6th Annual Black Alumni Reunion – April 27

On April 27, the GW Black Alumni Association (GWBAA) will host the Sixth Annual Black Alumni Reunion in Washington, DC.

The first reunion was held in April 2008 as a result of outreach efforts by Helen Cannaday Saulny, GSEHD MA ’88, who was GW’s assistant vice president for student academic support services at the time.

Saulny, now associate provost for diversity and inclusion, recognized the need to bring members of GW’s Black/African American alumni community together to celebrate professional and personal achievements, as well as contributions to the community.

This year’s reunion includes a brunch reception, an exclusive museum tour, a lecture and a panel discussion at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art (as part of GW’s award-winning Culture Buffs series). The event is open to all alumni.

Alumni will begin with brunch and the panel discussion on the topic, “Black Women in Leadership.” Next, guests will move on to a self-guided tour of the National Museum of African Art, including the new museum-wide exhibit, Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa.

In addition to a full day of events, alumni are also invited aboard DC’s famous Odyssey for a dinner cruise on the Potomac River.

The Black Alumni Reunion provides a unique opportunity for Black/African American alumni to learn about the accomplishments of their peers and reconnect with GW.

“The sense of community among Black/African American students was an important part of the GW experience for many of us,” noted James S. Walker, CCAS ’07, chair of the GWBAA. “I’m delighted that the university is supportive of keeping that community alive long after our days in Foggy Bottom, and I know many GWBAA members are looking forward to this year’s reunion.”

The GWBAA formed in 2004 and expanded in 2005.  A year later, the group hosted “The State of the Union of the Young Black Professional,” which was attended by more than 250 students and alumni and featured guest speaker Jeffrey Johnson.

Today, the GWBAA continues to grow and inspire its members to connect with each other and their communities, and looks forward to its sixth official reunion on April 27.

Event Details
Saturday, April 27
11:30am – 2:30pm: Brunch and Museum Tour
8:00pm – 11:00pm: Dinner Cruise on the Potomac
Registration: http://go.gwu.edu/BAR2013

Speakers Include:

Anntoinette “Toni” White-Richardson, CCAS BA ‘80
Toni White-Richardson is a native Washingtonian who came to George Washington University in the 70’s during the era of Affirmative Action. Toni became very active in the organizations that focused on the needs of the minority (African American) undergraduate student population at GWU.  She currently works for the Adult Literacy Resource Center of the D.C. Public Library as an Education Specialist. However, her larger role at the D.C. Public Library has been serving as Union President for the past 10 years. Toni has continued her commitment to the Washington, D.C. community by actively being involved in numerous charitable organizations and sitting on various boards as the voice of the underserved.

Dr. Adele Alexander, Adjunct Professor of History, GW
Adele L. Alexander’s research and teaching incorporates the black Atlantic world, African American history, family history, gender issues, military and social history.  Some of the classes she teaches include The Civil Rights and the Black Power Movements, African-American History, and Black Women in U.S. History. Her first book examined the lives and significance of non-enslaved women of color in the rural antebellum South. Her second explored the Americanization and evolving citizenship of an African (and Anglo-) American family in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In 2003 the African American Historical and Genealogical Society recognized her contributions to the study of family history with an award for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution.

Questions? Contact Mark Forrest, Office of Alumni Relations: 202.994.3293.