Dressed in her school's signature blue and gold colours, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical state University student Nia Heaston strolled about campus, marvelling at the buzz during its 98th homecoming weekend last week.
Like thousands of students, alumni and supporters of the nation's nearly 100 historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) Heaston was quickly swept up in the weekend-long celebration of black culture, tradition, school pride and community spirit.
HBCUs were once the only places where black Americans could pursue higher education when discriminatory laws barred them from attending predominantly white universities.
Attracting celebrities and politicians, the festivities featured step shows — percussive, stomping and clapping dance routines — by black fraternities and sororities. Gospel singers poured their hearts out. Models strutted down runways in shiny chain mail tops and floor-length fur coats under blue and purple lights.
“HBCUs aren't just schools for black students — they're homes,” said Heaston, a 21-year-old sophomore from Detroit.
Amid all this, zealous volunteers engaged potential voters, urging them to exercise their power as citizens to be heard.
Homecoming weekends in many battleground states had extra significance this year, weeks before Tuesday's election, with Howard University graduate Kamala Harris, a Democrat, running for the White House against Republican former President Donald Trump.
Young Americans could play a crucial role in the race, with many voting for the first time in a presidential election.
Heaston, who hails from the swing state of Michigan, helped co-ordinate early voting initiatives such as “Walk to the Polls,” which gathered students to walk less than a mile to vote at the campus' polling site.
HBCU campuses were pulsing with excitement as generations gathered, knowing that Harris has a chance of becoming the first HBCU graduate in the Oval Office.
At Howard University, members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, which Harris belongs to, lined a hall in formation, adorned in green while holding pink pom poms.
HBCUs have long been cultural and politically active hubs among black communities, playing a prominent role in elections and the civil rights movement. Famous alumni include Morehouse College graduate Martin Luther King, Jr.
Harris has spoken frequently about how her years at Howard University in Washington, DC, influenced her career.
HBCUs aren't just schools for black students — they're homes
— Nia Heaston
“It challenges the narrative that HBCUs are somehow not on par with other universities,” said Ed Sanders, a political strategist and Howard alum.
Targeting undecided voters, Harris and Trump have invested heavily in political ads and multiple visits to battleground states such as North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia, where more than a dozen HBCUs are located. Trump won North Carolina by nearly 75,000 votes in 2020.
“North Carolina is in desperate need” of student votes, said Tiffany Seawright, North Carolina A&T director of leadership and engagement, as 1990s R&B music blasted at a tailgate, a social gathering held in parking lots, where hundreds lined up for barbecued ribs and fried catfish. Seawright urged students to cast their ballots at an early voting campus site.
Both campaigns have made last-ditch efforts to court young adults, who can be harder to reach than those aged 30 and above.
Harris has received strong support among some groups of black Americans, considered the Democratic Party's most loyal voting bloc, including young women, by engaging them on social justice and abortion rights. But young voters have criticised the Biden-Harris administration for its support of Israel over the war in Gaza and raised concerns about Harris' support among black men.
Trump has reportedly gained traction among black males, but some Democratic strategists say that has been exaggerated. A recent NAACP survey found the percentage of black men under 50 likely to vote for Trump fell from 27% to 21%, while support for Harris rose from 51% to 59% from August to October.
However, Harris' lead over Trump dwindled in the final stretch of the race to a single percentage point over the Republican, 44% to 43%, a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed.
Trump campaign spokesperson Janiyah Thomas said it is “seizing the opportunity to connect with young black voters” by highlighting initiatives that have benefited HBCUs and their home states.
The Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment. However, the campaign announced plans in September to partner with local campaigns to reach HBCU students during homecomings, emphasising schools in swing states North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia, a state President Joe Biden won by a razor thin margin of 12,000 votes in 2020.
Nonprofit Vote.org said it had registered over one 1-million voters aged 18-24 this election cycle by targeting underrepresented groups and first-timers in voter drives and other outreach to students on HBCU campuses and in areas with large numbers of voters of colour.
Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey cited “unprecedented” youth engagement this election cycle, with voters under 35 accounting for nearly 80% of all new registrations on the organisation's platform during the 2024 cycle, up from 64% in 2020.
North Carolina student Justice Montgomery registered to vote in July during band camp. The drummer plans to cast his ballot on campus.
“Originally, I couldn't even see myself going to vote,” the Georgia native said. “We took a break from the music just to dive deep” into some ballot issues, Montgomery said.
Howard student Chloé Enoch, 21, said this year's election and Harris' run already has inspired younger generations.
Harris was featured on clothing, pins and other merchandise. Howard alumni waved paper fans showing her face on the front and early-voting and election dates on the back.
This homecoming is about realising “how important your vote is,” said first-time voter Kadin Wooten, 19. She took a six-hour train ride home to New Haven, Connecticut, after class to vote in person.
Seeing a Howard graduate on the ballot energised clothing brand owner Travis Merritts, 21, a senior at the university. At the homecoming, Merritts sold T-shirts emblazoned with Harris' 1986 Howard graduation picture. He drove several hours south to Florence, South Carolina, to cast his first vote in person because he felt it was significant.
“I'm happy that I get to be involved in possibly setting history,” Merritts said.
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