Black student clubs come together for first annual Friendsgiving

Students gathered for the first annual Friendsgiving in the Black Student Success Center on Tuesday with games like UNO and Heads Up 7 Up; food including chicken, pizza and banana pudding; to celebrate gratitude and bring a collaborative event for the Black student clubs on campus.

The event was hosted in collaboration with the Umoja Scholars Program and people were free to share spoken word and prayer for the Thanksgiving season, highlighting the sentiment for community and togetherness before food was served.

^{Attendees and volunteers of the Black Student Success Center hold hands to give grace for the Umoja Friendsgiving on Tuesday.}

Chicken, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, breadsticks, pizza and nachos, with banana pudding and chocolate chip cookies for dessert were served for guests.

After dining, students participated in games like Heads Up Seven Up, Blackjack and UNO, fostering connection and fun. 

“It means a lot because I come from an older family. …It’s fun to see people my age be in unison and it just reminds me of my siblings when they were younger,” said student El Shaddai Beni-Him Huges. 

Black Student Success Center coordinator Angela Fowlkes emphasized the goal of creating a space for black students to meet new people, create community and a space where Black students and faculty can thrive. 

“This is the first time that we’ve had any Black student life clubs on campus. With Umoja being long standing and SAGE. … Building that bridge between all of the student life clubs on campus, … Building community is really important where other students are able to thrive for student success, so being able to come together and commune and eat bread and celebrate our traditions with one another,” Fowlkes said. 

Fowlkes explained the idea of the event, hosted by Umoja, was rooted in the idea of unity and togetherness. 

“This is our very first Thanksgiving…. We  just hope that this event expands and more people hear about it and more people come. Right now there’s a lot of food insecurity and housing insecurity and so people that are in these different programs are in this space right now building those connections and networking as well.” continues Fowlkes.

Umoja invited other black student life clubs like, A2MEND, SAGE Scholars, and NSBE, to serve food and host games. 

When asked why other clubs were involved in the Friendsgiving, SAGE club president, Devonte Barner said the collaboration was intentional and rooted in unity and support. 

“Just to give back. We collaborated with Umoja and A2MEND and NSBE to bring to culture and to just let them know, hey, even though we are separate clubs we are all connected and we can still come together as one and feast and have fun and just get to know each other and our community on campus. … We are here, we have resources, we even have free food today. We are having games, … this is a little bit of what we do as a whole.”  said Barner. 

“Well originally it was an Umoja event, umoja means unity, so they wanted to invite their sister and brother clubs to come to the table with them and so we had an opportunity to volunteer what you wanted to provide.” Fowlkes said. 

The Umoja Scholars Program is a community dedicated to supporting the education of students through connection, cultural engagement, and student services.  

Umoja Scholars President Oscar Jammot detailed the impact that he hoped this event achieved for those attending. 

“I feel that this will bring the community together. We had a lot of hardships this year, we lost students, we lost a lot this year so we are just rebuilding, coming together as a community. We incorporated a lot of mental health this year to make sure our students are good because we know. …mental health is a big factor in the black community, especially in our black men. So we are just trying to keep building the community to make sure we are all good. Check up on each other, and this is kind of a check in event,” said Umoja president Oscar Jammot.   

Friendsgiving not only served as a celebration but also as a celebration for culture and gratitude during a year marked by challenges and loss.

Organizers and collaborators plan to make the Friendsgiving an annual tradition, hoping to expand its reach and continue to build a supportive space for students and staff.