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Release Date: 
Monday, April 17, 2023

BMQFG hosts Rites of Passage celebration

Event Date: 
Wed, 04/26/2023 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Location: 
Andrew A. Mazzara Administrative Services & Conference Center (ASCC) (Building L) Forfa Auditorium

The HFC Black Male & QUEENS Focus Group (BMQFG) will host its annual Rites of Passage Ceremony on Wednesday, April 26, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Forfa Auditorium in the Andrew A. Mazzara Administrative Services & Conference Center (ASCC) (Bldg. L) on the main campus.

This ceremony will recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of our Black students who are graduating, transferring, or otherwise completing their requirements and transitioning away from HFC after the Winter 2023 or Summer 2023 semesters. Detroit Promise students will also be honored at this event, said BMQFG faculty advisor Dr. Kalvin DaRonne Harvell.

HFC’s Dr. Courtney Matthews will give the keynote address

The agenda:

  • Welcome
  • Declaration of Sacred Space
  • Opening remarks
  • Introduction of keynote speaker
  • Keynote address: HFC English instructor Dr. Courtney Matthews
  • Student speakers: To be announced
  • Rites of Passage: Recognition of Focus Group and Detroit Promise students
  • Acknowledgements and closing remarks

“I am ecstatic for the opportunity to both celebrate and share with our graduates and transferring students,” said Matthews, who serves as the BMQFG co-faculty advisor. “This ceremony will honor our graduates while making a connection back to their roots as a part of the African diaspora. I will talk about how the seven principles of Kwanzaa can be intertwined with their current success and their future endeavors.”

Honoring students in a public forum

For BMQFG co-faculty advisor Chardin Claybourne, this ceremony is one of his favorite events.

“As educators, it’s vital and necessary to celebrate the accomplishments of our students and their extended networks of family and friends,” he said. “Many of our students have persisted and persevered, despite substantial obstacles and challenges. This event allows us a time and space to honor our students’ academic and extracurricular endeavors in a public setting. As the Focus Group prides itself on centering the needs of its students, this event continues the tradition of creating the time to listen and learn from our students’ lived experiences over the course of their careers at HFC.”

The Rites of Passage Ceremony is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. Please register today

For questions or more information, contact any of the following: