The Lavender Reception, hosted by the Office of Intercultural Affairs and LGBTQ+ Resource Center, will take place on Oct. 22. This year, the Lavender Fund will award ten current students with a $1,000 scholarship at the reception in honor of the reception’s 10th anniversary.
The fund aims to affirm students’ identities as queer and Black individuals, something the founders felt was missing before the fund’s establishment, according to an article from The Dig.
Christopher Cross is the first openly gay male student trustee and founder of the Lavender Fund.
Originally from Atlanta, Cross attended Georgia Tech for his undergraduate degree, earned his master’s and Ph.D. from Howard University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale.
Now nearing its tenth year, the fund continues to grow through collaboration with the LGBTQ+ Resource Center, which Cross says has elevated the reception experience. Behind the evening are weeks of planning, coordination and reflection on what it means to celebrate in a shifting political climate.
“LGBTQ+ Resource Center has taken on the programming, which has been much better. They put a lot of effort into securing the ballroom in Blackburn, programming and decor. And it’s wonderful,” Cross said.
The Lavender Fund’s legacy, Cross said, is tied to progress that began years ago.
“Because when I started this, I leveraged the passage of Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, which is a Supreme Court decision that allows same-gender, same-sex folks to love each other or to get married. And so it’s really just a continuation of that. It’s like we’ve made that progress, and we’re just going to continue to show up,” he said.
What started as a moment of recognition has evolved into a movement of resilience.
“It also helps students excel more. It helps students unlock leadership potential more. It’s about changing these elements in the environment that are barriers to marginalized people from achieving their best selves,” Cross said.
Anderson Bookard, a freshman psychology major from Charlotte, North Carolina, plans to attend the Lavender Reception.
As a first-year student, Bookard said he’s still finding his place at Howard, but his sense of inclusion feels more complicated.
“Diversity isn’t really shown around, but it’s definitely present,” he said. “I haven’t been part of any organizations yet because I didn’t feel included in them. None of the members were queer, so I kind of didn’t feel accepted.”
He says he spoke briefly with A.J. King, who told him about past receptions and how a celebrity from Pose once attended. Reflecting on his identity and sense of belonging, Bookard says Howard gives him space to grow more comfortable with who he is.
“There’s actually a space that’s growing on me compared to high school,” he said. “Howard feels like home — it isn’t just defined by being straight or fitting within the Black norm.”
Bookard hopes that attending the Lavender Reception will deepen his understanding of queer and Black LGBTQ+ history.
“I want to learn more about our history and celebrate our pride,” he said.
National debates over LGBTQ+ rights make events like the Lavender Reception even more meaningful, Bookard said.
“There are a lot of bans trying to prevent homosexual marriage. This event is trying to bring more awareness — to uplift queer members of our community and remind us that there’s space for us to thrive.”
Still, Bookard says there’s more work to do when it comes to acceptance and support.
“During Pride Month, they [multiple unnamed Howard organizations] didn’t post anything — they posted about Juneteenth and Father’s Day, but not Pride,” he said. “It’s not that the whole campus isn’t accepting, but it depends on the people. The people who are, are really supportive.”
For students outside the LGBTQ+ community, Bookard hopes events like the Lavender Reception become an opportunity to connect.
“Explore outside your comfort zone,” he said. “Don’t just limit yourself to spaces you’re already part of — experience other people’s communities too.”
This year’s event, organizers say, will feel especially significant. Across the country, legislation and rhetoric surrounding LGBTQ+ rights have intensified, and for many, the reception stands as both a safe space and a statement.
“I think given this happening in the political climate, you know, so many things are being questioned again. And I think what we’re doing is just doing exactly what we’re supposed to do, which is letting our presence be our protest. And that’s something that cannot be denied, right?” Cross said.
For Cross, that message is not only political – it’s personal. The Lavender Fund, he explained, has become a way to sustain progress and provide tangible support to students beyond celebration.
“We have distributed about fifty thousand dollars to about 40 different students, but what isn’t as well known is that the lavender fund has also been used for some emergency funds for students as well to help graduate,” Cross said.
While the reception honors the present, it also looks to the future of Howard’s leadership in inclusion.
“Howard has been a leader in so many other spaces that this is not our lead. For folks to be like, Howard is now leading as well in this queer inclusion space,” Cross said.
Copy edited by D’Nyah Jefferson – Philmore
