热点大瓜

Thursday, May 15, 2025
Time: 2–4 p.m.
Location: UB North Campus, Center for the Arts 

• You must be a registered undergraduate or graduate/professional student or a PhD candidate who will graduate in Summer 2024, Fall 2024, or Spring 2025.
• Registration for the 2025 ALANA celebration is now closed.

Guests and Graduates requiring accommodations:
If you or a guest need special accommodations, please email us. We’d be happy to meet with you to determine your needs. On the day of the celebration, you can visit the Guest Services kiosk in the Center for the Arts for assistance.

Participants in the ALANA celebration must wear UB-approved regalia (mortarboard hat, robe, hood, tassel). The Intercultural and Diversity Center does not provide these items.

You may purchase your regalia online from the or through the beginning in early Spring.

The Kente stole is given to students who participate in UB’s ALANA celebration, which historically has honored graduating African, Latino/a, Asian, and Native American students.

Justin’s activism stems from the disparity he sees in his community, where many struggle to make ends meet while corporations profit. He fights for healthcare as a human right, relief from student loan debt, inclusive and safe communities, and the end of mass incarceration and for-profit prisons. Environmental justice, led by marginalized communities, is central to his mission.

Justin has been an activist since childhood. As a college student, he organized for healthcare and against racist policing and led campaigns for the expansion of Medicaid in Tennessee and the repeal of restrictive state voter ID laws. And he has confronted systemic racism in the halls of power and successfully challenged dangerous bills that sought to limit First Amendment rights of nonviolent protests. For almost a decade, he has been involved and spoken truth to power at the Tennessee State Capitol where he was elected to represent District 52 (parts of Nashville) in 2022.

Justin is a leader for the next generation and the next several to come, and is deeply embedded in a tradition of resistance that comes from his familial and movement ancestors who ground and guide his work. A visionary leader and a passionate and inspiring speaker, he brings past wisdom into present and future struggles, and advocates for collective freedom and a renewed South.

•  Co-sponsored by: Office of Inclusive Excellence, Office of Alumni Engagement,  Educational Opportunity Program and Cora P. Maloney Center

Even if you're not able to attend the ALANA celebration, you can still make a difference! Consider volunteering or making a donation to help make this milestone event even more special. Your support means the world!