Bowie State University celebrated homecoming Oct. 18–25. Alumni returned throughout the week for traditions that included gospel concerts, lunches and the Pan-Hellenic Step Show.
Cheering students packed all three levels of the new MLK auditorium Oct. 21 for the traditional coronation of Mr. and Ms. Bowie State University, Ryan Lynch and Chiamaka Ekekwe.
Bowie State junior Calista Josiah volunteered to greet guests at the packed coronation event. She said she would not miss a moment of homecoming week.
“I’m attending a lot of homecoming events because I want to enjoy my college experience. College days go by very fast, and participating in the whole week makes me happy,” Josiah beamed.
On the morning of Oct. 24 before football kickoff, the community waved to parade grand marshal Wisdom Martin, an HBCU graduate and morning anchor at WUSA-9, the Washington, D.C., CBS affiliate. Children skipped alongside the Symphony of Soul marching band and majorettes gleaming in black and gold costumes as they strutted through Bowie’s streets.
Then it was back to campus for pregame activities—tailgating, tents and a promenade through “the yard”—before the Bowie State Bulldogs’ fourth-quarter 16-13 triumph over the Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls.
It’s the connection
Students and alumni who return year after year say the heart of a Bowie State homecoming is the connection forged by being together “on the yard”—before, during and after the game.
That connection was threatened in 2023, when gun violence injured two 19-year-olds during homecoming. Neither attended Bowie State, but the safety measures introduced afterward changed the campus experience.
Law enforcement presence has been significantly enhanced since 2023. New and reinforced measures include additional security cameras, aerial drones, weapon-detection technology, expanded blue-light emergency poles and upgraded protocols.
Three years later, students and guests have grown accustomed to the additional Prince George’s County, state and private patrols guarding the campus perimeter and moving throughout campus. After the game, the late-October afternoon mirrored the homecoming mood—sunny and mild—as more than a thousand guests packed Bowie’s main campus to connect with family, friends and classmates.
Students and alumni defined “connection” differently, but the theme rang true from the youngest students to those who returned to celebrate 50-plus years as Bowie graduates.
“It’s the fellowship, the support and feeling part of the family,” said Doris Whitehead Gillard, class of 1971, who attended with her sister Carolyn Whitehead-Perkins, class of 1976. Gillard, who has only missed a few homecomings since her student days, added, “I’m back because of the love here on campus. I enjoy giving it and receiving it as well.”
Dedric Foreman Jr., class of 2023, greeted old friends in the middle of “the yard,” wheeling across the lawn in his wheelchair with an infectious smile.
“I love to come back just to see the campus. I wouldn’t have missed this homecoming for anything. I love being back on campus,” said Foreman, accompanied by Tisha Bangura, class of 2025, and Bowie senior Marquis Edwards, who will graduate in 2027.
Justice Morant, a spring 2026 graduate and Sigma Gamma Rho member, helped set up one of the many official campus tailgates, representing sororities, fraternities and service organizations at Bowie State.
The blue Sigma tents Morant and her sorority sisters erected in the middle of campus served as the homecoming hub for Sigmas and extended families to gather during homecoming. This was especially important because many “Divine Nine” sororities and fraternities and other organizations on HBCU campuses do not have brick-and-mortar residences for members or out-of-town guests.
“This is important because Sigma Gamma Rho likes to support women and their families. We believe in quality over quantity, so we just wanted to provide a welcoming place and family atmosphere for our sisters and their families during homecoming,” Morant said.
Sophomore Anjayne Little, who transferred to Bowie this academic year, offered a sociopolitical view of connecting with classmates, alumni and guests on the yard. She called homecoming a collective act of engagement for Black Americans.
“This is a show of Black excellence,” Little said. “Thousands of us are here together peacefully enjoying this homecoming afternoon.”
She added, “It’s important for Black people to stick together and always work together.”
As the sun set, music and laughter across the yard gave way to a soft voice over the loudspeaker thanking guests and reminding them that activities would end at dusk. Bowie State has discontinued homecoming celebrations during evening hours after the 2023 shooting.
Slowly, hundreds of guests peacefully walked toward Maryland Route 197, where overflow parking stretched along Laurel-Bowie Road in both directions.
“I am having a wonderful time but I understand why the campus needed to make these changes,” said Tierra Hughes, an alumna who graduated in May 2013.
“Everything was done well this year, said the Delta Sigma Theta alumna as she posed for one more picture with her sorority sisters.