SpelHouse homecoming survives the storm

SpelHouse survived.

The weather threatened to wash out SpelHouse homecoming, but the celebration went on.

Hurricane Isaias forced Morehouse College to postpone its Saturday homecoming football game against Savannah State University, along with accompanying festivities, disrupting a weekend of celebrations shared with neighboring Spelman College.

The storm made landfall Friday evening near Destin, Florida, before weakening overnight to a post-tropical cyclone. But its impact continued across Georgia, where it downed trees and power lines and left more than 120,000 customers without electricity Saturday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.

With severe weather threatening Atlanta, organizers moved the game and affected homecoming activities to Sunday, hoping to preserve the celebration while keeping students, alumni and visitors safe.

But the change of plans wasn’t enough to keep students, alumni and faculty away from one of Atlanta’s signature HBCU traditions.

“The magic and the power is in being together,” said Henry Goodgame, Morehouse’s vice president of external engagement and alumni relations and chairman of the homecoming committee. “Whatever affords us an opportunity to do that, that’s the blessing.”

Goodgame, a 1984 Morehouse graduate, said homecoming typically draws about 33,000 people. He acknowledged that the weather and schedule change could affect attendance, but said organizers prioritized the safety and experience of the SpelHouse community.

Morehouse defeated Savannah State 34-23 before a crowd of more than 19,000, according to the college’s official football box score.

A sea of maroon swept through B.T. Harvey Stadium as Morehouse students and alumni showed their school pride in matching sweaters, pullovers, jerseys and letterman jackets. Flecks of Spelman blue dotted the crowd.

For 2024 Spelman graduate Ariana Williams, the weather required just one adjustment to her homecoming plans: She had to wear a hat.

“Homecoming is family,” Williams said. “Being here is like no other place on Earth.”

A homecoming tradition that wouldn’t quit

Morehouse’s House of Funk marching band took center stage during halftime, accompanied by the Mahogany N Motion dance team.

Mister Morehouse College, Miss Maroon and White and Miss Spelman College, along with their respective courts, took to the field to welcome the crowd to the shared homecoming before strolling through alumni tents and tailgates to greet other guests.

Students looked forward to reconnecting with friends and meeting alumni.

“This is an occasion we get once a year. I have to be here to see it,” said Isaiah Raphael, a Morehouse freshman majoring in kinesiology.

The weather also did little to prevent the annual gathering from becoming a fashion show.

Students flaunted self-crafted outfits as they moved from the stadium down Westview Drive to the tailgates. Faux furs, knee-high boots and Greek-letter apparel were on display.

Kitten heels appeared alongside asymmetrical lace dresses and skirts reminiscent of the 2000s, while Timberland boots were a practical choice to traipse across soggy grass.

T-shirts bearing images of Malcolm X and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., along with Pan-African colors and Black Power imagery, added expressions of Black pride to the celebration.

More than a football game

Among those making the rounds at SpelHouse was former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic candidate for governor, who visited the homecoming festivities ahead of the November election.

A Florida A&M University alumna and Morehouse mother, Bottoms said college students have powerful voices and are not afraid to hold elected officials accountable.

She said college students “hold (her) feet to the fire” over her policies.

Bottoms also pointed to the Atlanta University Center’s importance to the culture of Atlanta and Georgia, particularly its history of student-led political movements.

“Just the opportunity to be here and show my support, it’s an honor for me,” she said. “I’m happy to do it every single year.”

For Goodgame, the annual gathering is about more than football, tailgates or even the thousands of people who return to campus each year.

He said organizers consider the interests of SpelHouse’s “kings and queens” when making decisions about homecoming, recognizing the event’s importance in bringing the community together.

“If you look at the crowd, (the weather) has not made a big difference,” Goodgame said. “I appreciate (attendees) thanking us for making the right decision for them.”

For Jelani Bass, a 2004 Morehouse graduate, the storm and the scramble to reschedule festivities reinforced something he already knew: SpelHouse homecoming requires both mental and physical preparation.