Associate Vice Chancellor for Administration and Community Brian Richardson Jr. delivers remarks to the attendees of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center pinning ceremony Sept. 19, 2025, at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre in Bloomington. Richardson spoke on the meaning of the ceremony and the significance behind the pin the students received. Director Gloria Howell hugs former Neal-Marshall student Dasani Cleveland's mother at the pinning ceremony Sept. 19, 2025, at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre in Bloomington. In memory of Cleveland, this year's Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Leadership Academy is named the "Dasani Cleveland Class." A student speaks about the leadership academy at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center during the pinning ceremony Sept. 19, 2025, at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre in Bloomington. The leadership academy is a year-long program for freshmen, sophomores and transfer students for professional, academic and cultural development. Faculty line the stage pinning Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center first-year and transfer students Sept. 19, 2025, at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre in Bloomington. The silver and gold pins were meant to represent belonging, identity and commitment to building a greater community. An attendee of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center pinning ceremony takes photos of speaker Brian Richardson Jr. on Sept. 19, 2025, at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre in Bloomington. Around 200 people attended the ceremony. Attendees of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center pinning ceremony clap along to the African American Choral Ensemble on Sept. 19, 2025, at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre in Bloomington. The ensemble was founded in 1975. African American and African Diaspora Studies Professor Carolyn Calloway-Thomas gives a speech at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture pinning ceremony Sept. 19, 2025, at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre in Bloomington. Calloway-Thomas spoke before the closing remarks. The audience listens to speaker Brian Richardson Jr. speak at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center pinning ceremony Sept. 19, 2025, at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre in Bloomington. The speakers, first-year and transfer students sat in the first few rows of the venue.
PHOTOS: Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center hosts annual pinning ceremony
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