February 21-25, 2023
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), the nation’s oldest historically Black athletic conference, presents the 2023 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament! Held in-person at the newly renamed CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, MD.
This fall marked our third 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 featured more than 22 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.
Monday, September 5
7PM: Direct Connection Special
8PM: The Calvin Tyler Story
9PM: Our Blues Make Us Gold
9:30PM: All the Difference
Tuesday, September 6
8PM: A Legacy of Opportunity: The History of Delaware State University
9PM: Back in Time: Langston University History
9:30PM: Shaw Rising
Wednesday, September 7
8PM: Afro Blue: A Year in the Life
8:30PM: Walk Together Children: The 150th Anniversary of the Fisk Jubilee Singers
9:30PM: The Morgan Choir: A Joyful Celebration
Thursday, September 8
9PM: Sounds of the Game
9:30PM: Foot Soldiers: Class of 1964
Friday, September 9
7PM: State Circle Special: Innovative Programs at Maryland's HBCUs
9:30PM: Breaking Ground: A Story of HBCU Football and the NFL
10:30PM: George Washington Carver: An Uncommon Life
Saturday, September 10
2:30PM: The Morgan Lacrosse Story
3:30PM: Our Blues Make Us Gold
4PM: Sounds of the Game
4:30PM: Black College Football Hall of Fame: Journey to Canton
5:30PM: Breaking Ground: A Story of HBCU Football and the NFL
6:30PM: MPT Sports Desk
7PM: The Battle for Greater Baltimore: The Towson vs. Morgan Football Game
Sunday, September 11
2PM: Conversations for Change: HBCU Awakening and Revival
3:30PM: Afro Blue: A Year in the Life
4PM: Walk Together Children: The 150th Anniversary of the Fisk Jubilee Singers
5PM: The Morgan Choir: A Joyful Celebration
7PM: The Calvin Tyler Story
8PM: 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.
9PM: Our Blues Make Us Gold
A look at the history and legacy of the North Carolina A&T State University HBCU from husband and wife filmmaking duo Brandon Gerard and Ashley Shante Deese. The film explores NC A&T's role as both a STEM-focused institution as well as its legacy as an agricultural college.
9:30PM: All the Difference
Filmed over five and a half years, All The Difference weaves together the stories of two tough, yet promising young black men as they navigate their lives in broken homes and low-income, high-risk communities in Chicago. Statistics predict they will drop out of high school and succumb to life on the streets; but both graduate and go on to college in spite of all the odds. Explored are the factors in their lives (education, parents and grandparents, teachers, role models, personal drive and community support) that made all the difference in helping them be the first in their families to most likely escape poverty and secure a place in the middle class. After they graduate, the film follows them for another 6 months as they both find meaningful work in community service.
8PM: 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.
9PM: Back in Time: Langston University History
Created in response to Jim Crow and segregation, Langston University has struggled through severe legal, economic, and political restrictions for over 100 years. In the face of opposition, the once all-black college has given generations of students a step up to a better life.
9:30PM: 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.
8:30PM: Walk Together Children: The 150th Anniversary of the Fisk Jubilee Singers
Dr. Paul T. Kwami, music director, and current singers explore the stories of the original nine members of the world-renowned Fisk University Jubilee Singers and reflect on their roles as students and preservers of the group's legacy.
9:30PM: The Morgan Choir: A Joyful Celebration (2021)
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 it 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.
9PM: Sounds of the Game
This MPT special report provides an inside look at what makes HBCU homecomings special. The report includes the film Blue and Gold Marching Machine that follows the NC A&T marching band, plus original interviews with members of the Morgan State, Howard, and Bowie State University bands.
9:30PM: Foot Soldiers: Class of 1964
This award-winning, independent documentary is about women in the Class of 1964 at Spelman College who participated in the largest coordinated, series of civil rights protests in Atlanta's history as college freshmen. These willing souls were some of the foot soldiers of the Atlanta University Center who carried the Atlanta Student Movement through relentless picketing, sit-ins, kneel-ins, and other non-violent demonstrations. Their bold activism is an Atlanta story that helped change the world. For decades, the faces in the crowd have gone unnamed; their voices unheard. Who were these young women? What motivated these students who had just completed high school to get involved in such a movement? What in their family background prepared them for such an undertaking? How did their activism as young college students impact the remainder of their college matriculation and the rest of their lives? These questions are answered in "Foot Soldiers: Class of 1964."
9:30PM: Breaking Ground: A Story of HBCU Football and the NFL
Through first-person interviews and profiles of four of the NFL's notable HBCU alums, "Breaking Ground" takes an in-depth look at the legacy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities within the NFL. The film centers around Mel Blount's return to Southern University with his son Akil, and his reflections on his time there with his former teammates. The special weaves in the stories and reflections of fellow NFL legends and groundbreakers Jerry Rice, Doug Williams and Marquette King, who each look back on how attending an HBCU shaped their NFL journey. Narrated by late HBCU alum and actor, Chadwick Boseman.
10:30PM: George Washington Carver: An Uncommon Life
While George Washington Carver's rise from slavery to scientific accomplishment has inspired millions, time has dulled the luster of his reputation, reducing him to the man who did something with peanuts. This documentary uncovers Carver's complexities and reveals the full impact of his life and work, including his years heading the agricultural department at the Tuskegee Institute.
2:30PM: 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.
3:30PM: ENCORE Our Blues Make Us Gold
4PM: Sounds of the Game
This MPT special report provides an inside look at what makes HBCU homecomings special. The report includes the film Blue and Gold Marching Machine that follows the NC A&T marching band, plus original interviews with members of the Morgan State, Howard, and Bowie State University bands.
4:30PM: Black College Football Hall of Fame: Journey to Canton
In 2019, the Black College Football Hall of Fame was officially welcomed to the campus of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Along with it came a celebration of the historically Black college and university brand of football. This program tells the story of the formation of Black college football, the contributions that players from historically Black colleges and universities have made to the NFL, the founding of its Hall of Fame, and why the Hall is in the unexpected location of Canton.
5:30PM: ENCORE Breaking Ground: A Story of HBCU Football and the NFL
6:30PM: MPT Sports Desk
This special pregame show previews the “The Battle for Greater Baltimore" football game between Towson University and Morgan State University and provides a look at preparations for the CIAA basketball tournament in February 2023.
7PM: The Battle for Greater Baltimore: The Towson vs. Morgan Football Game
The annual matchup between regional rivals.
3:30PM: ENCORE Afro Blue: A Year in the Life
4PM: ENCORE Walk Together Children: The 150th Anniversary of the Fisk Jubilee Singers
5PM: ENCORE The Morgan Choir: A Joyful Celebration (2021)
7PM: ENCORE The Calvin Tyler Story
