HBCU BANDS BY ERICKA BLOUNT DANOIS
In Beyonce’s Netflix special, “Homecoming” she performed a concert at Coachella in tribute to HBCU’s. An HCBU-styled marching band was prominently featured with all the bells and whistles that bring audiences to the games who prioritize seeing the band over the football team. As Beyonce dazzled the crowd, saxophonists and trombonists waved their instruments and performed choreographed dances as they played. Step teams and dancers moved in rhythm with the band. Growing up in Houston, Beyonce said, she would attend battleof-the-bands at Prairie View A&M University - a band that started out as an all-female ensemble. “There is something incredibly important about the HBCU experience that must be celebrated and protected,” she told reporters. Marching bands are a legacy that is central to the black college experience. But HBCU marching bands aren’t like high school bands with majorettes who twirl flags. HBCU bands get down and dirty with paegentry and showmanship. There’s high kicking drum majors and intricate formations as band members perform the latest dances, moving in unison with other band members as they play the latest songs with their instruments. Black marching bands ushered in an era of marching bands for college of all persuasions. Historians connect the showmanship to Egun masqueraders of the Yoruba tribe who play instruments 34 | HBCU Times 2020 Summer Issue
and dance during funeral processions. Black drill sergeants and military bands are also noted by historians as the derivation of the style of HBCU marching bands. Many of the musicians from military bands went on to join the faculty of HBCU’s. Tuskegee University originated the first black college marching band which began as a military band for Tuskegee Industrial Institute. Tuskegee was the first HBCU marching band with high-knee stepping drum majors and showmanship. Following Tuskegee, black collegiate bands were established at other Southern HBCUs like Alabama State and Florida A&M. Adrian Carter is a trombonist for Tuskegee’s band, now called the Marching Crimson Pipers. Carter saw the culture of the band – how people loved the band and their presence on campus – and wanted to be a part of it. “We make the games entertaining for the crowd and the football team, it’s more like a school-wide hype crew,” said Carter. Although Tuskegee’s band, the Marching Crimson Pipers, isn’t as big as some of the other southern bands, they are known for their fanfare and playing cleanly, says Carter. Carter notes that there is a rivalry that exists between the southern bands and the northern bands, like the one his identical twin brother, Donovan plays for at Howard University. Donovan played the saxophone for 10 years before joining Howard University’s band. Howard’s band, “Showtime,” has performed in Las Vegas, and at Redskins and Cleveland Cavalier games. Even with Howard’s high profile, Donovan acknowledges that the band culture is not as intense as it is with bands at HBCU’s in the South.
