Jeff Kunerth, Orlando Sentinel
- To Orlando’s black community, the Florida Classic between Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman universities Saturday is far more than just a football game. It is a full-body cultural event that extends beyond the students and alumni of those two historically black colleges.
To Andrea DeLoach, the influx of middle-class, college-educated, black professionals is a return to her years at Spelman College in Atlanta. It’s like a homecoming — where home comes to you.
To her husband, Earnest, an attorney who grew up in Central Florida, the Classic is a chance to network with other black lawyers, potential clients, out-of-town businessmen and executives.
To Michael Lewellen, who didn’t attend a historically black college, the stadium full of black spectators, the must-see marching bands, and the massing of black sorority and fraternity members is the next best thing.
“For folks like me, it’s the closest we come to experiencing black college life,” said Lewellen, Orlando Urban League board chairman.
