College is one of the most exciting and stressful times of a person’s life. You have moments of excitement, moments of doubt, but most of all, moments that turn into lifetime memories. As college students, we knew that the biggest time of the year besides graduation is none other than Homecoming! Every fall, students, alumni, and supporters gather to celebrate the culture of their school with several events.
If you love Homecoming experiences, HBCU graduate and a Grammy award-winning entertainment industry executive Amir Windom’s Big Homecoming festival this Juneteenth weekend is where you need to be. The big event kicks off in Atlanta, Georgia and will continue with the “365 Impact” festival, which will take place throughout the country with more dates to come. This event benefits HBCUs across the country. With a plethora of events being held, attendees can expect the time of their “college” lives. Amir chatted with us about his experience in the industry and what to expect from the Big Homecoming Festival.
You are highly regarded in the entertainment industry as an A&R/Creative Services. You’ve worked with a plethora of industry greats. How have these experiences curated you into the man you are today?
God raised me in a family where even while we were in the struggle, my parents were creatives and educators. They were very soulful. My dad was a big jazz connoisseur who started the Atlanta Jazz Festival, which just happened recently here in Atlanta. My mom was just an all-around person. She was an educator and, she was a dancer. My mom pretty much did everything. She came into the world with supreme struggle, but at the same time her struggle became a triumph, and she just lived her life. I’ve been able to do a lot of good things. I always tell people, that it’s not so much because I’ve been the most creative person, it’s because of the foundation my parents set forth, and that is simply it. They gave me a very conscious soul. Everything that I do, I internally check to make sure it’s aligned with either impact or supreme creativity.
In today’s culture, an event experience like this is truly needed to celebrate the dynamic impact of HBCUs. How did this idea come about to host a Big Homecoming?
I’ve been working with HBCUs, specifically & directly as an executive in residence with several HBCUs such as FAMU, Virginia State, and Jarvis Christian College. I’ve been doing this for about 10 years. My alma mater would ask me for money or help with the typical fundraisers that schools do, and I’d cut a check. However, somebody reached out to me and was telling me how I could do more. I said I get it! What’s needed is creativity and consistency. That’s the main thing we’re going to need. It’s not so much about money. A lot of the universities were surprised that I was saying I wanted to consistently work with their campus and figure out how I can be consistent. So, I started doing that with several institutions. I needed to create something that can gather all the HBCUs in one place, but also create meaningful programs, partnerships, and things that are creatively impactful for them. So, immerse the ideas of both together and we came up with the BIG Homecoming. This is a place for all HBCUs, and even non-HBCU support because not everybody went to an HBCU. It’s a place for everyone to gather and celebrate our culture, but it feels like a homecoming.
As a graduate of Florida Agriculture & Mechanical University (FAMU), a prominent and well-known HBCU, how has your experience in this realm prepared you for life in general?
FAMU groomed me to be the leader that I am, to have the energy, and the motivation to keep going and fight the fight. The HBCU to me cultivates leaders. They give us the confidence that we need so that we can go out here in a world where you don’t see a lot of a plethora of African American executives, and you don’t see a lot of African Americans in places of power and influence. They give us the motivation that we need to have the energy, the confidence, and the drive to get on this long, long road that has a lot of rocks and thorns and potholes.
What can we expect to experience from attending the Big Homecoming? What activities are planned?
We have a food festival, a vendor village, and all the traditional things that you see at a homecoming whether you went to HBCU or not. Things you expect at Homecoming. We have a big concert which is what you see at homecomings as well. Friday is our first-day kickoff, and it’s like a convocation style. If you’ve been to an HBCU, most of them have convocations. It’s a celebration of the culture, and we have tons of speakers. We have a career fair that high school and college students can benefit from. High school students will be recruited for colleges, and current college students and recent college graduates will have opportunities to interview and potentially get jobs on-site from our partners, which include Walmart, Allstate, Wells Fargo, or Spotify. It’s a big celebration.
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