13
NYC is up subsequent with three days of turn-up and nostalgia:
Play No Games Game Night – a throwback to these epic scholar union nights
School Daze at Riverside Park – a group day full of music, distributors, and vibes
A non-public screening occasion
Los Angeles, CA | May 2-4
Details dropping quickly!
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