We share our  most enthusiastic thanks and our appreciation to Ms. Jeanne Oliver Foster, '77, who provided key information on the February 4, 2026, program

honoring the university's renowned Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement (HOBA), which was founded here in 1987 and celebrated annually through 2011.

     Following the HOBA celebration held in the Maxwell Library, David Wilson, in consultation with Ms. Foster, drafted an article for publication about the event. Ms. Foster then subsequently edited, revised and expanded the article.

     Mr. Wilson, ’71, is a retired member of the university’s Office of Enrollment, Marketing and Communications staff who had  attended and reported on each of HOBA’s public events since the idea for creating it began in the fall of 1987.
   He said of Ms. Foster’s work, “With immense gratitude to Jeanne Oliver Foster, we are able to document HOBA's founding and its evolution as an organization which the university celebrated  in 2026.  

     "The event of February 4th was timed perfectly with the national observance of Black History Month and, 
In addition to editing this article, Ms. Foster provided photos and videos from that evening which are included here. Over the years, HOBA expanded its original mission and today acknowledging its principles, purposes and impact is even more important than they were at its founding.      

     “Ms. Foster’s work deserves to be publicly acknowledged because by publishing this article – and thus having a permanent record detailing its history, principles and objectives - we add substantially, and appropriately, to our appreciation of HOBA’s mission and its profoundly important purposes,” Mr. Wilson said.
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       The Hall of Black Achievement (HOBA) was established at then-Bridgewater State College in 1987, and held its first induction in the spring of 1988.   It was established to recognize the distinctive contributions of African-Americans, Cape Verdeans, as well as Hispanics and others of African descent with ties to Massachusetts.   
     Every HOBA annual celebration included the induction of a well-known achiever of African descent from Massachusetts, or who lived part of their lives here.  

      In addition, the Mary Hudson-Onley Award, Class of 1912, is named for the person who was believed to be the first African American graduate of Bridgewater Normal School [later it was discovered that Sarah Lewis, Class of 1869, was the first] , and was presented to a living achiever of African descent in our state. HOBA Leadership Awards were presented to two students of African descent, from each of the nine state universities in Massachusetts.

        Among its founders were Mr. Paul Gaines, ’68, who for 28 years was the university’s Director of Affirmative Action & Minority Affairs, and Ernest “Lovell” Dyett, a popular talk-show host at WBZ radio in Boston, and a civil rights activist with the Urban League.   

      Also, the late Henry Santos, BSU’s music professor emeritus and noted international composer, was for many years a HOBA Commissioner.
      So too was Mr. Louis Ricciardi, '81, the former chairperson of the university’s Board of Trustees and its Bridgewater State University Foundation, who also served for years as a HOBA Commissioner.
      We should note too that Professor Santos was also a life-long friend of one of HOBA's inductees: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  

      Professor Santos and his wife were long-time friends with Dr. King and his wife Coretta, during Dr. King's lifetime.   

      Past president of BSU’s Afro Am Alumni Association, Michael Henry ’92, was the last chairperson of HOBA in 2011, and he remains an active alumnus.  Other active Afro Am Alumni who served as HOBA commissioners include Gloria Stanton ’74, CAGS ’00; William Paige Jr. ’82; Paul Bonito ’85; John Lenny McLean ’90; Ann Solomon-Ulett ‘92; and Benvinda Butler ’08. The current president is Ms.Mia Hazlitt, ’95.

     President Clark made special mention of Ms. Foster's many efforts which led to the February 4th program:
      “I want to thank Jeanne Oliver-Foster, ’77, for being the catalyst behind this HOBA Portrait Gallery event, and the establishment of BSU’s Afro-American Alumni Association (celebrating its 35th year on campus), whose members were also the commissioners of HOBA for more than 20 years.   Jeanne and Afro Am Alumni continue to be active on our campus, including this very evening, and we are extremely grateful to all of them," the president said.

      Among its 41 HOBA inductees are luminaries of Early American history, including Crispus Attucks, who was the first to die in the Boston Massacre,  as well as the renowned orator Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, who helped create the "Underground Railroad" during the Civil War, to help former Black slaves escape to the North.   
     More contemporary inductees include a well-known Cape Verdean singer, New Bedford’s Joli Gonsalves, who performed for many years with Harry Belafonte, and Henry Hampton – an acclaimed civil rights activist and film maker, who produced the documentary series, "Eyes on the Prize”, which won six Emmy Awards and was nominated for an Oscar, and "America’s War on Poverty.”  Civil rights leader,
     As noted, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is also included, as well as Harriet Ann Jacobs, an African-American abolitionist, who in 1861 authored the autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," which is considered a classic among scholars of American history.

       The Hall of Black Achievement celebrations ended in 2011, so that personnel and resources of the Office of Institutional Diversity could fully focus on supporting student success at BSU, said Ms. Foster,  

"and the idea for hosting an event to celebrate the HOBA Gallery of Portraits came about after I contacted President Clark, asking if we could formally recognize the legacy of the two HOBA founders and two artists who painted the portraits - Larry Johnson Sr. and Ted Charron."

       When she drafted the detailed proposal to do so, President Clark immediately, and enthusiastically, said, “Yes!”  she told us.

       Miss Foster recalls how she came about writing the proposal in the first place:
      "In November 2024, after I learned of Larry Johnson Sr.’s unexpected passing.  I realized that neither the founders nor the artists had been recognized for their legacy of establishing  HOBA, including this collection of portraits and biographies.  

      "I spoke to President Clark about adding new signage above the entrance to the gallery, and presenting the families of the founders and artists with a framed award that recognizes their legacy with HOBA in a ceremony.  I also requested that a booklet or brochure be prepared for visitors, that included their biographies,” she continued.   

     "After President Clark said ‘yes!’ to my proposal, Ms. Ellen Cuttle-Oliver arranged a few meetings with Ms. Mia Hazlett, '95, Ms. Alexis Conley, ’00 G ‘14 [of BSU’s alumni staff] , and several other Jones Alumni House staff members, and me.   Ellen took it from there to make sure the preparations were completed.  The HOBA Gallery event took place in the Heritage Room at the Maxwell Library to launch the beginning of Black History Month at BSU,” Ms. Foster explained.

       In his remarks at the February 4th event, President Clark used the opportunity to note that Ms. Foster was the co-founder and inaugural president of the university’s Afro-American Alumni Association, and, in recent years, has also served as its vice president.

     "We're here this evening to share in a truly historic event, and we owe our gratitude to Jeanne, an alumna who has worked tirelessly to create this evening's program which recognizes our appreciation for having the Hall of Black Achievement exist here," the president said.

        In addition to President Clark, those in attendance included Ms. Ellen Cuttle Oliver, ’82, G ’89, chief development officer and executive director of the BSU Foundation; Ms.  Mia Hazlett, ’95; president of the Afro-American Alumni Association; Mr. Ted Charron, the artist who created 20 of the portraits of HOBA recipients that are on display in the Maxwell Library; and Mr. Larry C.B. Johnson, son of the late Larry Johnson, the artist who painted 21 of the original portraits which hang in BSU’s HOBA Gallery at the Maxwell Library.  

      Each portrait in the new commemorative HOBA booklet is accompanied by a brief biography of the individuals.    

    For more information about visiting the Hall of Black Achievement Portrait Gallery, contact Jay Block, Chairperson of Library Services at JBLOCK@bridgew.edu or Orson Kingsley, Director of Special Collections at the Maxwell Library at OKINGSLEY@bridgew.edu.