By Ashleigh Fields
Special to the AFRO
Howard University held its 102nd Charter Day dinner on March 7. The event served as a time to honor alumni who have blazed a new trail for future Howard graduates looking to create change by making a positive impact on their community. The sold out event took place at the Marriott Marquis.
Guests collectively raised over $1.1 million in ticket sales to uplift students while celebrating the careers of four distinctive alumni.
Journalist Jelani Cobb (B.A. ’94), Judge Herbert B. Dixon Jr. (BSEE ’70), Apollo Theater Executive Producer Kamilah Forbes (BFA ’98), and physician James K. Fortson, MD (B.S. ’72) were duly recognized with awards for their Distinguished Postgraduate Achievement.
At the helm of the evening soiree was critically acclaimed actor and Howard alumna Phylicia Rashad, who served as the emcee.
She spoke fondly of her time at Howard reflecting on her growth and unprecedented opportunities provided at the campus in the heart of the nation’s capital.
Rashad also for a brief period memorialized her classmate, legendary gospel singer Richard Smallwood, who passed away late last year.
Smallwood was a founding member of the university’s first gospel choir, which surprised the crowd with a tribute glorifying his legacy at the prestigious Charter Day dinner.
“They tore the roof off the ballroom!” alumnus Kevin Harry said of their performance.
Members of the group said that’s exactly what they intended to do in honor of Smallwood. Four of the Howard Gospel Choir’s original members stood and sang alongside more recent graduates, ushering in a spirit of praise and purpose for the crowd gathered to celebrate the experiences cultivated at institution, known in the Black community as “The Mecca.”
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Members of the Howard University Gospel Choir perform live at the Charter Day Dinner.
Credit: All AFRO Photos / Patricia McDougall -
Celebrity artist Chante Moore performs for the crowd. Credit: All AFRO Photos / Patricia McDougall -
Shown here, members of the Alpha Chapter, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. at the 2026 Charter Day Dinner: Howard University Dean Rev. Dr. Bernard Richardson of Andrew Ranking Memorial Chapel (left); Dr. Nelson Adams; Chauncey Manson III; Duane Brown, Esq.; Dr. James Fortson, and Anthony Holder. Credit: All AFRO Photos / Patricia McDougall -
Dr. Eleanor W. Traylor (left), former professor of English at Howard University, shares a moment with Dr. Dana A. Williams, dean of the historically Black institution’s Graduate School. Credit: All AFRO Photos / Patricia McDougall -
Guericke “Chris” Royal (left), Howard University faculty senate chair and associate professor, fellowships with Donald B. Christian, former leader of PwC U.S. East Region Advisory, who served as the 2026 Charter Day Keynote Speaker. Credit: All AFRO Photos / Patricia McDougall -
Phylicia Rashad, a magna cum laude scholar of Howard University’s Class of 1970, is dean emerita of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts. Rashad served as the 2026 Charter Day Dinner emcee. She was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Achievement. Credit: All AFRO Photos / Patricia McDougall -
Hamid Jalloh, the 49th Mister Howard University, arrives with Eden Boles, the 87th Miss Howard University at the Charter Day Dinner. Credit: All AFRO Photos / Patricia McDougall -
Members of the Class of 2005 present a check of more than $300,000 to their beloved Howard University. Shown here, Co-chairs Conrad Woody (left); Ravi Windom; Freda Henry Wells; Chairman Steve D. Mobley Jr. and interim Howard University President Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick. Credit: All AFRO Photos / Patricia McDougall -
Shown here, Niya Wutoh (left); Nadya Wutoh; Howard University Provost Anthony Wutoh and his wife, Dr. Rita Wutoh. Credit: All AFRO Photos / Patricia McDougall -
James K. Fortson, MD (left), prepares to receive the Howard University Alumni Award in the field of medicine (L-R), alongside fellow awardee Kamilah Forbes, who received recognition for her work in the field of fine arts and Herbert B. Dixon Jr., honored for his contributions to the field of law. Credit: All AFRO Photos / Patricia McDougall -
Dr. Jelani Cobb receives the Distinguished Alumni Award for Postgraduate Achievement at the Howard University Charter Day Dinner.
Credit: All AFRO Photos / Patricia McDougall
“It’s always heart-warming and inspiring to spend time with fellow Bison, reinforcing connections that have lasted for decades,” alumna Kim Singleton said of the evening.
“Moments like these remind us of the brilliance that has emerged from our university and the impact Howard alumni continue to make around the world,” she added.
Guests were serenaded by Chante Moore in the company of celebrities ranging from reality star Candiace Dillard Bassett to Pulitzer prize winning journalist Keith Alexander, who has long touted the school’s ability to develop young journalists.
Cobb said he was one whose writing was fostered at Howard. The seed planted in him by university professionals blossomed and influences him daily as he leads Columbia University’s Journalism School as dean.
“With the exception of my family, no other institution has had as much of an impact on who I am as Howard. It’s my parents, my siblings and then Howard,” Cobb said in an interview with Howard earlier this year.
He noted that at the time of graduation the industry’s eroding norms were still intact. However, he asserted that today, students are facing an uphill battle.
“Journalists be able to convey to the public how they know what they know and what they did to get the story that they have, because we have this unprecedented decline in trust and that wasn’t the context that I emerged in as a young journalist,” he said.
“The ability to tell stories that weave in the work that you did and explain the reporting that you did and how you came to know what it is, that is crucial.”
Cobb reminded reporters that they are tasked with doing something simple but “deceptively complicated, which is tell the truth.”