Howard University has celebrated its March 2, 1867, founding with Charter Day activities throughout the week, leading up to its 159th Charter Day Convocation on March 6, 2026, and official Charter Day Dinner the following evening. 

As we continue to celebrate this momentous occasion, we must pause to reflect on the significance of the establishment of an institution founded to provide quality education to African Americans, as well as those who were not welcome to attend other institutions of higher learning at the time. Therefore, we thought it appropriate to ask a few student leaders to share their thoughts on the day — and the Howard University Student Association (HUSA) Senate answered the call. 

Students serving in the 14th General Assembly of the HUSA Senate for the 2025-2026 term responded to the question, “What Does Charter Day Mean to Me?” 

Kaleena Fowler (CA), Vice Chairwoman 

Senior Political Science Major, Community Development and Legal Communications Double Minor 

“What Charter Day means to me is to continue to uphold Howard University’s motto, ‘In Truth and Service’ beyond my time here at Howard.” 

Senator Kanz Wiggins (NJ), Parliamentarian 

Junior Legal Communications Major 

“My experience at Howard University makes Charter Day especially meaningful to me because my mom also attended Howard, allowing me to continue a family legacy while honoring the university’s history of leadership, excellence, and service.”

Senator Amaya Lawrence (Fl), Senator-at-Large 

First-year Political Science Major, Double Philosophy and Economics Minor

“Charter Day reminds me of the value of Howard University, its legacy, its people, and the opportunities it continues to create for students like me. As a freshman and student leader, I am reminded that being at Howard is both a privilege and a responsibility to honor the past while building what comes next.”

Senator Brian Singleton (MI), Student Advocacy Committee Chair 

Senior Political Science and Sociology Double Major, Spanish Minor 

“Charter Day to me is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate everything our university has achieved since its charter date and reaffirm the strong principles on which it was built." 

Senator Armon Newsom (TN)

First Year Master of Social Work Student 

“When I think of Howard University's Charter Day, I am transported back to its decisive moment in the collective memory of our people. On March 2, 1867, on the heels of America's bloodiest war and our long-sought emancipation, Howard University was chartered in the nation's capital to someday become the beacon of ingenuity it is at present. Though we see today how monumental this moment was, at the time, amongst the fraught precarity of reconstruction, it was simply an attempt. A beautiful experiment coursing hope into a flesh of wood frames and red ochre. The Frankenstein-ed dreams and ambitions of a people dancing at the brink of life and death. We have come again into precarity. 

Perhaps, more acutely, we never left. But on this day, I am reminded that it is in these moments of uncertainty, disillusionment, and collapse, where the veil is thin enough for us to hope and dream uninhibited, that the future finds the present in the aching throes of an earnest attempt, and all attempts, of course, must be sustained and fed by truth and by service.”