Lincoln University, PA —The Lincoln University of Pennsylvania – America's first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU) – will, for the first time in its 171-year history, kick off its Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 23-25, with an inaugural pep rally, and alumni and supporters’ reception at its University City campus in West Philadelphia, Oct. 23rd beginning 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The 5:30 p.m. “L-Unified Pep Rally” outside at Lincoln Plaza, 3020 Market Street, will feature the university’s dynamic cheerleaders and drumline. The students will lead the procession upstairs inside Lincoln’s School of Adult & Continuing Education (SACE), for the alumni, and supporters’ reception/open house beginning at 6 p.m. Philadelphia’s 100th Mayor, Cherrelle Parker, and Elton Brand, former NBA star and current executive of the Philadelphia 76ers, are among the alums and dignitaries invited to the rally and reception.
This year’s inaugural “L-Unified” reception theme will mark another monumental milestone for America’s first continuous Black college: The Lincolnian, one of the nation’s oldest student newspapers, will celebrate its 100th anniversary. On display will be a photo exhibit of historic and current Lincolnian front pages on large canvases, and a digital display of never-before-seen photos spanning 171 years of Lincoln highlights. See alumni newsmakers, ranging from literary icon Langston Hughes to Mayor Parker, who contributed poems to The Lincolnian when she was a student. Also, famous newsmakers who visited the main campus in southern Chester County, such as Nobel Peace Prize winning scientist Albert Einstein, sports icon and international statesman known as “The Greatest,” Muhammad Ali, and legendary Emmy and Tony award-winning actor Cicely Tyson.
The presentation will also highlight Lincoln alums of the past and present, such as 1995 Pulitzer Prize and 1996 Emmy Award winning journalist and educator Leon Dash; many alums got their start writing for The Lincolnian and then went on to award-winning careers in journalism and other mass communication and related fields, such as public relations, film, digital marketing, and social media. The Lincolnian exhibit will then travel to Lincoln’s main campus in southern Chester County, 1570 Baltimore Pike, Lincoln University, PA, where it will be part of The Lincolnian display at its Langston Hughes Memorial Library.
“Lincoln is unique among America’s colleges that are both rural and urban,” said President Dr. Brenda A. Allen. “We are Philadelphia’s hometown HBCU. Today, our Mass Communications graduates carry our great literary tradition forward in journalism, marketing, public relations, filmmaking, and digital media.”
Earlier this year, Lincoln, along with Getty Images, a preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace, and Ancestry, the global leader in family history, a solidified a first-of-its-kind genealogy-focused partnership as part of Getty Images’ HBCU Grants Program. The initiative focuses on the digital preservation and accessibility of historical documents, records, and the photographic archives of HBCUs. At both of Lincoln’s campuses, students and alumni can conduct genealogy searches on Ancestry. At the kickoff reception at the Lincoln’s University City campus, participants will be able to conduct a genealogy search on Ancestry free of charge. They will also be able to see some of the newly digitized images from Lincoln University’s archives across Getty Images’ platforms, including www.gettyimages.com and www.photos.com
To learn more about Getty Images’ wider HBCU Grants Program, go to: https://www.gettyimages.com/corporateresponsibility/hbcupartnership
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About Lincoln University
Lincoln University, the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU), educates and empowers students to lead their communities and change the world. Lincoln offers a rigorous liberal arts education to a diverse student body of approximately 1,650 men and women in more than 34 undergraduate and graduate programs.
