The Harvard Athletics Black Varsity Association (HABVA) is a recently founded departmental-sponsored student organization (DSSO) within the Harvard Athletics department.  The group's co-founders recently shared more information about their work and their goals.
 
What is the Harvard Athletics Black Varsity Association, and what are the mission and goals of the organization?
HABVA is an inclusive organization created to enhance the Black student-athlete experience at Harvard. This organization was established to ensure that Black student-athletes feel welcomed, supported, and heard. Through educational opportunities, community service, and social justice initiatives, we hope to create lasting connections within the Harvard community and beyond. HABVA will host community conversations, social events, professional development events, and mentorship initiatives.
 
This organization focuses on serving Black student-athletes who are confronted with the complexity of being Black and a student athlete at Harvard. Our organization welcomes ALL Harvard affiliates of any and every background - so long as they are interested in supporting the advancement of Black student-athletes and the communities we interact with.
 
Why do you think it's important to have a group specifically dedicated to supporting the Black student-athlete experience at Harvard?
We felt it was important to create HABVA because navigating Harvard can be particularly difficult for Black students and the added complexity of being an athlete at an elite academic institution means that our needs as a community are frequently not addressed. Belonging to multiple and intersecting identities (i.e., Black, female, LGBTQ, first-generation and athlete) can make it difficult to feel completely at home within the athletic community at Harvard. Moreover, the time we spend across the river participating in the sports we love takes away from the time we have to build relationships with our non-athlete Black peers. There is a clear need for a Black student-athlete affinity group that many of us have been feeling.
 
What steps did you take to organize and establish this group?
Head Coach Traci Green (women's tennis) has been very vocal about improving the Black student-athlete experience at Harvard and helped the founders set up a meeting with our new Athletic Director Erin McDermott. In our conversation with Erin, we shared why we felt this group is crucial and shared our experiences as Black student-athletes at Harvard. While we all have different backgrounds, represent teams with varying demographics, and have differing views, it was apparent that we shared an underlying desire for community, belonging, social education, and personalized support. Erin was very keen to support the creation of this organization and ensured us that we would be given a voice and platform. Soon after our conversation with Erin, we worked to set up a full and representative board made of Black student-athletes passionate about our cause. Board members wrote formal applications before being interviewed by Coach Green, James Frazier (Director of Strength & Conditioning), and HABVA Alumni Liaison Ngozi Musa '19 (track & field). HABVA is registered as a department sponsored student organization (DSSO) with Coach Green and Coach Frazier serving as advisors. We are grateful to have such strong support from our athletic department as we grow this organization.
 
We will work closely with the Athletic Department to ensure real action and necessary changes are made as well as working closely with the members of our Black varsity alumni network who are really excited about this group. We have three alumni liaisons - Ngozi Musa '19, Raishaun McGee '17 (football), and John Van Allen '17 (football). Their role is to help create a link between current student-athletes and alumni so that Black student-athletes feel supported throughout their time at Harvard and beyond. Our alumni want to help HBVA be successful and to ensure the concept of "your team for life" extends to athletes of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds. We feel Black student-athletes should feel supported and part of something greater than just the immediate Harvard community. 
 
You recently held your first event. How did it go, and what are your plans for the group going forward?
Our first event, "Season Opener: Athletics x Activism" was a conversation on athletes, activism, and their role in popular culture. The purpose of the event was not only to have an insightful conversation on activism in professional leagues, but also to speak on how the activism of professional athletes can be tied back to Harvard student-athletes and the efforts of HABVA. In attendance, we had Black student-athletes, Harvard students not affiliated with athletics, Harvard coaches, and a variety of Harvard-affiliated allies. This event went extremely well, exceeding our expectations, as we were able to hear a variety of diverse perspectives regarding activism in professional leagues, how we can extend meaningful activism to student-athletes at Harvard, and insight on how HABVA can better serve the Black student-athlete community. This event helped HABVA gauge interest in the student organization and gain feedback from the community.
 
We are very excited for the group moving forward and have a variety of events coming up, such as a virtual 5K run to support local grassroots organizations that align with our beliefs, partner with non-profit/underserved schools to establish a youth mentorship program, a book club to further engage in texts that grow our understanding of social justice and action, and co-sponsor events with other Harvard organizations to build community between students. Please look out for more events from HABVA!
 
If student-athletes want to get involved, what should they do?
If you would like to get involved and receive updates on future events and programming from HABVA, please fill out our membership form or email us at harvardathleticsbva@gmail.com. You can find our membership form, along with our GroupMe link, social media handles, and student and alumni mentorship form at the following website: www.flow.page/habva. We are an open and inclusive group and look forward to being in contact with you!
 
Anything additional you'd like to share?
If you would like to potentially partner with HABVA or have suggestions/ideas, please reach out to us at harvardathleticsbva@gmail.com.
 
 
HABVA Leadership
Achele Agada, Founder and Chair (women's rugby)
Grace Allen, Founder (women's volleyball)
Annika Bassey, Founder and Chair (women's tennis)
Chelsea Williams, Founder and Chair (women's tennis)
Mason Forbes, Chair (men's basketball)
Sharelle Samuel, Chair (women's track & field)
Isaiah Wingfield, Chair (football)
 
Faculty Advisors
Traci Green, The Sheila Kelly Palandjian Head Coach of Women's Tennis
James Frazier, Director of Strength & Conditioning