{"id":69748,"date":"2026-04-06T15:04:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=69748"},"modified":"2026-04-06T17:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T21:04:16","slug":"cbaa-50th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/cbaa-50th\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Built by Alumni, Sustained by Community, Driven by Purpose\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A 50th anniversary gala in Washington, DC, will celebrate CBAA’s strength, history, and impact while planning for its future<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Joe Wilensky<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Renee Alexander \u201974 matriculated on the Hill in fall 1970, she was one of about 275 Black students in her freshman cohort. Hers was a significantly more diverse entering class\u2014one that was also the first to have applied and been admitted following the 1969 Willard Straight Hall occupation and the ongoing racial strife on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tension at the time \u201cwas impossible to ignore, and it impacted everything that we did, everywhere that we went,\u201d she recalls. \u201cBut the flip side is that I also had this welcoming, warm, insulated Black community that came together because we felt safe together. My community was my life here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Early
Alexander (far right) with Imani Bolling \u201973 (center) and Karen Hilliard Johnson \u201973.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And as she and her peers began to graduate, she says, it was clear they had to do something to extend the vibrant network they\u2019d created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe knew that many of these people would be in our lives for the rest of our lives,\u201d she says. \u201cSo how would we build an organization that preserves this community?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

We knew that many of these people would be in our lives for the rest of our lives. So how would we build an organization that preserves this community?<\/p>\nRenee Alexander \u201974<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Cornell Black Alumni Association<\/a> (CBAA) sprang from that effort: Alexander and several others\u2014Sandra \u201cSandi\u201d Black \u201973; Conway Boyce \u201975, BA \u201976; Carlton Holmes \u201972; and Irene Smalls \u201971\u2014founded it in 1976.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organization \u201chas served as a national home for Black Cornellians\u2014built by alumni, sustained by community, and driven by purpose,\u201d says Shannon Cohall \u201914, LLM \u201925, the group\u2019s current president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Early<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"future<\/figure>\n
Early CBAA members at a reunion, and students in 1985.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This spring, CBAA\u2014which now has more than 1,000 dues-paying members, with about 12,000 more subscribing to its newsletter and listservs\u2014is celebrating its first half century with a gala in Washington, DC, April 24\u201326.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CBAA at 50<\/a>: A Golden Celebration Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Present, Securing the Future will include receptions, panel discussions, storytelling, and collecting memories for an oral history project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CBAA at 50: A Golden Celebration Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Present, Securing the Future will include receptions, panel discussions, storytelling, and collecting memories for an oral history project.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(The last day to register and purchase tickets is April 15.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three alumni\u2014University benefactor and trustee emeritus Thomas Jones \u201969, MRP \u201972; prominent legal scholar Kimberl\u00e9 Crenshaw \u201981; and progressive activist Svante Myrick \u201909, former mayor of Ithaca\u2014are being honored at the gala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event will also serve as the public launch of the CBAA Legacy Fund, a campaign with a $1.5 million goal to support and grow the group\u2019s scholarships, mentorship, engagement, cultural preservation, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"CBAA
Cornell University<\/figcaption>
Celebrating at the all-alumni lunch in Barton Hall during Reunion 2006 …<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"CBAA
… and at a Black Ivy event on Martha’s Vineyard in 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As Cohall observes, CBAA\u2019s existence speaks to the fact that while Black Cornellians \u201care definitely part of our university, at times there have been some distinctions in our experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CBAA, she says, \u201ccan fill that gap for a lot of folks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group\u2019s founding mission\u2014to connect, mobilize, and uplift Black alumni across generations\u2014can be traced to the alum whom many call the visionary behind CBAA: Irene Smalls, who founded Cornell\u2019s Wari Co-op<\/a> as a welcoming residential space for women of color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"CBAA
Cornell University<\/figcaption>
CBAA co-hosted an event at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I left Cornell, the women and men I had come to know and love were scattered across the country,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were apart, but that Cornell experience had forged a bond that distance could not destroy\u2014and CBAA represents a continuation of our Black Cornell community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sandi Black, the group\u2019s first president as well a co-founder, has seen CBAA grow and evolve over the decades\u2014as new generations took the helm and online technology facilitated connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

We were apart, but that Cornell experience had forged a bond that distance could not destroy.<\/p>\nIrene Smalls \u201971<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Reaching this half-century milestone, she says, \u201cis a testament not only to CBAA\u2019s longevity, but also its resilience, its adaptability, and the collective effort of everyone who has contributed their time, talent, and treasure to its success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early on, CBAA\u2019s major events were the gatherings it held on the Hill every two or three years in conjunction with Reunion Weekend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first, in 1977\u2014organized by Sandi Black along with Helen Claxton \u201974, Claudette Jones \u201975, and Sheila Kennedy \u201975, BS \u201976\u2014had several dozen attendees; the most recent, in 2024, drew 600.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Organizers
Organizers of the first-ever CBAA reunion (from left) Jones, Black, Kennedy, and Claxton …<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"A
… and some of the attendees outside Risley.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

CBAA now funds three scholarships managed by the University\u2014over the course of nearly four decades, they\u2019ve supported some 230 students\u2014as well as several independent scholarships and member grants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also partners with the University and student organizations to support professional development and conferences, and to provide graduates with Kente stoles\u2014colorful woven cloths symbolizing African cultural pride\u2014to wear at Commencement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Black
Some of the first CBAA members as undergrads in the early 1970s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after the pandemic hit in 2020, CBAA found new ways to strengthen its alumni connections through virtual conversations\u2014as that year also saw Black Lives Matter protests and a renewed racial reckoning across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of the things that took place at that time that were really rocking the Black community,\u201d recalls John Rawlins III \u201906, CBAA\u2019s immediate past president. \u201cWe needed to create a space for alums to come together, for Cornellians to have conversations about what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after the pandemic hit in 2020, CBAA found new ways to strengthen its alumni connections through virtual conversations\u2014as that year also saw Black Lives Matter protests and a renewed racial reckoning across the country.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

CBAA also has dozens of WhatsApp subgroups, organized by region and graduation decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in recent years, the group has been hosting a large tailgate party at Homecoming\u2014connecting with current students, so they\u2019ll be familiar with the organization when they graduate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"members
Members of Sounds of Blackness\u2014a student-led group that promoted Black entertainment on local radio stations, including Cornell\u2019s WVBR\u2014in 1972.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile it seems like that might be simply a social event,\u201d Cohall says, \u201cit\u2019s actually creating community early on, giving folks an opportunity to get involved, meet alumni, and make connections that will last a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at CBAA today, co-founder Carlton Holmes says he\u2019s amazed at how much it has grown and evolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s light years beyond anything I had dreamed of,\u201d he says. \u201cThe people who have come after us have done such a marvelous job keeping the organization growing and expanding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"students
Students and alumni at a tailgate party during Homecoming 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Black calls the 50th anniversary a \u201cSankofa moment\u201d\u2014citing a Ghanian concept of a reflective pause, symbolized by a bird with its head turned backward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt represents the importance of learning from the past,\u201d she says, \u201cto build a positive, independent future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top: CBAA members at Reunion 2024. (All images provided, unless otherwise indicated.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published April 6, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Do you have CBAA memories to share?<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 50th anniversary gala in Washington, DC, will celebrate CBAA’s strength, history, and impact while planning for its future<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":69747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[66444,66507,64010],"footnotes":""},"categories":[229],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-69748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Built by Alumni, Sustained by Community, Driven by Purpose\u2019 - Cornellians | Cornell University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A 50th anniversary gala in Washington, DC, will celebrate CBAA's strength, history, and impact while planning for its future\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/cbaa-50th\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Built by Alumni, Sustained by Community, Driven by Purpose\u2019 - 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