2008 Black Alumni Reunion
November 7-9

It is with great joy that I greet you as chair of the 2008 Black Alumni Reunion. This year’s committee would like to encourage those that are celebrating milestone reunions to reach out to their classmates and “hook-up” during BAR. We are especially reaching out to those that have either never attended BAR or haven’t attended in quite some time. Chapel Hill and the University have undergone numerous changes in recent years but it still stakes the claim as the “Southern Part of Heaven.”

This is the new era of change, but we all have common threads that connect us to this place: Charlie Scott’s smooth jumper, Dudley’s steal and dunk, LT’s sack, Jordan’s jumper, Charlotte Smith, Marion Jones, famous Amos and KB, Phil Ford’s Four Corners, The Pit, the Wall, the ‘U’ bus, K&W, the Rathskeller, the Porthole, Purdy’s, the Happy Store, He’s Not Here, Jerry Stackhouse, The Black Ink, the BSM Gospel Choir, Opeyo dancers, the Old Well, the Great Hall and Upendo Lounge. I could go on and on and I am sure you will have fun reminiscing and adding your own fond memories to this list. "What is it that binds us to this place as to no other?" I can think of no ‘finer’ place for us to enjoy some great Tar Heel fellowship than Chapel Hill during the weekend of November 7-9.

UNC is our rightful place and we are challenged to step up and claim it. The UNC Black Pioneers gave sweat and tears so that we could have the opportunities at the University that we relish today. Before the Black Pioneers were the “Unsung Founders,” the men and women of color — enslaved and free — who helped build the Carolina that we all cherish and hold dear. Along with these inherited rights come serious responsibilities. We should be voting members of the UNC General Alumni Association (GAA) and help steer the direction of the University. We should support the Light on the Hill Society Scholarship program which provides financial assistance to our students. We should mentor students, encourage their academic excellence and foster their career development. We should recommend highly motivated and academically-minded minority students for UNC to target for admission. We should "Turn It Blue" and forge a legacy through BAR for all to emulate. 

Your continued support of BAR and the GAA — two entities that have impacted the growth and future of the University — has been outstanding and is much appreciated. We hope to see you, your family and your classmates this November.

Walter L. Faison ’82, chair
2008 Black Alumni Reunion Committee