Love24

WHAT IS #LOVE?

Virginia Tech’s annual #LOVE initiative started during the 2020-21 season to encourage love, unity, and equality. The initiative was signified by the #LOVE logo, featuring a VT embedded within the word LOVE. The design represents the values of our university and athletics community. We believe that LOVE conquers hate, LOVE respects and empowers, LOVE conquers all, and LOVE simply ‘does’.

  • The 2024 LOVE initiative strives to celebrate Black History Month while continuing to encourage love, unity, and equality. Athletics serves as a great equalizer and provides an aspirational narrative and opportunity for all. “This is Home” means something special here, and we will have arms wide enough to welcome ALL into our home, respectfully and equally, always. We continue to choose to LOVE. 

  • This year, the LOVE initiative is ignited by the women’s basketball game on January 25 and the men’s basketball game on January 27. These two games, in addition to following athletics events in February, focus on increasing awareness and education around Black History Month by highlighting trailblazers, leaders, community members, organizations, talent, and resources for all Hokie fans. 

  • In addition, this year’s LOVE initiative includes recognitions and spotlights at athletics events throughout the month of February as well as a central source for LOVE content, opportunities, and resources. 

Love

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Women's Basketball vs. Georgia Tech on Thu Jan 25 at 6:00 p.m.
Men's Basketball vs. Georgia Tech on Sat Jan 27 at 5:00 p.m.
Wrestling vs. Duke on Fri Feb 9 at 7:00 p.m. at Moss Arts Center
Guest Speaker Melissa Proctor on Wed Feb 21 at 6:00 p.m. at Graduate Life Center Auditorium

#LOVE MESSAGES

Fans and student-athletes create #LOVE messages leading into each year's events to encourage inclusivity and thoughtfulness during the month of February. The #LOVE messages are displayed in rotation on the auxiliary boards during every home February event in Cassell Coliseum.

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EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT RESOURCES

 

  • Christiansburg Institute

  • Black Cultural Center

  • Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative (Library of Virginia)

    • Description: Become immersed in the lived experiences of some enslaved and free Black and multiracial people with digital access to records and documents provided by Virginia Untold. 

  • Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade (Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation) 

    • Description: Explore the lives of individuals who were enslaved, owned slaves, or participated in the historical trade through research tools, short biographical sketches, and data-driven visualizations offered by the Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation. 

  • Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery 

    • Description: “Formerly enslaved people placed ads looking for loved ones from all over the United States and sometimes from as far away as Africa.” Explore locations of ads with the interactive map, read and share short stories for children, and browse various collections presented by Last Seen. 

  • Black History (Virginia.org)

    • Description: Learn more about Virginia’s Black history by visiting various historic sites across the Commonwealth. 

  • Race & Place: An African-American Community in the Jim Crow South

    • Description: Explore personal papers, newspapers, image collections, and more from the town of Charlottesville, Virginia, that strives to “connect race with place by understanding what it was like to live, work, pray, learn, and play in the segregated South.” 

  • The Black Photographers Annual (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)

    • Description: A group of African American artists in New York City published The Black Photographers Annual from 1973 to 1980. Explore the four full volumes provided by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. 

  • African American Art Collection (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)

    • Description: The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts features a collection of African, African American and African Diasporic artists since its first work acquired in 1944. 

  • Alexandria Black History Museum 

    • Description: “The mission of the Black History Museum is to enrich the lives of Alexandria's residents and visitors, to foster tolerance and understanding among all cultures and to stimulate appreciation of the diversity of the African American experience.”

  • Oral History Interview with Irving Linwood Peddrew III

    • Description: The first Black student admitted to Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) was Irving Linwood Peddrew III in 1953. Peddrew did an oral history interview with University Archivist Tamara Kennelly in 2022 that details his experience during the desegregation of Virginia Tech. 

  • Black History of Virginia Tech

    • Description: Projects underway from the Council on Virginia Tech History that acknowledge university history in the context of today and the Beyond Boundaries vision for the future.

Social Media

UNITE AWARD HONOREES

2023
1920x1080_UniteAwardLAZORE, DOVER NAMED 2023 ACC UNITE AWARD RECIPIENTS

Virginia Tech's Jacelyn Lazore and Kahlil Dover have been selected as recipients of the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference UNITE Award, which was created to honor individuals affiliated with the league who have made an impact in the areas of racial and social justice. The announcement was made Wednesday by the conference office.

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2022
22VT_Unite_1920x1080_XVEDWDAVIS, GILBERT-LOWRY NAMED 2022 ACC UNITE AWARD RECIPIENTS

Virginia Tech's André Davis and Reyna Gilbert-Lowry have been selected as recipients of the 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference UNITE Award, which was created to honor individuals affiliated with the league who have made an impact in the areas of racial and social justice. The announcement was made Thursday by the conference office.

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2023
2022