>> This program was made possible in part by: What is bold?

At Bowie State University we believe it means always striving for more.

Bold is born at BSU with a police to empower students to break barriers and change the world.

Bold is preparing students for careers in STEM fields like cybersecurity and nursing.

Bold is training the next generation of entrepreneurs to shape the global marketplace.

Bowie State University.

Taking tomorrow.

Boldly.

>> 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.

* >> Bemo Brown: For some people this might be a football field.

Maybe even a center of a track.

For some people this might be a soccer stadium, but for people like me this is a stage.

Hi, I'm Bemo.

I'm your host.

Welcome to Sounds of the Game.

* The history of HBCU bands actually starts with the revolutionary war.

Black folks were forced into the military and militia service but were not allowed to carry weapons.

Go figure.

So while there, black soldiers occupied the bands and acted as marketers for the army.

In the civil war, most, and I mean most black regiments evolved from the pure drum lines to the black brass band we are familiar with now.

Going into the 1940s, these black brass bands, now divorced from the military, mixed their style with minstrel performance principles to Crete a high-stepping, entertainment-focus style.

The leaders of these show bands eventually became leaders of Band programs at HBCUs like Tuskegee and Alabama State, Kentucky State, and, of course, FAMU.

Since bands can't be performing in front of no one, silent stadiums, responses only from your fellow band members and directors, the people who have been guiding you, but for the first time when the drum major calls you to attention, the silence is transformed into sensation.

You never forget the magic of that sound.

Creation of black culture can be categorized into two dynamic situations.

On one side we have our formal institutions.

These are the institutions that were created to house what became black culture, for example, HBCU is my alma mater, Howard University, but I want to talk about something more fun.

I want to talk about the informal side, the combination of American oppressive systems plus the resilient attitude of formerly enslaved Africans combining to create something beautiful.

What is that beautiful thing?

It's the reason why we are here at my alma mater.

It is the reason why we are going to celebrate the HBCU style marching band.

So today at Howard University we're going to get a firsthand experience how students are still celebrating this HBCU marching style, and on the other hand we're going to see a film from the Blue and Gold marching machine down in North Carolina A&T.

So whether it's the trombones in the back, sousaphones cranking in the front, whether it's the dancers or even the guy talking Strash in the booth, these are the sounds of the game.

Today we are here setting up for a very integral part of every band member's marching season, the pinning ceremony.

The pinning ceremony acts as a traditional introduction of the new freshman class into the Howard University family.

We hear from individuals like our president, Dr. Wayne A.I.

Frederick and the Dean of the College of Fine Arts, Dean Phylicia Rashad.

We also get a introduction into our new school presidents and vice presidents hearing from people about student life and student activities as they indoctrine the new freshmen into what it means to be a Howard student.

>> Good afternoon.

[Cheers And Applause] I've been asked to speak to you about what it means to be a Bison.

Oh, it means a lot.

First of all, let's look at what a Bison is.

In the animal kingdom, the Bison is one of the most majestic creatures.

The Bison is intuitive.

The Bison is strong.

The Bison lives in protection of oneself and the herd.

The Bison is fast.

The Bisson is agile, can turn on a dime.

The Bison can detect predators as far as 30 kilometers away and knows how to avoid them.

So what does it mean for you to be a Bison?

It means that you are welcomed into a legacy of people who are strong, strong and intellectual pursuit, strong in the pursuit of justice, strong in service, strong in upholding and maintaining the integrity of this institution, this institution that is so much more than brick-and-mortar.

We welcome you into this legacy that you are now a part of.

Thank you.

[Applause] bencht would you look at that.

The Dean of the College of Fine Arts, Dean Phylicia Rashad, and there they are the Howard University showtime marching Band's drum line leading the pinning ceremony's guests through the art.

* * >> Bemo Brown: Now let's travel down the 95 to North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University to see how the Blue and Gold Marching Machine prepares for the Greatest Homecoming on Earth.

>> Whistle, two, three, four.

[drumming] [Applause] * >> If you're not determined, it's probably not good for you to be here.

>> Dedication is the biggest thing.

>> You have to be focused.

You've got to give everything you've got.

>> You have to know what it is to be responsible.

>> It takes a lot.

It takes a lot of time.

It takes a lot of work.

It takes a lot of patience.

>> Better.

That's all I'm asking you to do.

>> We work hard throughout practice.

We get out, we're tired.

You gotd to go home If you have any work left to do, you have to make sure you take care of that, find something to eat, and then start your day over again.

>> One, two, three, four, five, six -- >> The hardships can be when practice gets late and everyone's tired and you have assignments due that night, 11:59, or you have an exam that's next week that you want to start preparing for ahead of time.

>> It's a lot to take on mentally because you have homework, you have band practice.

We're not getting out until 10:00.

For me sleep is definitely a luxury.

>> Five, six, seven, eight.

>> It was brought to my attention my first year that I had this drive and this enthusiasm about performing, being a performer, that I had the qualities of someone that could possibly be a leader one day.

I've been looking at Golden Delight for years.

I thought they were just beyond what I could be.

And so when I finally got the opportunity, I was thankful.

I was grateful, and so I worked hard for what I wanted because I want to be just like Golden Delight -- >> One, two, three -- >> -- or just be into it.

I be like -- >> What keeps me motivated is thinking about where I came from.

I think about home.

I think about how I grew up and the struggles that my mom went through, and I want a better life for myself and my family in the future.

>> I have had a lot of struggles with five kids, but I've made it, and with Alexis, she's really turned a lot of things around for me.

* >> Everything is really being fine-tuned these the last couple of days preparing for the game, so running the show countless times because it has to be as close to perfect as possible.

>> Make the changes.

Make the corrections.

Do we understand?

Nobody should have to tell you To make the changes.

Nobody should have to tell you to march.

Nobody should have to tell you to pinwheel.

Nobody should have to tell you To hit the line on 8.

Do it.

This is the time to do it.

You get in uniform, you only get one chance.

>> This year is a very special and huge year for us because, for one, it's 100 years for us.

>> Everybody is not able to celebrate 100 years doing what we do.

We've been a program that's been setting the standard for a long time and we're going to keep moving the bar up.

>> for some game, turn it up.

>> Ooh!

Ooh!

>> How does my hair look?

>> Here at North Carolina A&T we're kind of different than other HBCU bands.

Our number one concern is that we entertain the crowd.

It is a challenge, and so we do have students that come who have never had this experience at all.

* >> I think that's one of the things that a lot of our students who come to A&T and may March may have in the band, they come from small towns and exphiewnts, and they're just -- and they've played in a band but they weren't very special, and they came to A&T and all of a sudden they became a part of this big nationally known organization, and so that's the thing that I think about all the time, is that it's just becoming -- getting in an organization and blossoming out.

[Cheers and Applause] >> Game one is done.

Game one is done.

Finally had our first game.

>> A lot of hard work from July to now, all out there.

All up from here.

>> She -- she made to it one game since I've been in college.

>> I hate that I missed a lot of the games.

>> I know that she would want to be there if she could.

>> This is her last year.

She's getting ready to graduate.

>> That was nice.

>> All of the -- all of the African American students who were getting out of high school, who wanted to go to college and perform in a band had limited choices.

They had to go to an HBCU.

So we had an abundance of talented black students coming to A&T wanting to be in the band.

I will tell you my freshman year, the first year I marched at home, we performed at War Memorial Stadium and it had these big gates up front, these two-story-high gates that would open up, and it was like Moses parting the Red Sea, and we would march in two abreast and all of the people from my hometown, high school and everything else, I could hear them yelling my name as I marched through there, and I'm going to tell you there's nothing like that.

I mean, for a freshman kid from Reidsville, North Carolina, to march in and be a part of this elite group and have people yelling your name out, yeah, it was just fabulous, so -- >> We have some business to handle today, folks.

We have some business today.

I don't care about your long night.

I don't care about lost rehearsals or none of that.

We just have some business to handle.

Everybody understand?

>> Yes, sir.

>> And on that note, let's go.

* >> We love Aggies!

* * >> We call it loyalty.

It's a word that comes out of our alma mater.

We're loyal.

>> You have to be loyal to the program.

You have to be willing to stick around when times truly get tough.

That's something that we strive for each and every day.

It's something that we wear across our chest and definitely hold dear to our heart.

>> If the person beside you is asleep, wake them up Start putting your uniform on.

Start putting your uniform on.

>> Don't run Do not run but move faster.

>> Ladies and gentlemen, ice the moment that you've all been waiting for.

It's the 2018 edition of the North Carolina A&T State University Marching Machine!

* >> My mom brags a lot about me.

This is the one I was telling You about, you know, she's doing so good.

She's in college and she's dancing.

She's very proud.

She's a very proud parent.

>> North Carolina A&T has one of the largest homecomings of all HBCUs and we have thousands of People that come back to celebrate homecoming each year.

>> Uh, homcoming, homecoming, homecoming.

>> We call it GHOE, the Greatest Homecoming on Earth, and that phrase is -- is so appropriate for the homecoming.

>> Being here, it's a lot different from hearing about it.

* >> Everybody cares so much that we are the best.

So we all want to keep that same standard of greatness.

So everyone is passionate.

* >> It's -- it's -- it's a lot of work.

It's a lot of work.

But it's possible.

Everything's possible.

* >> The band is a big family.

Our bonds are unbreakable and they're memorable.

>> You come in and it's like, okay, it's 200 other people that you don't know, you know, it's November now.

It's like family.

You just grow to love each other.

>> We're all supposed to be together and look out for each other.

* >> Being a family is all about the lows and the highs.

It's all about making something out of nothing.

* We practice literally probably every day most weeks.

We have to take care of each other because at the end of the day, nobody's going to know exactly what we went through.

* >> Quite frankly, if you go watch A&T's band right now, you will see us marching backwards.

You will see us marching heel to toe.

You will see us pumping our knees up and down.

And I owe all that to Dr. Ruff.

He is one of the most innovative, entertaining band directors I've ever run across.

The guy is just fabulous.

>> Dr. Ruff, he -- he has the vision.

He gives us that toughness that we all need.

>> It teaches them discipline.

It teaches them how to be team players.

It teaches them hard work.

It teaches the students everything that they need for life, and so they're not just wearing loyalty to wear.

They're wearing it because they want to live it.

>> We haven't had a brawl in a nice little minute, and it's against one of our very key rivals so we're definitely looking forward to it.

>> You think you can match up with the BGMN.

We're all for it.

But, yeah, we're still number one.

>> We understand, yeah, y'all not bad but y'all not better than us, and we're going to show y'all that y'all are not better than us.

I think that's the kind of confidence and arrogance that A&T has as a university, which is like -- it's like a humble arrogance.

* [Applause] * >> It's just that sense of pride.

Looking across at that other band, it's like they ain't us.

* [Applause] >> Thank you.

>> You're welcome.

>> You see that A&T?

It ain't down here on your legs.

It ain't down here.

That's just fat.

It's right there where your soul is.

So when the drum majors call you to attention, you tell the world.

>> All right.

>> You say it from the soul.

It's right there on your chest.

Bring it out.

>> One, two.

Hey, hey!

* [Applause] * [Applause] >> A&T as a whole is special, so that makes the band even more special.

Being in the band here helps you grow, like you will grow as a person.

>> the only limits that we have are the ones that we place on ourselves.

>> I want them to come here and have a great experience.

I want them to learn what they need to learn from band and from the school.

That's the main thing, to give kids experience so they can grow and become, you know, great adults.

>> It's not just for the band program but it's for a lifetime.

>> Bemo Brown: Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you've learned a little something.

I hope you've enjoyed your time here at Howard University and although I'm not supposed to say Nothing, I hope you enjoyed North Carolina A&T.

What a band, right?

I have been your host Bemo.

This has been Sounds of the Game.

We'll see you next time.

* >> This program was made possible in part by: What is bold?

At Bowie State University we believe it means always striving for more.

Bold is born at BSU with a mission to empower students to break barriers and changing the world.

Bold is preparing students for careers in STEM fields like cybersecurity and nursing.

Bold is training the next generation of entrepreneurs to shape the global marketplace.

Bowie State University.

Taking tomorrow.

Boldly.

>> 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.