Black OCAD U hosting second annual homecoming fête

OCAD University’s Black Caucus is hosting a fête event on Nov. 9 to welcome and celebrate Black students, alums, faculty and staff.

The event will be held at OCAD U’s Waterfront Campus, located at 130 Queens Quay East from 6 to 9 p.m., and will feature great food, music, spoken word, a Black alumni art exhibition and more.

“Black Homecoming is a community-building event and a celebration of the Black experience that has its traditions in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs),” says Dr. Kathy Moscou, Interim Dean, Faculty of Design.

“It is an important part of welcoming Black students to campus and fostering student success,” she continues. “Black Homecoming also celebrates Black alumni, faculty and staff and is directly aligned with the student experience as outlined in the Academic Strategic Plan and OCAD U’s commitment to the Scarborough Charter.”

About Black OCAD U

The core purpose of Black OCAD U is to creatively teach, promote and engage the Black communities within and outside OCAD University. Black OCAD U is Black people on a mission of inclusion and fostering growth through the active decolonization of design praxis for Black communities. We inspire positive change with a clear intention to create community and dismantle the notion that Black people do not belong in design spaces. Our efforts focus on being a creative, decisive, and united voice within the institution in advocating for the Black communities.

We achieve this through building core alliances and holding space for the difficult, but necessary, conversations. We aim to understand our collective responsibility, to symbolize what is possible, and to be a beacon for others to emulate and even surpass.