IKEA Refurbishes The LGBTQ+ and Intercultural Resource Center 

In the afternoon of the Lavender Reception, about 40 people crowded the slim hallway to the G-18 room where the LGBTQ and Intercultural Resource Center resides. The space had been closed since the Summer as IKEA renovated the space.  

Alumnus Jelani Trimble (Arch. ’04) revamped the space as IKEA’s interior designer at their College Park, Md. campus. Dichotic glass hung around the space in shades of teal and emerald glittered throughout the center, along with small inserts of greenery to create biolytic designs. “I wanted to give students a new vision of the Pride flag, but I also wanted people to understand from an intercultural level how we all have different perspectives,” said Trimble. “If you’re standing at one point, this glass will be one color and if you’re at another, it’s different. It’s good to realize there’s other things there and it’s not just your view.” 

Celebrating 20 years as an alumnus within Howard’s 100th Homecoming anniversary, Trimble said the design was a “full circle” moment. He also paid tribute to his gay brother, Jahi Trimble, who died of an AIDS-related illness in 2006 in Los Angeles. 

“Though I’m not queer, I am African American, and I do understand the transgressions against us and the LGBTQ community. We have to stand together to support one another,” Trimble said. 

The partnership began during Pride month and was led by Sharon Black, area marketing and public relations manager.

As a Morgan State University alumna, Black said she was intentional and wanted to impact Black scholars. “Thank you for giving us this opportunity to connect with an HBCU in Washington D.C.,” she said. “We all sat in a room and had a really deep conversation about what we could do here at Howard.” 

Visitors sat in awe of the space as they were welcomed in with a “Howard Bison” neon sign and swag gear like advocacy pins from the Human Rights Campaign. Three new boards of information regarding resources, a Howard event calendar, and an affirmation board were installed. Alumna and queer rights advocate Victoria Kirby York (B.A. ’09, MPA ’11) was the first person to advocate for a queer center or space as master’s health student in 2010. Now, 15 years later, she has returned to her dream realized.  

“There was something about seeing ‘LGBTQ’ etched in the door that made it feel like we will not be easily erased or repurposed. It feels a lot more permanent,” York said. “I love to see the attention-to-detail to make this space happen. The way it looks right now is the closest it's ever been to the original dream.” 

“Welcome” in 20 different languages hung on the wall. Inclusive reads such as George M. Johnson’s award-winning novel “All Boys Aren’t Blue” were on the shelves. Photos of James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, alumnus Alaine Locke and alumna Lucy Diggs Slowe were hung on the back wall for a portrait segment to honor influential queer Black icons.  

“This space wasn’t as vibrant and comfortable as this space is today. I think it’s beautiful what IKEA did. We don’t have many common spaces and I think this can be a really great safe space for intercultural and queer students,” said sophomore musical theater major Ruth Atta. 

Recognizing Howard’s Queer Lineage 

Archives of Lucy Diggs Slowe, the first president of Alpha Kappa Alpha and the University’s first dean of women, show a collection of intimate letters to her same-sex roommate, Mary P. Burrill. Civil rights icon and lawyer Pauli Murray (J.D. ’44, H ’17), who pioneered the legal theories that became the central argument in Brown v. Board of Education, commonly used she/her and nonbinary they/them pronouns interchangeably. Murray would go on to attempt to receive gender-affirming care. Alain Locke, a professor in English, is considered to be a queer icon for his role in the Harlem Renaissance's creation, along with the queer legends who make up the Black literary movement.

More recent queer Bison trailblazers are York, who serves as the director of the public policy and programs for the National Black Justice Coalition. While at Howard, York completed a report commissioned by the Office of the University President who was Sidney A. Ribeau at the time on to identify the needs of Howard’s Black queer student body. York was a member of Howard’s LGBTQ student group, BLAGOSAH (The Black Lesbian and Gay Organization of Students at Howard University.) York's senior thesis became the basis of commentary published in the Harvard Kennedy School of Government LGBTQ Policy Journal called the Black Closet: the Case for LGBTQ+ Resource Centers on HBCU Campuses. 

 “For so long we were erased, or the queer part of our identities were erased,” York said. “The importance of naming it does matter. We do need to bring our history and legacy and being sharper about the identities that make our icons who they are.” 

Today, BLAGOSAH is now the Coalition of Activist Students Celebrating the Acceptance of Diversity and Equality (CASCADE), a rebrand that happened under the leadership of Amari Ice (B.A. ’12), who currently leads the Howard University Rainbow Alumni Association. “We were specifically charged with uniting campus in a way that would create inclusion for all students...so to see something that we as students fought to bring into reality, it’s dope,” he said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. 

CASCADE continues to elevate queer presence at Howard; they host their annual conference As Queer As It Is Black to discuss relevant topics from an intersectional lens. In 2022, the organization stood with then-President Wayne A.I. Frederick and rose LGBTQ+ Pride Flag outside of the Blackburn center. The following year, BestColleges.com named Howard the No. 1 most inclusive HBCU for LGBTQ-identifying students after evaluations by a nationwide Campus Pride Index Tool. 

The 2024 Lavender Reception Celebrates Today’s Queer Bison  

Seniors Danielle Jones served as the hosts of The Lavender Reception, while Madyson Patterson “DJ WildChild” provided the sounds of the night.  

Howard University President Ben Vinson III, Ph.D., opened the Lavender Reception with remarks.  

“If we do not accept each other as we are, then what is the meaning of The Mecca?” Vinson asked. “Howard is at its best when we are inclusive, when we bring our full capacity of our uniqueness and our personhood into the broader context of our University.” 

The reception guest list embodied The Yard of Fame theme seamlessly; alumnus Christopher Cross (M.A. ’14, Ph.D. ’19), the very first openly gay student trustee, attended the event to honor a decade of his alumnus status. Cross advocated for the founding of The Lavender Fund, which has now raised over $88,000 across 216 donors to help queer-identifying students with finances to continue their studies. 

From that fund, nine students were awarded scholarships this year: Jeremy Allman, Marvens Belidor, Tiana Malcolm, Joshua Burns, Chloe McNeill, Joshua Odam, Jasean Robertson, Elisabeth Wilson, and Ivann Angu.  

“Being an institution that is growing in its acceptance of queer identity is ultimately producing a high quality of students,” Cross said. “Our inclusivity is the underbelly of why we see more and more attendance each year, more out faculty, and more funding. We’re going to see more in that as we continue to invest.” 

Another queer icon is budding on The Yard: Howard University Student Association President Jay Jones, who is now the first trans-identifying president of the student body. Jones addressed attendees, calling The Lavender Reception, now in its ninth year, a “testament to the fight that LGBTQ Bison have continued to take on.” 

“Upon each reception, we have accomplished a new feat and this year with the reopening of the LGBTQ+ and Intercultural Affairs Resource Center, let us be unwavering in our optimism and unapologetic in our joy as we continue the never-ending fight for absolute equality and inclusion for all,” she said.  

Alumnus and actor Ryan Jamaal Swain (BFA ’16) served as the keynote speaker of the Lavender Reception. Just six months after graduating from Howard, Swain snagged the prominent role as Damon Richards-Evangelista in the groundbreaking FX series Pose. Damon was kicked out of his home for being a gay and a dancer, an identity that would eventually become his strength as he joined the Houses of Evangelista and trained into a confident world-class dancer by the show’s end.  

“When I auditioned for the show, they asked me: ‘What does Howard University mean to you?’ and Howard gave me...me. It gave me an opportunity to see myself to grow and to love me, and I hope that it is that for you all.”  

He advised students to trust the process of college and understand Howard’s role in finding lifelong connections. “Pick up your chosen family. Seek those people who fan your flame. André De Shields said, ‘Surround yourself with people whose eyes light up when they see you coming,’” Swain said.  

New Orleans bounce rapper Big Freedia closed the night of festivities, performing hits like “Betty Bussit,” “Jump,” and “Drop" / "Shake Ya Body.”