WVSU Houston Alumni Chapter

Sending our condolences to the family and friends of Lewis Tose Jr 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 Funeral services will be held on June 5 & 6 in Charlotte, NC 🐝🐝🐝

It is with deep sympathy that we announce the passing of one of our Yellow Jackets, Lewis C. Tose Jr.

Funeral Services:
June 5, 2026
6PM - 8PM
Public Viewing

House of Roseadale Home of Funerals and Cremations
5216 E Independence Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28212
https://share.google/kR2XFWvLv4yNhRnXX

June 6, 2026
1:00 PM
Graveside Service

1520 W Sugar Creek Rd, Charlotte NC 28262
https://share.google/EDiOqDDAlkT6dk96h

Sadly, we lost Reginald Lee “Rexy” Pleasant, Jr on May 9, 2026, a WVSU alumnus and homie gone too soon 😢🙏🏽Sending love, hugs and prayers to Sheila, family and friends. There will be celebration of life June 13 in Atlanta & a memorial and burial service in August in Charleston, WV RIP Sexy Rexy 🐝🐝🐝

Happy Memorial Day to all who sacrificed their lives for this country

KNOW YOUR HISTORY: Memorial Day was started by former enslaved people on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for 2 weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 2,800 Black children where they marched, sang and celebrated.

What we now know as Memorial Day began as “Decoration Day” in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. Civil War. It was a tradition initiated by former slaves to celebrate emancipation and commemorate those who died for that cause.

http://ilovebeingblack.com
Yale University historian David W. Blight described the day:
During the final year of the war, the Confederates had converted the planters’ horse track, the Washington Race Course and Jockey Club, into an outdoor prison. Union soldiers were kept in horrible conditions in the interior of the track; at least 257 died of exposure and disease and were hastily buried in a mass grave behind the grandstand. Some 28 black workmen went to the site, re-buried the Union dead properly, and built a high fence around the cemetery. They whitewashed the fence and built an archway over an entrance on which they inscribed the words, “Martyrs of the Race Course.”Then, black Charlestonians in cooperation with white missionaries and teachers, staged an unforgettable parade of 10,000 people on the slaveholders’ race course. The symbolic power of the low-country planter aristocracy’s horse track (where they had displayed their wealth, leisure, and influence) was not lost on the freed people. A New York Tribune correspondent witnessed the event, describing “a procession of friends and mourners as South Carolina and the United States never saw before.”At 9 a.m. on May 1, the procession stepped off led by 3,000 black schoolchildren carrying armloads of roses and singing “John Brown’s Body.” The children were followed by several hundred black women with baskets of flowers, wreaths and crosses.

Then came black men marching in cadence, followed by contingents of Union infantry and other black and white citizens. As many as possible gathered in the cemetery enclosure; a children's choir sang “We’ll Rally around the Flag” and several spirituals before several black ministers read from scripture.

• So to all those who have fallen in the fight for freedom, justice and equality we say thank you and Happy Memorial Day. - I Love Being Black

Help us celebrate our long time WVSU Houston Alumni Chapter member Mrs Louise McGhee! Happy 100th Birthday “Miss Louise!” 🎈🎉🎉🎉 ❤️100 years of memories, a lifetime of wisdom & still the life of the party! WVSU alumna Class of 1955, proud Delta Sigma Theta Soror! 🐝🐝🐝

Congratulations to all! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 🐝🐝🐝

🐝🐝🐝🐝 Have you seen the movie?

"Michael", the Michael Jackson biopic and number one movie in the world right now, was directed by former WVSU student-athlete Antoine Fuqua!

Fuqua attended WVSU on a basketball scholarship and played point guard before building a Hollywood career that includes Training Day, The Equalizer, and now Michael. Pretty amazing to see a filmmaker with WVSU ties directing a major biopic headed to theaters nationwide!

West Virginia State University is sheltering in place due to the chemical spill in the Institute area. All students, faculty and staff should shelter in place in their designated areas until future notice.

West Virginia State University, and the surrounding Institute community, is sheltering in place due to the chemical spill in the Institute area. All students, faculty and staff should shelter in place in their designated areas until future notice.

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 🐝🐝🐝

We are excited to announce that alumni Mike Taylor, Vice President of Team Marketing and Business Operations at the NBA, will be our Commencement Speaker! Mike's journey from our campus to the NBA is a true testament to what's possible.

Mike was a prolific player at WVSU and to this day holds the record for most 3-pointers in a season!

Join us as we celebrate our graduating class with an inspiring leader who knows what it means to reach the top. Congratulations to the Class of 2026!

We're just now learning of the passing last week of Dr. Ancella Bickley (1930-2026). She was a brilliant educator, scholar, and mentor to countless students and colleagues. Her extensive body of work included some of the most significant writings about West Virginia Black History and Women's History. She loved sharing her vast knowledge and encouraging students to find the stories that had never been told. And she had an infectious laugh and smile, which especially brimmed when listening to jazz. She will be greatly missed.

She wrote 11 articles for the West Virginia Humanities Council's West Virginia Encyclopedia. Here is her entry on African American Education, a must-read on the topic:

https://wvencyclopedia.org/entries/17

Her obituary: https://www.scottsfuneralhome.com/obituary/ancella-bickley

Photo courtesy of WV Living Magazine