Celtics Host First HBCU Night at TD Garden for Pelicans Game
Get ready for an exciting night at TD Garden on Wednesday.
On court, two of the NBA’s top teams will take on the Eastern Conference leaders Boston Celtics and the Western Conference No. 3 seed New Orleans Pelicans.
Before and during Wednesday’s game, the Celtics will host their first-ever HBCU Night to celebrate their historically black colleges.
The festivities kick off at the HBCU Alumni Mixer, where about 60 attendees from Hampton, Howard, Morehouse and Jackson State (among other HBCUs) gather before the game. HBCU alumni Jessica Forrest will perform the national anthem, while Divine 9 will perform at halftime.
Boston native and HBCU alumnus Sharra Gaston will also be recognized as the night’s “Hero Among Us” in an in-game presentation. Gaston co-founded the HBCU Alumni Network and since 2018 has actively changed the educational and professional trajectories of Boston’s youth of color through the HBCU Alumni Network’s college and career preparation programs. rice field. To date, Gaston and her team have raised over $100,000 and sent over 20 Boston students to her HBCUs across the country.
Additionally, Samiya Fernandez, who is scheduled to join HBCU in Fall 2023, will be recognized during the game with a scholarship provided by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and HBCU Knight Incorporated.
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund is the largest organization representing the black college community in the United States. TMCF’s member schools include publicly funded Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs). To date, the organization has provided her more than $300 million in support to students and member schools.
The Celtics also continue to participate in the NBA’s HBCU Fellowship Program. The program is designed to provide undergraduate and graduate students from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with opportunities for career development in the basketball business.
The Fellowship’s first season attracted 2,700 applicants for 60 roles across the league. Last year, 24 of his HBCU schools were represented. The fellowship program is a 10-week paid summer internship from June to August.
The Celtics-Pelicans tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, with coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. on NBC Sports Boston on Celtics Pregame Live.