NARRATOR: This program was made possible in part by... Fulton Bank is a proud supporter of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Learn more about Fulton Bank's commitment to making communities better through education and inclusivity at fultonbank.com.

NARRATOR: Each week this fall, HBCU Go TV will showcase the gridiron games and show-stopping bands from around the country.

TV ANNOUNCER: They cannot stop this man.

NARRATOR: For more information log on to HBCUGo.tv.

NARRATOR 2: STEM City USA bridging the digital gap for millions of underserved through community and education.

An immersive digital world that provides personal and professional development tools and resources.

Details at stemcityusa.com.

WOMAN: How are you?

Good to see you.

STUDENT: Thank you.

DAVID: "A National Treasure."

STUDENT: Yes.

DAVID: "Since 1867."

STUDENT: Mm-hm.

DAVID: Now turn around let's get this picture.

STUDENT: Alright.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Pull it in tight, lean in for me.

DAVID: Now this says it all, "The National Treasure Since 1867."

MAN 2: Oh I love it, I love that.

DAVID: We are not confused here, Morgan.

And you can see that our students are not confused, they know a national treasure when they see it.

(laughter).

MAN 2: National Treasure is not a nickname, it's a designation, an official national designation.

And we're the only one in the whole nation.

♪ ♪ BEMO: Welcome to HBCU week from the campus of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland I am your cultural analyst and correspondent, Bryant "BeMo" Brown.

This special presentation lays up all of what you can expect to see for HBCU week on Maryland Public Television.

The daily lineups for this year are scintillating folks!

We'll get to more of that shortly.

In the meantime, let's travel to Morgan State ya'll, we got the president of Morgan State guiding freshmen to their classes, look at that fist pump, riveting conversations, and even a sneak peek into the Bearcade at the Student Center.

Let's get to it.

For centuries, Historically Black Colleges and Universities have been building a legacy of equitable and attainable education for its students, an education that doesn't stop at the archways of the classroom or even at the confirmation of a degree.

See, the HBCU experience is so much more rich than just the college experience.

Today we're on the campus of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, we're gonna have a special conversation between Tetiana Anderson and the president, Dr. Wilson.

I'm about to go and talk to a couple of students to see if we can't investigate, what makes the HBCU experience, the Morgan State Bear experience, much more than just academic accolades.

I am your cultural correspondent, Bryant "BeMo" Brown, this is HBCU week.

Come with me ya'll, take a trip.

I'm here with my man Tyler, Tyler, how you doin' today man?

TYLER: I'm doing perfect, how 'bout yourself?

BEMO: I'm doing pretty good, Tyler.

Tyler, give me your HBCU intro if you will.

TYLER: Hello, my name is Tyler Mitchell, I'm a political science major and I am a junior and I was born and raised in the Baltimore City.

BEMO: So Tyler, I have to ask you a very important question first.

TYLER: Of course.

BEMO: Why did you choose Morgan State?

TYLER: Oh, yes, that's a brilliant question, for one, it's close by, I was, you know, born and raised at Sinai Hospital.

BEMO: Right.

TYLER: And so that's about 20-30 minutes around, um, and two, this was my first choice because Morgan is a perfect networking school.

A lot of people don't really realize this because they're busy living the college life, and that's not bad, but you have to realize, these are gonna be your coworkers, these are gonna be your networks in the future.

BEMO: Yeah.

TYLER: And so when you talk to people you have to make sure you are making a connection, not just a connection for now but a connection for the future.

BEMO: Absolutely.

TYLER: And so you've got to make a good impression.

BEMO: I like that, I like that.

I'm, I'm looking at your shirt right now and it says, "My HBCU prepared me for the real world."

I heard your President, Dr. Wilson say, that one of his goals as president is to make sure students have confidence going into the real world, how have you experienced that confidence here at Morgan State?

TYLER: Oh absolutely, there's something the late Elijah Cummings had said.

BEMO: Tell me.

TYLER: And that is, "To have confidence in your competence."

And this has taught me that competence really lies in how you approach information.

BEMO: Right.

TYLER: So when you read a book you have to make sure that you are actually reading it for one and that you can find something interesting about it.

You know, a lot of students and, me included, can struggle at finding something interesting.

BEMO: Ok. TYLER: And so you have to put yourself in a scenario if you need to, you know, role play, I love D&D, so uh, role play doing something, role play having a reason to learn something and it makes it much more easier to enjoy the work and to find ways to apply it.

BEMO: Right.

TYLER: And so that's my strategy.

BEMO: Ok, ok. Tell me about the diversity at a HBCU, I think when people think HBCUs, it's just Black, all Black, everybody watching "Friday," fried chicken on Wednesdays.

Tell me about the diversity that happens at a place like Morgan State.

TYLER: Oh, there's plenty of diversity.

I know White people, I know Asians, Indians, so make sure you don't fall in a colorism because um, a lot of people can fall into the, the echo chamber of, "I only want Black people at a HBCU."

BEMO: Ok, ok. TYLER: And um, this can make it very difficult to have other people want to go to a HBCU.

BEMO: Right.

TYLER: And I've met brilliant people of multiple different shades here and so we have to make sure not to fall to the kinds of oppression in which have been initiated on to us.

BEMO: I love that.

Tyler, I appreciate you, thank you for coming to Morgan.

TYLER: Of course, thank you so much.

BEMO: We'll be right back with more HBCU week.

TYLER: Stay safe ya'll.

BEMO: Now, let's see what the Monday programming lineup looks like for HBCU week on Maryland Public Television.

First, you will be treated to one of Morgan State's own, composer Jasmine Barnes, takes us on a journey and shows us how the legacies of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Mozart, and Baltimore Choral Art Society connect in the Emmy Award-winning film, "Artworks: Dreamer."

Next up, I'm back ya'll come join me as we dive into the rich history of Melvin Miles and the Magnificent Marching Machine for "Sounds of the Game."

Lastly, the night wraps up as we look into historic Morgan State Choir led by none other than the great Nathan Carter, "The Morgan Choir: A Joyful Celebration."

ANTHONY: We're always thinking about how we can bring choral music into the next place that it's sort of naturally going.

And of course that always means new music, right?

JASMINE: My charges were to make sure it was something that paired well with Mozart's Requiem and also something that talked about Baltimore or Maryland as well.

So it was, it was like, I could have went so many different directions with it.

♪ ♪ BEMO: This is "Sounds of the Game" we are here with the filmmakers behind "Milestone," a story about the Morgan State University marching band and its subject, the former 49-year head band director, Mr. Melvin Miles.

To investigate how HBCU marching bands actually embody the purpose of HBCU.

I am your host, culture analyst Bryant "BeMo" Brown, this is "Sounds of the Game" on MPT.

♪ MAN: Praise thy faithfulness... ♪♪ NARRATOR: Celebrate the finest classical and inspirational harmonies in a concert by the Morgan State University Choir, conducted by the late Dr. Nathan Carter.

This special broadcast will include conversations with former members, alumni, and friends as they reflect on the important role that HBCU choirs play.

Join us for "The Morgan Choir: A Joyful Celebration" (singing in foreign language).

STUDENT: Why don't you go ahead throw up a peace sign?

STUDENT 2: Oh yeah, that would be dope.

DAVID: Ok, so I gotta get down a little bit.

STUDENT: Ok and do the peace sign, like this.

DAVID: Oh, peace, ok. STUDENT 2: Ok. DAVID: Ok, now this is the peace sign, right?

Right?

Ok, you wouldn't trick me, right?

(inaudible chatter).

Good morning.

STUDENT: Good morning.

DAVID: I'm President Wilson, welcome.

Ok, I want you guys to do absolutely well this semester, right?

STUDENT 2: Thank you.

DAVID: And you know how we define that here at Morgan?

4.0.

STUDENT 3: Right.

DAVID: Because you're future nurses.

STUDENT 3: Yea.

DAVID: Right?

BOTH: Yeah.

DAVID: And we so desperately need more nurses like you.

STUDENT 2: Yep.

DAVID: Alright, so when I see you on campus now, toward the end of the semester, I'm going to ask about that 4.0 because we have a 4.0 grade point average standard.

STUDENT 3: Ok. DAVID: All you have to do is keep it.

STUDENT 2: Yep.

STUDENT 3: Ok. DAVID: Right?

STUDENT 2: Now, we're having trouble finding our class.

DAVID: All right, so how can I help you?

The Mall here right, then across the bridge.

STUDENT: 4: I'm actually looking for Behavioral Social Science Building.

DAVID: Ok, and so.

STUDENT 4: But um, the girls told me that it's down here, past the bridge.

DAVID: Yes, and what time is your class?

STUDENT 4: Nine.

DAVID: Nine, ok, ok, ok.

So I want you to, you know, walk maybe a little faster.

STUDENT 4: Ok. DAVID: Go down to the end of The Mall, all right.

STUDENT 4: Ok. DAVID: Then go across The Legacy Bridge, the blue and orange bridge.

STUDENT 4: Ok. DAVID: The first building to your left, because the Business School, the one to your right, is the Behavioral Social Science Building.

STUDENT 4: Ok. DAVID: Ok?

STUDENT 4: Alright.

DAVID: All right, let's make it there fast now.

STUDENT 4: Alright, thank you.

DAVID: You don't want to miss that class.

(laughing).

Good morning, good morning, good morning.

Good morning, welcome.

STUDENT 5: Good morning.

DAVID: Are you going to class?

STUDENT 5: Yes.

DAVID: What time did it start?

STUDENT 5: Nine.

DAVID: Oh!

(laughter).

You, you can tell from the excitement that you see on the faces of the students that things are going well.

And I'm always energized, you know, when I see uh, students actually um, you know, begin to have their college um, going experience unfold.

And so, so far so good.

I mean we, you know, the campus is bustling with students, you know, we expect over 10,000 students or close to 10,000 students from all 50 states and over 70 countries.

And as I have stopped students along the way, uh, that's what I'm picking up as well.

Students from South Dakota, New York, California, Illinois, Louisiana, you know, Alabama just all over, so the Morgan name has traveled far.

♪ ♪ BEMO: I'm here with my friend Vanessa.

VANESSA: Hi.

BEMO: Vanessa, please do me a favor, we were just talking, I need you to give your full intro to the people.

VANESSA: My full intro, so, hi my name is Vanessa Addison, I am a second-year MBA student, um, I'm also a graduate assistant for the MBA program so I run all the social media pages, so follow us, Graves Masters.

Um, I'm also an athletic intern um, for the athletic side, so I help out with football, basketball, volleyball, softball, all the teams you can name I've probably written an article, posted on social media for them, helped out um, and I previously just finished my last year playing basketball here at Morgan as well.

So.

BEMO: Superstar, superstar.

Thank you for spending some time with me today, I appreciate it.

VANESSA: Thank you.

BEMO: Let me ask you this, um, you are a graduate student, right now.

VANESSA: Yes.

BEMO: And you graduated from Morgan previously.

VANESSA: Yes.

BEMO: So I gotta ask you the very pivotal question, why Morgan State?

VANESSA: Morgan, the illustrious Morgan State.

Um, it's just an amazing school.

The culture here, the family orientation that we build, the opportunities that are at Morgan um, I started off as a Morgan State basketball player, then I moved on to intern with the athletic program while I was still playing, through that it helped me pivot and be able to work with the Baltimore Ravens which I'll be working with them this upcoming season, so it provided me those opportunities.

My advisors are amazing, um, they just provide you with all the opportunities possible, they also provided me being a Hennessy Fellow um, with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, so there's just so many opportunities that Morgan has right here that, it's a hidden gem and that if you aren't coming here, you should because it's the best program, MBA program in the whole world, so.

BEMO: Hold on, hold on.

Hennessy Fellow, under Thurgood Marshall's program?

VANESSA: Yes.

BEMO: That has to be the blackest thing I've heard today.

That's got to be the blackest thing I've heard today.

Alright now folks, we've seen what Monday has to offer, and Tuesday is bringing the heat.

Come with us as we travel down to the great state of Virginia, to check out "Hampton University: One of the Wonders of the World."

Following that, we will visit one of Morgan State's wonders, the story of all stories, "The Calvin Tyler Story."

And the final film of the night lands in North Carolina, at the historic Shaw University for "Shaw Rising," enjoy ya'll.

JESSE: I've been to all of the HBCUs over the course of my 57 years of life, there's nothing like Hampton.

ANDREW: Hampton University is one of the wonders of the world.

TAMEIKA: Hampton is unique because it's really truly a family.

It's a place that not only will you go and get an amazing education, but it also prepares you as a young person to really change the world.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Born into the Jim Crow era of working-class Baltimore, Calvin Tyler Jr. overcame poverty and segregation to become a successful businessman and benefactor to Maryland's largest HBCU.

CALVIN: I'm here to tell the Tyler Scholars that no investment means more to us than our investment in you.

(applause).

NARRATOR: Follow his incredible journey on "The Calvin Tyler Story."

MAN: HBCUs have learned to do more with less, to make brick without straw.

MAN 2: These were not only academic institutions, they were freedom schools.

WOMAN: They provide really the first truly interracial spaces in America.

WOMAN 2: Without Henry Martin Tupper sitting in a room teaching freed men The Bible.

I would not have a college education.

♪ ♪ ♪ MAN: Oh.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Oh, you send me.

♪ ♪ Ah-ah-ah.

♪ ♪ Oh, oh.

♪ ♪ You send me, send me, send me, send me, ah-ah-ah.

♪ ♪ You send me, ah-ah-ah.

♪♪ BEMO: Welcome to HBCU week ya'll, I'm with my friend Emmanuel.

Emmanuel tell the people about yourself, please.

EMMANUEL: Hey, what's up everybody, my name's Emmanuel Durojaiye, I'm a junior here at Morgan State University.

Currently studying industrial and systems engineering.

I'm also a sports photographer and videographer.

I'm one of the co-founders of MSU Creatives Team at Morgan State University.

BEMO: So you started a student organization here?

EMMANUEL: I would say so, yeah, I was helping.

BEMO: How did you do that?

Well how did, tell me about that, that process, how easy was it?

EMMANUEL: Of course, um, so I started my freshman year um, here, I came here I wanted to study engineering.

BEMO: Ok. EMMANUEL: So I had on-campus, I was mark, I was um, I was walking through the gym, the field house, and um, they were marketing to the students, um, trying to recruit people to join the Sports Marketing team and I showed an interest in the photography/videography and I was like, "Hey, I want to take photos and videos," and they were like, "Yea, we need people."

But mind you, I had no experience whatsoever, so I was just going in blind, for real.

BEMO: Right.

EMMANUEL: So I ended up going, applying and I joined the team and at that time my boss's name was Randy and he was doing everything by himself so when I joined, I was like, "Hey, I want to join the team, can you teach me?"

And he was like, "I got you."

Handed me his old camera and I was like, "Ok, bet, um, what do I do?"

He was like, "Just go shoot."

And I was like, "All right, I got you."

BEMO: Just like that?

EMMANUEL: Just like that.

BEMO: So ok, ok.

I feel like situations like that are very specific to HBCUs.

EMMANUEL: I would say so.

BEMO: I've only been to HBCUs, so I don't know, right?

So tell me, tell me, how did, how do you feel like Morgan kind of fostered your confidence in that moment?

EMMANUEL: Yeah, Morgan definitely fostered my confidence in that area because like, it takes you from like, being a place where you don't know something.

BEMO: Right.

EMMANUEL: And it gives you an opportunity to learn and grow.

Without any like, requirements.

BEMO: Yeah.

EMMANUEL: You know, I could have been like someone who knew what I was doing, but I didn't know what I was doing, but at the same time they still gave me the opportunity regardless.

I think there's beauty in that, you know like they see that the passion and the eagerness that you have to try something new, with no experience, and this, there's beauty in that for real.

BEMO: Wow, uh, let me ask you this.

So this is your, junior, you said it's your junior year.

EMMANUEL: My junior year, my third year here, yeah.

BEMO: It's your third year here, that was my favorite year at school too.

It was like right before senior year when there's too much pressure, but you are smarter than a sophomore.

EMMANUEL: Definitely smarter than a sophomore, man, right?

BEMO: Perfect time.

So tell me about this, tell me about the legacy that you want to leave behind, have you started thinking about what you want to leave here at Morgan, as you're on your way out, as you're getting ready to graduate?

EMMANUEL: That's a good question, I will tell you that.

Um, I'll be honest, when I first came to school, I just wanted to get my degree, get in and get out, you know, just like anybody else would, like, I still, that's what we're told to do, but I feel like, like I said before, being able to say I helped found the Creatives Team here at Morgan State University, I, I truly believe that's something that will stick and be planned here, you know, I can say, oh like, I helped build this, I helped foster this team of individuals.

Not to say it was just me alone, I had people who helped me, my boss Randy, my roommate Sebastian, clear, my good man Justin, like, he's been holding us down for a real long time.

BEMO: Absolutely.

EMMANUEL: Most definitely.

We definitely have something, we're gonna build something for real.

BEMO: That's beautiful, man.

EMMANUEL: Thank you.

BEMO: Emmanuel, thank you for your time, man.

EMMANUEL: I appreciate you.

BEMO: And we'll be right back with more HBCU week.

♪ WOMAN: Don't make me.

♪ ♪ Don't make me.

♪ ♪ Don't make me.

♪ ♪ Don't make.

♪ ♪ Don't make me.

♪ ♪ Don't make me.

♪ ♪ Don't make me.

♪ ♪ Don't make.

♪ ♪ Trick, trick, trick, trick, trick, trick, trick, trick, ♪ ♪ trick, trick, trick, trick, trick, trick, trick.

♪♪ BEMO: They got sports, they got an ESports team.

You can go to an HBCU and play video games for a living.

Your Mama lied to you, your Mama lied baby!

(laughter).

Your Mama lied, son.

BEMO: Man, I don't think ya'll are ready for this right here.

Tuesday we were at Hampton, Wednesday we are headed to the other HU, Howard University, as we get an education by none other than the Dean of the Chadwick A. Bosman College of Fine Arts, legendary actress the Phylicia Rashad as she guides students through the brave works created by Harlem Renaissance era playwrights in "Dangerous Acts."

Immediately following we get to experience a year in the life of the premiere jazz vocal ensemble at Howard University, "Afro Blue" followed by "A Bridge to Justice: The Life of Franklin A.

Williams."

MAN: Howard's made real... MAN 2: Howard's Willis Richardson was staging plays in the 19-teens, with this kind of language.

PHYLICIA: She wrote the play about the man and he wrote the play about the women wanting to vote.

GREG: I wonder, Dean, how do you think they grappled these playwrights with preserving the speech at the same time that there's this aspirational class thing, that's certainly pressing down on them?

This is the New Negro era when they write these plays.

PHYLICIA: Right.

WOMAN: What it's like to work with Dean Rashad?

WOMAN 2: Honestly, like a dream come true.

Like when I first applied to Howard that was the experience that I was expecting, that I was really looking for.

WOMAN: One word would be, surreal.

I remember going to her office and asking her what her vision was.

She looked at me, it was like, she wanted me to be there, and I was just instantly there.

She, she became what we were doing.

WOMAN 3: She'd already fought through what had to be said.

JORDAN: Dean Rashad, is I think, at least for me, she's really taught me the importance of living in this experience and these are people's actual lives and adopting philosophy that's not your own.

♪ ♪ ♪ WOMAN: I love my man like a schoolboy loves his pie.

♪ ♪ ALL: Ba, ba-da, ba!

♪♪ NARRATOR: Join Afro Blue, Howard University's premiere vocal jazz ensemble as they invite you to a behind-the-scenes look into what it's like to be a member of this dynamic group.

MAN: Ya'll get to see this first hand.

WOMAN: What drew me to Afro Blue was just the performance aspect.

(scatting).

Everything about it was just, bomb.

♪ GROUP: I got the St. Louis, I got the St. Louis... ♪ NARRATOR: "Afro Blue: A Year in the Life."

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ STERLING: In 1949, Thurgood Marshall, the Director of the NAACP legal defense fund, turned to his 31-year-old special counsel, an obscure New York lawyer named Franklin Hall Williams, to assist in a case involving four young Black men in Groveland, Florida who were falsely accused of raping a White woman.

One of the suspects was hunted down in a swamp and killed by a posse.

Two were taken out on a desolate road and shot by the sheriff, one fatally.

(gunshots).

The survivors were convicted by an all-White jury on the strength of false confessions that resulted from torture.

All were innocent.

But their innocence was of no consequence in 1949 in the Deep South.

A White jury could simply never credit the word of a Black man over that of a White girl, it was socially and politically unthinkable.

Franklin Williams quickly found himself thrown into the middle of a cultural and legal minefield.

♪ ♪ BEMO: Oh wow, oh wow, wow, wow, wow, I hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I am, right now we're going to have a special conversation with Tetiana Anderson, featuring President Wilson.

We'll be right back with more HBCU week.

TETIANA: Welcome to HBCU week, I'm Tetiana Anderson at Morgan State University with President David Wilson.

Dr. Wilson thank you for being here.

DAVID: Tetiana, thank you very much for having me.

TETIANA: So it's day one for freshmen, what's the energy like on campus?

DAVID: Uh, the energy is just amazing, if you will.

I have just finished uh serving breakfast on The Mall to freshman and returning students.

It's a tradition that we started here at Morgan about six or seven years ago uh, and I do it particularly for that purpose and that is to make sure that I'm in, in conformity with the energy that I see on campus and how the students, you know, sometimes uh freshman, entering students are coming with just a bit of trepidation.

They're uh, just not sure, um, they're making this transition from high school, uh, to college and um, it's good for me to kind of you know, be in a position where I can receive that and I can understand some of the hesitancy, uh, that they have and so this morning I was just amazed you know, to see thousands of students traverse to campus and the energy was off the chart.

TETIANA: You, you mentioned the word tradition, and I'm wondering how important the tradition and the legacy of the whole HBCU system really is to the whole nation, not just here in Maryland and at Morgan State.

DAVID: Uh, HBCUs have a strong legacy of rites, r-i-t-e-s, rituals, and ceremonies, and those rites, rituals, and ceremonies are laced to the historical path and significance of the institutions and so, we here at Morgan, we certainly appreciate that we put in front of our students, our university community on an ongoing basis uh, many of those kinds of events, that actually is going to uphold the great history of the institution, is gonna tell the story of the founding of the institution, is always gonna put before students, what we think they really need to know that this institution just didn't all of the sudden appear yesterday, uh, and HBCUs across the country didn't just appear yesterday.

I mean this genre of institutions uh, many of them are well over 150 years old and we have a compelling story to tell and it's very important that we tell that story in as many different facets as we can.

TETIANA: And when it comes to stories, I definitely want to ask about yours, you are from Alabama, that is home to Tuskegee University, you were raised during the Civil Rights era, how did your upbringing inform who you are today, and, and what you're doing today?

DAVID: Well um, you can never really run away from your past, and certainly in my case, I have taken my past with me as I have climbed on.

And so, growing up there in Alabama of course you know there were laws in place that did not require Black children to go to school and so I did not go to school with any degree of regularity until I was in the seventh grade and of course, you know, that had unintended consequences and I was not really exposed to formal education on an ongoing basis until seventh grade.

Um and so I um, I carry a little bit of what it means to be shut out of a formal educational system with me.

And also, I um, was a young boy when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

I was in the sixth grade and I can recall that day as if it were yesterday uh because all of the sudden um, the principal got on the bullhorn if you will, and announced that Dr. King had been assassinated and everybody in the school just started yelling and screaming and crying and I began to understand that, you know, "Wow, Dr. Martin Luther King," I'd heard a lot about him, I'd never had an opportunity of course to, come close to meeting him uh, but I realized at that point that something real precious had been taken from us.

And so then as I went on to um, undergrad at Tuskegee, I was taught by some of the most amazing professors in the country um, and basically came away there understanding all too well uh African history, African-American history, um, I began to understand what I had to, grown up living in Alabama, but was understanding it now on a highly intellectual foundation, and I mean the students here at Morgan in the late 50s, early 60s, they too were living their version of hell.

They could not go across the street and shop in the shopping centers over there, uh, and they went over there and they sat in and they sat in and they sat in and they refused to leave, uh, until those shops actually served them.

Over 400 of them went to jail and so those students on HBCU campuses, be it Morgan or Tuskegee or you name it, uh, they in the vernacular, they understood what time of day it was.

And they understood their role in making sure uh that they were speaking to the moment.

Uh, and having grown up in Alabama, I kind of experienced the same thing on the Tuskegee campus, where we were there with a purpose.

Yes!

You know, you are going to make sure you get a solid education, uh, but in the process of doing that, you're gonna understand what it means to be committed to a cause uh, and when you go out there you have to continue to fight for that cause and so as President at Morgan, I fight for the cause.

Uh, and that cause is 10 billion times greater than little David Wilson.

It is a cause that is still rooted in injustice, it's still rooted in inequality and that is really what drives me because I understand all too well what it means when those things are shut off from you.

And what really, really drives me here at Morgan is the fact that I don't want any of those things shut off from our students, the way they were shut off from David Wilson.

And that is a part of how I lead and it will forever be a part of how I lead.

BEMO: Thank you Tetiana Anderson and President Wilson for part one of this great, in-depth interview we'll be returning shortly.

I'm here with Kamille with a "K," Kamille, welcome to the show.

KAMILLE: Hi.

BEMO: Hi!

Can you tell the people about yourself a little bit?

KAMILLE: Yes, so my name is Kamille Trice and I go to Morgan State and I am a senior majoring in psychology.

I'm a part of the Magnificent Marching Machine here at Morgan State as a Foxxy Dancer.

I'm also part of Pre-Alumni Counsel, President's Leadership Circle and I serve as Miss Black and Gold for the 2023-2024 academic school year.

BEMO: I love that, I love that.

Ok, you gotta explain something to me, what is, you said "Pre-Alumni"?

KAMILLE: Yes.

BEMO: What's the Pre-Alumni Association?

KAMILLE: So Pre-Alumni Association, that is before we graduate and become alumni, you know, the people that come back and pay for all the different buildings here at Morgan State University?

So we basically will have like the alumni come and we host events for them and we also just connect students with already people that have went to Morgan, so.

BEMO: So as a former band man, we gotta talk about the band for a second.

KAMILLE: Ah, yes.

BEMO: So tell me about your band experience and how like, special groups on campus can kind of help you grow and see a different part of the HBCU experience.

KAMILLE: So band, I, I have a lot to say about that, so.

BEMO: Go ahead, go ahead.

KAMILLE: I love the marching band, I have been a part of it my entire time at Morgan State, my sister was a part of the marching band so, I've been watching them for like about eight years now and, it's just, it's a once in a lifetime experience, I'm sure you know, with the band, you travel so many different places, the music that they play, it's like... especially at a HBCU, especially here, it's like, it's a completely different experience and it has definitely like enhanced my experience here at Morgan, because I've had some of my most funnest memories with the band, and I'm a dancer, so you know I like to do, do a couple moves.

BEMO: I have one more question for you.

KAMILLE: Ok. BEMO: So I look around all the names on the building, they're all noticeable names, they have great, phenomenal stories, and that just, when I see those things, it challenges me to think about my legacy at the school.

What is your, what do you hope your legacy will be at Morgan State?

What are you leaving behind?

KAMILLE: When I leave Morgan State University, I want to make sure that I, you know, people can remember like, ok, like I could be anything because if you know, from where I started from, coming into Morgan State, I wasn't the best student, but I'm definitely coming out a different student and it's possible for anyone here, so.

BEMO: Well thank you Kamille for your time, we appreciate you, and we'll be right back with more, HBCU week.

Woo, man, I hope ya'll are enjoying this as much as I am.

Thursday is jam-packed packed ya'll, so here it is, we are starting in Baltimore with "First Gen: From West Baltimore."

Then we travel to downtown Baltimore for a sneak peek of "Inside the CIAA Tournament: The Baltimore Experience."

Next, we explore the world of North Carolina A&T through "Our Blues Makes Us Gold."

The next hour features "Alpha Kappa Alpha: A Legacy of Service."

And if that wasn't enough for you, we are closing out the night with "Taking Israel: A Journey of African-American Students."

Let's check Thursday out.

STUDENT: If you want to get into a good college, you're gonna have to work really hard for that.

STUDENT: I got into Loyola!

STUDENT: Me staying in school is gonna basically help me basically, get beyond West Baltimore.

STUDENT: It's okay to change your mind, it's okay to not be sure.

STUDENT: I promised myself that education is first, always going to be first.

PRINCAYA: I'll be able to help the next generation of students in my family who want to go to college.

(chatter).

WES: The energy is, is real.

Watching the CIAA and the importance of what that is to our country, uh to the culture.

And the fact that they choose Baltimore for uh its home, its long-term home.

BRANDON: When you think about the CIAA, you think about excellence, right?

And when you mix that with Baltimore, you don't get anything better.

NARRATOR: A land grant university started small.

How did it grow into the nation's largest HBCU?

WOMAN: It is a gateway for people to change their lives.

NARRATOR: Explore the history and legacy of North Carolina A&T.

MICHELLE: You have produced some of our nation's finest leaders.

NARRATOR: With its deep roots in agriculture and a focus on STEM education.

MAN: This is Generation A&T.

NARRATOR: "Our Blues Make Us Gold."

NARRATOR: In 1935, women of Alpha Kappa Alpha traveled to the Deep South, finding not the Mississippi often portrayed by Hollywood.

Stunned, yet undeterred, they administer healthcare to those in need.

These women are part of a long and rich tradition of providing service to all mankind.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ MAN: For a number of historical reasons, Blacks and Jews have had close connections.

We have such a connection with that struggle.

♪ ♪ BEMO: Welcome to HBCU Week, I'm here with my friend, Tamera.

Tamera, please introduce yourself to the people.

TAMERA: Hi, my name is Tamera Trimuel, I am a junior strategic communication major from Chicago.

I serve as the junior class president of the Student Government Association, and I am a member of the Alpha Gamma chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.

BEMO: So nice to meet you.

TAMERA: You too!

BEMO: I love your personality.

TAMERA: Thank you!

BEMO: So I love, I love coming on HBCU campuses and talking to uh, D9 members, cause I want to know from your perspective, what is the importance of building community while on campus?

And that sense of leadership that you get.

TAMERA: Honestly, just knowing the history of my organization, it just makes you want to follow in their footsteps.

Like, the foundation that they laid, who wouldn't want to come and serve on their campus and be a leader for other young ladies to follow and inspire them to live unapologetically in their truth and serve.

So I feel like that's really what I feel like D9 organizations bring to HBCU campuses.

It inspires us to go past our limit, it allows us to grow as individuals and as leaders in our communities, so yeah.

BEMO: Yeah.

I was listening to President Dr. Wilson talk earlier... TAMERA: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

BEMO: And he said that one of the important parts of his presidency was to make sure that students have confidence after they graduate from Morgan.

TAMERA: Yes, yes.

BEMO: Tell me about how you feel confident here and what Morgan is doing to kind of buffer that confidence.

TAMERA: Honestly, it's just... Morgan pushes you out of your comfort zone, whether you realize it or not.

The same, the way you come in as a freshman, you're not gonna leave as a senior.

Whether that's somebody saying "Hey I think you should do this."

Whether that's a friend, a mentor, a professor, they're constantly pushing you outside of your comfort zone, so you have that confidence.

Because when you graduate, you have that confidence on your resume, it looks good.

You know your LinkedIn profile is set because you done had a whole bunch of professional sessions with that... BEMO: Absolutely.

TAMERA: You know you have the presence and the aura to walk in a room and command the attention of whatever job that you're seeking.

Morgan really just pushes you outside of your comfort zone so you have that confidence and you don't wait till after you graduate to be pushed.

BEMO: Right, right.

Right, of course.

I gotta ask you one more question.

TAMERA: Okay.

BEMO: I've been walking around I've been hearing people talk about the past of Morgan and the history of Morgan... TAMERA: Mm-hmm.

BEMO: It seems like you are the future of Morgan.

TAMERA: Yes!

BEMO: I wanna know, from your perspective, what is the legacy you wanna leave behind?

TAMERA: Mmm, that's a good one.

I honestly want people to think of me and say, "Wow if she can do it, I can too!"

I wanna inspire and influence people to walk unapologetically in their truth, and really use their gifts and talents to change the world, change the campus, don't be afraid.

People are always gonna talk whether it's good or bad so just do it.

BEMO: Yeah.

TAMERA: Don't make any excuses.

And just let your influence and your, your inspiration and who you are infect the people around you, affect your campus.

So when you come back years later people still are talking about, "Hey that's what such-and-such did, I wanna be like her, I wanna build upon what she did."

BEMO: That's lovely.

I gotta ask you one more, cause you got great energy, great energy.

TAMERA: Okay, okay.

BEMO: Cause Calvin Tyler donated $20 million which is the largest student donation to a school.

TAMERA: Yes, mm-hmm.

BEMO: What about Morgan is like, okay when I leave here, I'm not mad, I wanna give back.

What about Morgan gives you that sense of, that spirit.

TAMERA: I mean... BEMO: That $20 million spirit if you will.

TAMERA: Honestly you can just see, like when you walk the campus, you can just see why you would wanna give back.

Like, we're continuously expanding and we can't do that without the funds!

Um, but it also just gives access to, it gives access, it gives students access to more resources.

Like North Wood, um, that's something that wasn't even for us, we couldn't even have access to it.

So why wouldn't you wanna come back and donate to a school that's continuously expanding and giving us resources so that we can go and be the leaders and, and change the world.

BEMO: Tamera, thank you for your time, I appreciate you.

TAMERA: Thank you, thank you so much.

BEMO: We'll be back with more HBCU Week.

It's Friday!

And we've got a dynamic combo.

First, you'll be finding out what's new at your HBCU, on a special presentation of "State Circle."

And then, we are in for quite a historical treat.

"Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming Space."

Whew, Friday is good for the soul!

ANCHOR: With MPT's HBCU Week approaching, we are joined now by Dr. Anthony Jenkins, the president of Coppin State University.

For people who have been to Coppin, but maybe it's been five or ten years, um, they haven't been to today's Coppin.

ANTHONY: Anyone who's not been on our beautiful campus uh, say in the last five years, need to come visit.

Um, they would be in awe of how beautiful our campus is.

We are an oasis in west Baltimore.

So, not only am I working on a new residence hall, and I'll talk about that here very quickly, but I'm also breaking uh, ground, or I have broken ground, and we'll be having a ribbon cutting soon, on a new college of business.

The 62,000-square-foot facility is going to be spectacular.

Um, we have really focused here at the institution on how we make ourselves more green-friendly.

So we are focusing on lowering our carbon footprint and doing all of those wonderful things that we need to be focusing on as a university that is committed to addressing climate change and other factors that impact urban areas like ours.

NARRATOR: "On American Experience," an influential author whose groundbreaking anthropological work would reclaim honor and celebrate Black life on its own terms.

WOMAN: She was an innovator, but the content is rooted in the research that she did.

WOMAN: It was anthropology that really showed Hurston that she could write about her culture.

NARRATOR: "Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space," on "American Experience."

BEMO: Now let's tune back into Tetiana Anderson and President Wilson, for the conclusion of their riveting conversation on all things Morgan, and the state of HBCUs.

TETIANA: Welcome back, I'm here at Morgan State University with President David Wilson.

Your tenure here at Morgan has been coined the Morgan Modern Era.

Speak to me a little bit, um, about what that mission means to you and how you're fulfilling it.

DAVID: Well, um, you know, Morgan of course when you look at our 156, 57-year history, it is an institution that has defined itself based on eras, um, and primarily through tenures of its presidents.

And so, I am in my 14th year here, uh my predecessor was here for uh, 25 plus years.

And during his time, Morgan was, was, was re-birthed.

I think that era was known as the Morgan Renaissance because you know, the institution needed a lot of care, and it needed a lot of vision.

Uh, and so when I came onboard um, I inherited an institution uh, that had undergone a renaissance.

Uh, however, what I did was I stepped back and I said "Okay, we appreciate that but we can't live in the past."

And so, how do we create a shared vision of transformation.

And what does transformation, what does that look like?

Uh and so the last 14 years or so, have been about um, a transformation of Morgan.

And that transformation is defined in so many ways.

But first of all a physical transformation.

And so we have now eclipsed, $1 billion, approaching $1 billion, 100 million in either commitments that have been made to build new facilities on the campus and or to renovate existing ones.

Uh, that transformation manifests itself, uh, in new academic degree programs.

Uh, that transformation has manifested itself in, um, in the student enrollment on campus.

We've gone from 7,000 or so students when I arrived, now to approaching 10,000 students, uh from 50 states and 70-some countries.

Uh and then of course in high-quality faculty that we have.

Nearly 700 faulty here, um very diverse, on the cutting edge of scholarship in so many ways.

And so this transformation has really been about uh, taking note of where the institution was and then how to grow it in a way where it would be one of the most consequential if not the most consequential university in Maryland, and one of the most consequential universities in the United States.

TETIANA: So you, you've talked about several things, I'm gonna double back to some of them, but one of them is the transformation um that's happened on campus.

I mean, if you walk around Morgan State you see all these beautiful new buildings, structures, um greens.

And you have stated that you really believe in what you call the transparency of process.

So I'm wondering, you know, you've done so much already but what more is to come, what's in your head?

What have you got planned?

DAVID: Well, actually, this is just the beginning.

(laughing).

And, and so we want to of course continue that transformation uh, in many of the same ways.

Um, we want to make sure you know that we have a new engineering building on campus, uh Morgan is number one in the state of Maryland in producing Black engineers.

Uh we're number one in civil, number one in electrical, number one uh in industrial.

Um and uh we are marching towards uh making the case for perhaps a new engineering complex on campus, because we think we can double the production of engineers.

Likewise, um, a new science complex, uh, on campus as well because we are (stammering).

one of the leading institutions in Maryland uh, in the production of Blacks in science.

Uh, and our facilities are not where they should be.

We also want to continue to elevate our research mission here at Morgan.

And so we have gone from a moderate research university, which um Carnegie classifies as a R3, moderate research.

To a high research institution, R2, and we thought we'd achieve high research by 2021 but we actually achieved that three years earlier in 2018.

And so now, we are on a path to achieve R1 status, which is very high research.

Now, for those who are uh listening, who might not have an understanding of R3, R2, R1, R1 really means that that's the place where you are most um, hm, elite research institutions rest.

It's about 140 plus institutions there.

The Ivy League, Big Ten, University of Chicago.

But there's no HBCU R1.

And our desire is to be one of the first to get there.

TETIANA: I am a product of an HBCU myself, I went to Fisk University, and you talked about the confidence that going to an HBCU instills into its students.

For somebody who might not understand, describe what that means.

What do students get when they go to an institution that is sort of, of them, by them, and for them that they can't get at a predominately white institution?

DAVID: You know, I've been thinking about this um a little bit differently for several years.

And, um, while I went to Tuskegee undergrad, this is the first time that I have had such an elongated experience, um, on an HBCU campus.

And as such, as I walk the campus of Morgan and I walk the campuses of some of the other HBCUs, here's what I come away with.

Every single day on that campus, as student actually traverse those campuses, they really are in a museum.

They are in a museum, I mean the campus itself is a museum, I'm not talking about a museum as a building on the campus I mean the entire campus is.

Uh and it is rooted so richly in history that speaks to them every single day, right?

There's a story behind the name on the building on every single building here.

And when the students actually become intrigued by that, and they commence to research that, that in and of itself builds confidence.

It builds a sense of belonging, right?

And so when you put that together, just being in an environment where you have incidental learning taking place every single day, with the formal education that they're getting, that really instills uh, unparalleled confidence in students.

And so, um when students are, leave Morgan um, and they go on to grad school or they go into the world of work, uh it's very important you know, for them to stand there toe-to-toe with anyone and not be challenged by the fact that someone else may not have been exposed a certain way.

And our students won't own that.

They will not own lack of exposure on the part of others, because they are fully, fully confident in themselves.

And that's what you get here at Morgan, that's what you get on an HBCU campus.

And I would say because most of my career, other than Morgan has been spent in um very large, you know, research-based, traditionally white institutions.

But that's one of the major differences that I see between HBCUs and what I call TWIs.

TETIANA: President Wilson, thank you so much for this conversation.

DAVID: And, and Tetiana, thank you very much for inviting me into this dialogue.

TETIANA: And thanks to you as well for watching HBCU Week.

BEMO: HBCU Week is spoiling me, and I just can't get enough!

This weekend is starting off strong.

It's a Saturday of sports, y'all.

First we get an encore presentation of "Inside the CIAA", gotta love that.

Followed by "The Morgan Lacrosse Story".

And then, the "Journey to Canton" for the Black College Football Hall of Fame.

Buckle up y'all!

DR. ELWOOD: CIAA has meant so much to, to the university, Winston-Salem State University.

I think about the rich history, the legacy of basketball at Winston-Salem State University with Big House Gaines, the legendary Big House Gaines.

And having to come to Baltimore and, and those historians will know that there is a history with Big House Gaines and, and Baltimore, uh, with Morgan State.

He actually attended Morgan State.

And then, if you think about one of the greatest NBA players of all time, Earl Monroe, while he certainly graduated, he was at Winston-Salem State, that's where he made his mark on the collegiate level.

When he went professionally, where did he play basketball?

In Baltimore.

And so from, from us at Winston-Salem State University, it's a little bit like coming, coming home or coming to a, a familiar place.

DR. MAKOLA: The CIAA means so much to our HBCUs and so much to Virginia State University, uh.

It is a place where we come together, uh, ostensibly just for athletics but it's never just that.

DR. PAULETTE: Because sports was critical in the advancing of race relations in the US.

You know, um, Black players playing on white teams but they played on CIAA teams before they were allowed to play in Big Ten or, or other conferences.

And so, we're excited about that legacy.

And Shaw University has an amazing legacy on the social justice front, uh.

We are the birthplace of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the Civil Rights Movement.

NARRATOR: An age-old sport, a long-standing divide, and an underdog team with nothing to lose.

MAN: We viewed the lacrosse team as being part and parcel of the frontline of struggle for liberation in America.

MAN: If you level the playing field, I can do everything you can do.

NARRATOR: An all-Black squad become champions in an all-white sport.

MAN: Now that's amazing.

NARRATOR: In "The Morgan Lacrosse Story".

♪ ♪ MAN: There was a time in this country when there was segregation.

MAN: So, in order to get a quality education, the HBCUs was started.

MAN: There are so many Black college football players who had great pro careers, so there was a wealth of talent in these schools.

MAN: We're gonna have a museum honoring the Historical Black College football players, right here in Canton.

MAN: There's wonderful stories to tell.

BEMO: Welcome to HBCU Week, I'm here with my friend Tory, Tory please introduce yourself to the people.

TORY: My name's Tory James, I'm a senior at Morgan State University, and I'm the head drum major of the Magnificent Marching Machines.

BEMO: Head drum major.

I'm with somebody important, okay.

Tell me something, um, why did you choose Morgan?

TORY: I chose Morgan cause of the family environment.

When I first stepped on campus, I used to come here as a kid with my mom, my mom went here and my dad.

BEMO: Really?

TORY: So... BEMO: You like legacy-legacy.

TORY: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

BEMO: Okay, okay.

TORY: And my mom, she used to take me to like some of the volleyball games and basketball games.

She was a part of the first ever volleyball team to win a MEAC at Morgan State University.

BEMO: Really?

Okay so looking at that experience as a child, now you're a full-grown senior getting ready to graduate, what is, what are some of the things that you expected that really happened, and some of the things that you didn't expect that kind of surprised you?

TORY: Some things that I expected, me having a good time.

I had a great time these years, I had a great time uh, my five years here.

Coming in 2019 I've seen a lot of things change, you know, COVID and stuff.

BEMO: Mm-hmm.

TORY: I really didn't expect the new like, buildings that we're building.

BEMO: Really?

TORY: Morgan is becoming a very beautiful campus, and I see President Wilson really putting in the time and effort to make this a beautiful campus.

Like, he's adding a lot of new dorms, a new medical school.

BEMO: Mm-hmm.

TORY: And I really like to see that, cause you know, a lot of schools don't be having stuff like that.

BEMO: I just, let me...

I haven't asked a student this, how do you know that?

TORY: I mean, you gotta be in the know to know.

BEMO: You gotta be in the know!

(laughing).

How have these new buildings and like even like, the, the new mindset of Dr Wilson, even your new band director, how have they given you confidence?

TORY: Given me confidence?

Cause I see him really trying to make a change.

BEMO: Yeah.

TORY: I think he's trying to turn us into an R1 school, and I, I see the effort that he's really putting in to do that, like.

BEMO: Thank you for your time.

TORY: Any time.

BEMO: We'll be right back with more HBCU Week.

Man, we hate to see it end, but in case y'all missed anything throughout the week, Sunday's gotta day full of programming to get you right.

An encore presentation of "Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming Space".

"Hampton University: One of the Wonders of the World".

State Circle special, Innovative Programs from Maryland HBCUs.

Encore presentation of "Sneak Peek: Inside the CIAA".

"A Legacy of Opportunity", the history of Delaware State University.

Conversations for Change, Awakening and Revival.

And closing out the week we've got a State Circle special, What's New at Your HBCU?

Whew, what a time, what a time.

I learned something, I hope you learned something.

I thank you for watching HBCU Week.

I am your cultural correspondent, Bryant "Bemo" Brown, thank you for watching, we'll see you next time.

We were talking to the president, Dr Wilson earlier today... JUSTICE: Okay.

BEMO: He said that one of his main goals is to make sure that students have confidence, so they can go into the world and be great people.

JUSTICE: Absolutely.

BEMO: How has Morgan helped foster your confidence?

JUSTICE: It's the fact that wherever I go, right, I wear Morgan State University on my sleeve, right?

BEMO: Yeah.

JUSTICE: Uh, last week, I went to DC, right, you know.

Uh, uh, it was this, it was this cool brother you know like selling oils right?

BEMO: Yeah.

JUSTICE: He was tryna like put me in this box, right?

He was going like, you know the problem with y'all is you know, I bet you've never even had you know like a class about us?

I said wait a minute sir, I apologize cause you don't know me, so let me shake your hand, let me look you in your eyes.

My name is Justice Georgie, alright.

I attend the illustrious Morgan State University, the only national treasure.

Alright?

And my sophomore year I've had an African Diaspora class, so you've never met me.

So now, now I had to introduce myself so you know, like, we can kind of form a relationship.

BEMO: That's right.

JUSTICE: Right?

Everybody on this campus is different.

BEMO: That's right.

JUSTICE: Everybody on this campus is for a common goal.

Knowledge is power.

Knowledge is power.

Knowledge is power.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: This program was made possible in part by... Fulton Bank is a proud supporter of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Learn more about Fulton Bank's commitment to making communities better through education and inclusivity at fultonbank.com.

NARRATOR: Each week this fall, HBCU Go TV will showcase the gridiron games and show-stopping bands from around the country.

TV ANNOUNCER: They cannot stop this man.

NARRATOR: For more information log on to HBCUGo.tv.

NARRATOR 2: STEM City USA bridging the digital gap for millions of underserved through community and education.

An immersive digital world that provides personal and professional development tools and resources.

Details at stemcityusa.com.