Text: Grinnell Black Alumni Network. Image: A white and black stylized bird on a red, black, and green flag. The Grinnell College logo sits below the text.

Black Alumni Weekend 2025

Rooted in Excellence: Reawakening our Legacy, Rebuilding our Community

Join us Oct. 3-5, 2025

Throughout Black Alumni Weekend, we hope to engage with the rich, diverse, and multicultural nature of Black Grinnellians. We are eager to create space for the array of experiences that we all had, while forging a path toward reimagining our relationship with the College. We are especially excited to host the first Black Alumni Weekend in over a decade.

–Opeyemi Awe ’15 & Noel Green ’94, co-chair of GBAN

Planning Committee

Rae Whatley ’88

Jeffrey Fields ’90

Tara Mhella ’95

Ifeyinwa Stephens ’96

Rachael Dhakal ’97

Maria Maysonet ’14

Lisa Eshun-Wilson ’14

Obuchi Adikema ’21

Abena Afari ’21

Paige Olowu ’22

Xonzy Gaddis ’22

Aziza Mabrey-Wakefield ’25

Juliana Gaddis ’25

Lorraine Antwi ’26

Morgan Howard ’27

Yanni Davis ’27

Nicole Amoah ’27

Aisha Abdallah ’28

Robel Gebeyeh ’28

Pryia Boyce ’28

Black Alumni Weekend Activities

You will have the opportunity to:

  • Step back into the classroom – Sit in on a class and experience Grinnell through today’s academic lens.
  • Take a walk through Black history – Join a special campus tour spotlighting Black landmarks and the stories behind them.
  • Reconnect and reunite – Catch up with friends from Young Gifted and Black (YGB), Concerned Black Students (CBS), Black Student Union (BSU), African Caribbean Student Union (ACSU), Grinnell Science Project (GSP), PCPOP, IPOP, and all the programs that shaped your Grinnell experience.
  • Break bread together – Share meals and meaningful conversation with current Black students, faculty, and staff.  Good BBQ is coming to Grinnell!
  • Get real about the student experience – Hear directly from students about life at Grinnell today and how it compares to your own time on campus.  Determine how we as alum can help and support them.
  • Relax and reflect – Unwind and relax in the Black Cultural Center, a space filled with memory, meaning, and community.
  • Hear from college leadership – Learn about Grinnell’s current efforts around recruiting and retaining Black students.
  • Find your place in GBAN – Discover new ways to stay connected and give back through the Grinnell Black Alumni Network.
  • Reconnect with your 18-year-old self – Let nostalgia take the wheel as you relive your student days with joy and pride.
  • Sneaker Ball vibes – Put on your flyest kicks and dance the night away at our signature celebration! Remember the House Parties of old?

Black Alumni Weekend Schedule

We are excited to share an early preview of the tentative schedule. Please note, the schedule is subject to slight changes and adjustments.

Hotel and Shuttles

A block of rooms has been reserved at both the Comfort Inn and Country Inn. In order to book at room with the discount, you must call either hotel and tell them you are with the Grinnell College Black Alumni Weekend, October 3-5, 2025

Comfort Inn & Suites
1630 West Street South
Grinnell, IA 50112
(641) 236-5236

Country Inn & Suites
1710 West Street South
Grinnell, IA 50112
(641) 236-9600

A complementary on-call shuttle will be provided between the hotels and the Grinnell College campus.