Fordham alumni on a panel at the annual Black History Month Reception Dinner spoke about how their Blackness informs their work on Feb. 28th on the 12th-floor lounge of the Leon Lowenstein building.
Lincoln Center’s Black Student Alliance (BSA) put on the dinner to cap off February, Black History Month. The event highlighted four recent Fordham graduates, panelists who spoke about their Blackness and how it guided their journeys within their respective fields.
The event featured a buffet-style dinner, alumni panelists and a raffle that attendees could bid on. The prizes included a Shea Moisture hair starter kit, a collection of Toni Morrison books and the highly sought-after Flower Bouquet Lego set. The reception lasted three hours.
Earlier in the month BSA promoted the dinner on their social media, most notably their Instagram @bsa_lc.
“Inviting all students, alumni and faculty to our 2nd Annual BHM Reception Dinner, celebrating the last week to Black History Month!” BSA wrote in a post on their Instagram account promoting the event.
“We created it to be a collaborative space for alumni, students and faculty to come together and celebrate Black excellence and Black community on campus and give back.” Kennedi Hutchins, FCLC ’25
The alumni panelists were Rebecca Richmond, Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center ’24, Issac Mullings and Aminata Kotateh, both Fordham College at Rose Hill ’24, and Raekwon Fuller, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’23.
Richmond, a former member of the BSA executive board, currently works as an associate strategist at Klick Health. Mullings earned a Fulbright Scholarship while serving as a researcher at Columbia University in 2024. Fuller is currently a first-year MFA candidate at Yale’s David Geffen School of Drama, studying theater management. Konateh previously served as a member of the Fordham Black History Month Committee and is currently employed as an international admissions counselor at LIM College.
The setup for the event was a show of Black excellence as members of BSA put together tables, practiced speeches and checked on presentations. Kennedi Hutchins, FCLC ’25 and president of BSA stood at a podium in front of a projection of the night’s agenda.
“We created it to be a collaborative space for alumni, students and faculty to come together and celebrate Black excellence and Black community on campus and give back,” Hutchins said after the event.
Before the panel and the Q&A portions of the event, attendees were encouraged to socialize and network. Similar to past BSA events, like their “Curl Chat” or their faculty and student social, there was a common attitude of striving for success and uplifting one another.
Faculty and alumni mingled with current students, sharing tips about navigating college, such as making sure to slow down and stay present. Additionally, the event was a moment to network and make connections.
“I felt a sense of community. They made it such a nice and comfortable environment, and hearing them speak, you could see yourself in these people.” Gabriel Guy, FCLC ’28
Gabriel Guy, FCLC ’28, said the BSA event made him feel welcome.
“It had a very magnetic, calming energy, and the same transferred through some of the alumni speakers we had,” Guy said.
A large crowd of students enjoyed chicken and rice and words of wisdom from panelists. Many of the panelists had been members of the BSA during their time at Fordham. Raekwon Fuller spoke about his time at Fordham and his choice to sit as a member of the panel emphasizing to the crowd that students should slow down and enjoy Fordham for all that it was.
Hutchins said that over the years she has been dedicated to increasing BSA’s membership and making it feel like a family.
“As a Black woman myself and having a lot of friends of color the space is important to really introduce, especially freshmen and underclassmen, building a community because it is hard coming to a new city,” Hutchins said.
Guy continued Hutchins’ point. He said that he immediately felt that Fordham supported BSA and remembered feeling at home when he attended his first BSA meeting.
“I felt a sense of community,” Guy said. “They made it such a nice and comfortable environment, and hearing them speak, you could see yourself in these people.”
While Hutchins will have graduated before the next BHM Reception Dinner, she said that she hopes that the annual tradition continues for years to come.
“I am a senior, I can’t really go back in time, but I think it was useful for freshmen and underclassmen to take that experience,” Hutchins said. “I’m going to grad school so I’ll take it on with me.”
While no new BSA events have been announced, the club posts any upcoming events on their Instagram page for members of the Fordham community. The club hosts weekly meetings on Thursdays at 5:30 pm.
