ATLANTA, Oct. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Clark Atlanta University’s 2023 homecoming celebration will commemorate the school’s 35th anniversary. It will be a tribute to the school’s excellence, innovation, and evolution over the past three and a half decades.

Running from October 15 – 27, the celebration will feature a slate of wide-ranging activities—from the homecoming parade, tailgating, and football game to a fashion show, concerts, and book signings.

This year’s theme is Panther Records, a nod to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and its influence on culture and art, making it a major part of the fabric of American music and life. A hip-hop concert is scheduled for Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Panther Stadium.

The homecoming game has the CAU Panthers facing the Central State University’s Marauders (Wilberforce, Ohio) on October 21, at 2 p.m., in Panther Stadium.

The celebration will also feature its second annual 40 Under 40 Young Alumni Achievement Awards Ceremony on October 19, at 7 p.m., at the exquisite Flourish venue.  Last year, the inaugural event raised more than $144,000 for scholarships.

Additionally, two alumni are returning to the Henderson Student Center campus to promote their recent books. Pinky Cole Hayes, a 2009 graduate, and owner and operator of Slutty Vegan, is making her alma mater a stop on her I Hope You Fail HBCU book tour on Oct. 16, at 7 p.m.

Terrinee Gundy, a 1996 graduate, will discuss her first book, The Daughter of a Junkie: A True Love Story, on Oct. 17, at 3 p.m. The book is a first-hand account of her escape from the ghetto trappings of the underserved and impoverished communities where she lived to become a judge for the Magistrate Court of Fulton County in Atlanta.

To see the entire list of CAU 2023 homecoming activities and to purchase your homecoming events tickets, visit https://www.clarkatlantahomecoming.com/.

About Clark Atlanta University

Clark Atlanta University was formed with the consolidation of Atlanta University and Clark College, both of which hold unique places in the annals of African American history. Atlanta University, established in 1865 by the American Missionary Association, was the nation’s first institution to award graduate degrees to African Americans. Clark College, established four years later in 1869, was the nation’s first four-year liberal arts college to serve a primarily African American student population. Today, with nearly 4,000 students, CAU is the largest of the four institutions (CAU, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Morehouse School of Medicine) that comprise the Atlanta University Center Consortium. It is also the largest of the 37-member UNCF institutions. Notable alumni include: James Weldon Johnson, American civil rights activist, poet, and songwriter (Lift Every Voice and Sing, “The Black National Anthem”; Ralph David Abernathy, Sr., American civil rights activist; Congressman Hank

Johnson, Georgia District 4; Kenya Barris, American award-winning television and movie producer; Kenny Leon, Tony Award-winning Broadway Director; Jacque Reid, Emmy Award-winning Television Personality and Journalist; Brandon Thompson, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for NASCAR; Valeisha Butterfield Jones, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the Recording Academy. To learn more about Clark Atlanta University, visit www.cau.edu.

SOURCE Clark Atlanta University