This fall marks our fourth season promoting historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) on Maryland Public Television through content both produced locally and acquired from producers elsewhere exclusively about the HBCU experience. HBCU Week offers films about the under-told stories of sacrifice, courage, innovation, and hope found in the archives of these important American institutions. 

This year's HBCU Week features more than 27 hours of content about HBCUs in our viewing area and across the country. It also expanded its themes beyond history and education to include films on HBCU contributions to the arts, music, and sports.  

HBCU Week is part of MPT's “Standing Against Racism: Fostering Unity Through Dialogue” initiative. 

In 2020, in recognition of national HBCU Week, MPT launched a highly successful public media event with a suite of programming and engagement activities to bring focus to the unique role and extraordinary legacy of HBCUs. Indeed #HBCUWeekMD on MPT has had more than 545,000 views across TV and streaming since 2021 and 2022 (cum), and thousands of individual engagements via online, events and social media, making it MPT’s top performing local multi-platform initiative. 

An example of #HBCUWeekMD's multiplatform approach is the digital short story about three-time HBCU student and two-time alumnus Ernest Shaw, an award-winning artist and educator in Baltimore. 

Our sponsors:

Monday, September 4
7PM: Direct Connection Special, Welcome to HBCU Week
8PM: Artworks Dreamer
9PM: Sounds of the Game
9:30PM: The Morgan Choir: A Joyful Celebration

Tuesday, September 5
8PM: Hampton University: One of the Wonders of the World
9PM: The Calvin Tyler Story
10PM: Shaw Rising

Wednesday, September 6
9PM: Dangerous Acts
10PM: Afro Blue: A Year in the Life
10:30PM: A Bridge to Justice: The Life of Franklin H. Williams

Thursday, September 7
7:30PM: First Gen: From West Baltimore
8PM: Sneak Peek: Inside the CIAA
8:30PM: Our Blues Make Us Gold
9PM: Alpha Kappa Alpha: A Legacy of Service
10PM: Taking Israel: A Journey of African American Students

Friday, September 8
7PM: State Circle Special: What's new at Your HBCU?
9:30PM: Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming Space

Saturday, September 9
8PM: Sneak Peek: Inside the CIAA  
8:30PM: The Morgan Lacrosse Story
9:30PM: Black College Football Hall of Fame: Journey to Canton

Sunday, September 10
12PM: Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space
2PM: Hampton University: One of the Wonders of the World
3PM: State Circle Special: Innovative Programs at Maryland's HBCUs
4PM: Sneak Peek: Inside the CIAA
4:30PM: A Legacy of Opportunity: The History of Delaware State University
5:30PM: Conversations for Change: Awakening and Revival
7PM: State Circle Special: What's new at Your HBCU?

7PM: Direct Connection: Welcome to HBCU Week

Hosted on the campus of Morgan State University, this one-hour special features interviews with students who share their HBCU experiences with our viewers and provide a sneak peek inside the programming lineup for the week. 

8PM: Artworks: Dreamer
This special chronicles the story of Morgan alumna Jasmine Barnes's artistic collaboration with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society on a musical tribute to Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman.

9PM: Sounds of the Game
This MPT special looks at the 49-year career of Melvin Miles, Morgan State University’s legendary director of its award-winning band, The Magnificent Marching Machine.

9:30PM: The Morgan Choir: A Joyful Celebration
This film captures one of the nation's most prestigious university choral ensembles, the Morgan Choir, and is a fitting salute to the late Dr. Nathan Carter, who led the choir for 34 years. Taped at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, this performance features a repertoire that ranges from classical to gospel. This presentation will include interviews with experts, supporters, and members of HBCU choirs. 

8PM: Hampton University: One of the Wonders of the World
A retrospective of the historical significance of Hampton University and celebrates the 40-year legacy of Dr. William R. Harvey.

9PM: The Calvin Tyler Story
The remarkable story of Baltimore native and former Morgan State University student Calvin Tyler, who rose from being a UPS delivery truck driver to become one of its highest-ranking executives and largest shareholder, and whose $20 million gift to Morgan was the largest gift ever made to an HBCU by a former student. 

10PM: Shaw Rising
The inspiring story of Shaw University, the oldest historically Black college and university in the South. The film documents Shaw's story from its founding in 1865, its growth during reconstruction, and the challenges of the Jim Crow system and the modern civil rights movement to its resurrection under the leadership of the late former Morgan State University Dean Dr. Talbert 0. Shaw. 

9PM: Dangerous Acts
Renowned actor and Dean of Howard University's Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts Dean Phylicia Rashad directs students in readings of one-acts by African American playwrights Mary P. Burrill and Willis Richardson. The program features a series of critical reflections on the enduring legacy of both playwrights, including the historic and contemporary significance of the plays and the cultural context in which they were composed.

10PM: Afro Blue: A Year in the Life
Afro Blue, Howard University's premier vocal jazz ensemble, invites you to a behind-the-scenes look into what it is like to be a member of this dynamic group. 

10:30PM: A Bridge to Justice: The Life of Franklin H. Williams
A documentary on Lincoln University alumnus, civil rights leader, lawyer and Peace Corps organizer Franklin Williams.

7:30PM: First Gen: From West Baltimore
This documentary continues the journey started seven years ago by focusing on the lives of five teens in middle school. Now young adults, they are poised to defy the trajectory of generational poverty and the negative stereotypes of youth in their community. With high school diplomas, dreams, and fears of the unknown, this year they enter a world of competitive high stakes, the first in their family; with two graduates finding happiness at an HBCU. 

8PM: Sneak Peek Inside the CIAA Tournament
Explore the history of the CIAA Tournament, the nation’s largest and oldest HBCU post-season basketball tournament, and its current run in Baltimore.

8:30PM: Our Blues Make Us Gold
A half-hour film exploring the history and legacy of North Carolina A&T State University.

9PM: Alpha Kappa Alpha: A Legacy of Service
Documents the 115-year history of one of the nation's oldest African-American women's organizations. Since its founding at Howard University in 1908, the members of Alpha Kappa Alpha have empowered communities across the globe.

10PM: Taking Israel: A Journey of African American Students
Each summer from 1988-2002, African American students from Wilberforce University in Ohio went to Israel to observe the political, social, and educational environment. The students interacted with both Israelis and Palestinians as they worked at kibbutz, ran an English youth summer camp, and took classes at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

7PM: State Circle Special: What’s New at Your HBCU?
A look at new programs at Maryland’s HBCUs in 2023.

9:30PM: Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming Space
Zora Neale Hurston studied at Howard University before arriving in New York in 1925. She would soon become a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance, best remembered for her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space is an in-depth biography of the influential author whose groundbreaking anthropological work would challenge assumptions about race, gender and cultural superiority that had long defined the field in the 19th century.

8PM: ENCORE Sneak Peek Inside the CIAA Tournament
Explore the history of the CIAA Tournament, the nation’s largest and oldest HBCU post-season basketball tournament, and its current run in Baltimore.

8:30PM: The Morgan Lacrosse Story
Set against the racially turbulent 1970s, The Morgan Lacrosse Story chronicles the accomplishments of the Morgan Bears, the nation's first and only college lacrosse team at an historically Black institution. The film chronicles the accomplishments of an extraordinary group of young Black men and their intrepid leader who took the field in a predominantly white sport.

9:30PM: Black College Football Hall of Fame: Journey to Canton
A look at the establishment of the Black College Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on the campus of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

12PM: ENCORE Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming Space
2PM: ENCORE Hampton University: One of the Wonders of the World

3PM: State Circle Special: Innovative Programs at Maryland's HBCUs
An in-depth look at innovative programs offered by the area's HBCUs in 2022.

4PM: ENCORE Sneak Peek: Inside the CIAA

4:30PM: A Legacy of Opportunity: The History of Delaware State University
This documentary film commemorates Delaware State University, Delaware's only Historically Black University, and its 125-year legacy.  It tells the institution's story from 1891 to 2017, using contemporary footage, archival photos, and personal interviews with university alumni and executives.

5:30PM: Conversations for Change: HBCU Awakening and Revival
Watch Maryland Public Television's national conversation that focuses the contemporary view of historically Black colleges and universities through the eyes of the people who power them.  Recorded in 2021

7PM: ENCORE State Circle Special: What’s New at Your HBCU?

HBCU Week has been made possible in part by the following: