Outside of GHOE — NC A&T University’s annual extravaganza — I have very little experience with HBCU homecomings besides a decade or so of working through the Bayou Classic in New Orleans and a passing familiarity with Beyoncé’s recent work.
But I know that A&T’s is the greatest homecoming on Earth
True, most HBCUs have a homecoming. There are HBCUs older than A&T, more prestigious, with more money, better football teams and more distinguished alumni. But A&T is like the Don Cheadle of HBCU’s — always having fun while doing work of extraordinarily high quality. And like Don Cheadle, A&T grads are everywhere. Sports. Politics. Business. Activism. Space!
No HBCU is bigger than A&T, with almost 12,000 students. That alone should give it the title of “greatest,” but there’s also the powerhouse football team, the proliferation of events and the best marching band in the Carolinas, A&T’s Blue & Gold Marching Machine.
Show me the lie.
And then there are the Aggies themselves, who have written so many chapters in Greensboro’s history. At GHOE events, undercurrents of achievement and impact contribute as much to Aggie Pride as the football team and the Blue & Gold.
GHOE is the greatest because it transcends a parade and a weekend of parties.
I’ve got Aggie Pride because I know what the university has done for the city where I live, affecting its politics, economy, architecture, culture and so many other areas, all for the better. It’s influence can be seen everywhere in town.
But I’m also pulling big for the football team, and angling for admittance to the step show. Because GHOE is as much on the ground as it is in the air.
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Following an official count from the University of North Carolina System, N.C. A&T begins the 2019-20 academic year with an enrollment of 12,556, an increase of 3.4 percent over 2018-19. That includes 11,039 undergraduate students – up 410 from the previous year – and 1,517 graduate students.