ATLANTA, GA—Dozens of tissue boxes were silently passed amongst crying Spelmanites on Wednesday, November 6, during a Day of Remembrance convocation in Sisters Chapel. The event was graciously extended to address the emotional needs of a campus brought together by their shared sorrow following the 2024 Presidential Election results in a way that only Spelman College could.
“There is nowhere I’d rather be today than here, in this chapel, enveloped in this sisterhood with you all,” said Rev. Dr. Neichelle Guidry, Dean of Sisters Chapel, during the event.
Students, staff, and community members filled the chapel, drawn by the need to process their emotions surrounded by the supportive sisterhood they celebrated just the night before. “I felt compelled to go because I wanted to feel and process the election results in communion with my sisters,” Sophia Davies, C’26, explained. “In moments of shock and confusion, it’s easy for me to isolate myself. But right now, we ought to be grieving, thinking, and planning our next steps together.”
The convocation featured comforting song, prose, and poem messages from chapel leaders, administration, faculty, and Facilities Management Services staff. Interim President Roz Brewer (C’84) shared a candid reflection on the challenges faced by the community. “You’ve had to witness every assault on our democracy… and yet, you’re still being asked to achieve, to excel, and to lead,” Brewer said, her voice filled with emotion.
Victoria Keys, C’28, expressed the difficulty of seeing change rejected. “Our Sisterhood is in mourning,” she said. “We hear a lot about making the choice to change the world here at Spelman, and it’s incredibly difficult to see the world reject that change so blatantly.”
Dr. Cynthia Spence, Director of the Spelman College Social Justice Program, encouraged the students to support Vice President Kamala Harris and to reflect on what that means for them and the country. “I am here because I love you,” Spence said. “I want you all to do everything you can to lift up Kamala Harris today and beyond, because she did not let anybody taint the shine of her intelligence and because when you see her you see yourselves, you see all of us.”
Dean Guidry urged everyone to feel the full weight of the moment but also the support of the Spelman community. “I want us to feel not just the weight of the moment we’re living within, but also the weight and the safety of the community that we have the privilege to occupy,” she stated.
The event closed with attendees giving consensual hugs and lighting candles for marginalized communities they felt compelled to lift up, highlighting the unique ability of the Spelman College community to find strength in sisterhood. “All you should know that your feelings—whatever they may be right now—are honored here at Spelman, this is the gift of our institution,” Brewer reassured.
