History

The Atlanta HBCU Alumni Alliance was founded January 2004 when James Devine of the Metro-Atlanta Alumni Chapter of Florida A&M University recommended hosting a Mixer fundraiser and new member recruitment event while inviting other HBCU alumni chapters to join in on the fun. While only a handful of Chapters were active participants, this was enough to spark a fire that led to the creation of the Atlanta HBCU Alumni Alliance (AHBCUAA).


The leaders of 8 organizations met and brainstormed on how the Chapters can formally collaborate to work collectively to host fundraising events that one Chapter couldn’t successfully conduct on their own. This led to the creation of The HBCU Alumni Mixer in 2005 that was held in conjunction with the Annual Battle of the Bands and became the Alliance’s first signature event.

The effort of the Alliance grew to include several initiatives consistent with the Alliance’s focus on scholarship fundraising, student recruitment and alumni reclamation as well supporting the metro Atlanta community. These initiatives included forming corporate and community partnerships in the areas of STEM, college fairs and career development.


Shortly after the AHBCUAA was formed, Marck Dorvil of the Metro-Atlanta Alumni Chapter of Florida A&M University came up with an idea of hosting a 5K run fund raiser. FAMU alumni Condra Magee recommended he pitch the idea to the Atlanta HBCU Alumni Alliance to host the event instead. This idea was the catalyst that launched the Atlanta HBCU Alumni Alliance 5K HBCU Run/Walk. This annual event held on the last Saturday of June is now the biggest fundraiser held and is now hosted by Alliances around the country.

As the Atlanta HBCU Alumni Alliance has grown from 8 chapters to 60 plus chapters along with the launch of the HBCU Alumni Alliances throughout the country, we remain committed to creating a rich history that reflects the legacy of the HBCU community by giving back while uplifting our beloved institutions.

With much HBCU Pride!

 Dan Ford