45 Years of Flashy Flags: A Legacy of Movement, Sisterhood, and Leadership

By Chad Eric Smith, Director of Marketing and Communications, Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts

Featured Image: 2025-2026 Flashy Flags 

On a crisp afternoon last October during the 101st Homecoming, the Green Stadium at Howard University became something more than a stage. It became a living archive.

As the Showtime Marching Band took the field, the Flashy Flags followed, not as a single unit bound to one moment in time, but as a continuum. Alumni from as far back as 1980 returned to march, twirl, and dance alongside the 2025–2026 team, their movements tracing four and a half decades of rhythm, precision, and purpose. Forty-five alumnae. Five decades. One legacy, still in motion.

 

Established in 1980, when the Howard University Marching Band was known as the Soul Steppers, the Flashy Flags emerged as a revolutionary auxiliary ensemble at a time when visibility, discipline, and expressive movement were redefining collegiate band culture. What began as a supportive extension of the band quickly became an indispensable force, shaping the visual identity and emotional resonance of the Showtime experience.

 

 

That legacy has endured not by standing still, but by evolving.

During the 45th Anniversary Celebration, audiences witnessed routines from each decade, from the stylized flourishes of the 1980s to the dynamic athleticism of today. Alumni also joined current members in Homecoming parade appearances, dance ripples, and the team’s signature post-game tunnel celebration. These were not nostalgic gestures. They were affirmations of continuity.

 

Beyond the field, the anniversary unfolded as a testament to the Flashy Flags’ broader impact. Through partnerships with brands like Puzzle Huddle and Lip Mama, the team released limited-edition commemorative merchandise, signaling both cultural relevance and entrepreneurial vision. Alumni gatherings throughout the weekend reunited generations of women whose shared experience had shaped their confidence, leadership, and sense of belonging.

Those alumnae now lead across sectors, including education, medicine, law, engineering, entrepreneurship, and the arts. Many credit their time as Flashy Flags not simply as a collegiate activity, but as formative leadership training. Precision taught discipline. Performance built confidence. Sisterhood fostered accountability and care.

Paying that legacy forward has always been central to the Flashy Flags’ mission. During the anniversary celebration, the team donated uniforms to the Bowie High School Band program, extending access and opportunity to the next generation. Over the years, Flashy Flags have collaborated with high school auxiliary teams across Washington, D.C., and beyond, from Ballou High School workshops to summer intensives with Southfield A&T High School in Michigan. They have served as featured performers at regional auxiliary competitions and continue to invest in local and national partnerships that expand pathways into collegiate band culture.

At the center of this continuity are leaders who understand the responsibility of stewardship. Coordinators Crystal Thorne, a Howard alumna from the Class of 2005, and Bianca Jones, a Howard alumna and College of Arts and Sciences music graduate from the Class of 2016, both came of age within the Flashy Flags tradition themselves. Under their leadership, the team has sustained excellence while also contributing thousands of dollars to support the Howard University Alumni Band, reinforcing the reciprocal relationship between past, present, and future.

 

“When I came to Howard at 17, I joined the Flashy Flags,” said Crystal Thorne. “This team has unequivocally been everything to me, and it has changed my life. This sisterhood has done more for me than most any other area of my life, so being able to give back to this team year after year, making this my 7th year, has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. I am deeply thankful to our alumni who showed up and embraced our current team, our incredible student members who delivered an unforgettable show, our band staff and students, and everyone who helped make this weekend one for the books.”

“Celebrating 45 years of the Flashy Flags is a truly special milestone, and being part of this unforgettable moment is something I will always cherish,” said Bianca Jones. “This team changed my life by giving me family, community, and the confidence to step into my own, and now, in my first year as a coach, I’m grateful for the opportunity to pour into young women who were once in my shoes—navigating their Howard experience and young adulthood. I’m grateful for this season, our amazing students, alumni performers and supporters, everyone who contributed to our Flashy 45th efforts, and the opportunity to continue building the future and legacy of the Howard Flashy Flags.”

The Flashy Flags’ motto captures this enduring spirit with elegant simplicity: We March. We Twirl. We Dance.

For 45 years, those words have described far more than movement. They describe a way of showing up. A way of leading with grace. A way of carrying tradition forward while making room for what comes next.

As Howard University and the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts continue to celebrate excellence across disciplines, the Flashy Flags stand as a reminder that legacy is not preserved in silence or nostalgia. It is preserved in motion. In mentorship. In the steady passing of knowledge, discipline, and pride from one generation to the next.

The Flashy Flags are not simply a part of Howard’s past. They are an active, evolving expression of its future.