00:00What's going on, SS family? It's your girl, Cherie Nicole, here in Boston, and I'm here
00:19for the HBCU Classic Football game between Warhouse College and Johnson C. Smith University
00:23right here at the Harvard Stadium. So join me on this journey. I'm going to explore,
00:29I'm going to have fun, I'm going to meet new people, I'm going to have some good food,
00:32some laughs, some love. Thank you all for having fun! Discover and uncover just in how much
00:38opportunity is meeting history. Welcome home. It's going to feel like a homecoming this weekend.
00:47I call him my key to the city. John Borders the 4th, a Boston native, a Morehouse grad,
00:52a former football player, and a person deeply committed to the advancement of both HBCU causes
00:57and the city of Boston. It's almost been 55 years since the last time two HBCUs faced off
01:04on this exact field. So the significance of this moment is Boston deserves a new narrative.
01:08We are not the same city we once were. This has been a place of refuge.
01:15You'll hear the HBCU pride button deep within the city of Boston and all of our departments.
01:20And, you know, our mayor, Michelle Wu, is very vocal about ensuring that Boston is a home for all.
01:25Well, I certainly found home in one of the most unlikely of places during the street renaming for
01:33Boston's very own new addition. Just steps away from where they grew up, I found my opportunity
01:39to make the most of the moment by playing double dutch. Now, I've been retired from my double dutch
01:44days for about 30 years. But the ladies of the 40 plus double dutch club pulled me right out of my
01:50retirement. I didn't do too bad. And if jumping rope wasn't enough, the aunties who were there to
01:56celebrate and also have a good time wouldn't let me leave without getting my fan dance on.
02:02And you already know I wasn't going to leave them hanging.
02:06So in hindsight, what started as a street signing for one of the most iconic music groups in history
02:14became a neighborhood block party all its own.
02:19When I found out I was coming to Boston, admittedly, I was curious. All I'd ever heard about this city
02:24was that we don't exist. But with every encounter I was coming to find, that simply wasn't the case.
02:29I can see why folks have that misconception. But I have to name that it is a misconception.
02:35Boston is a majority minority city, which a lot of people do not know that.
02:40Boston has a strong legacy of black excellence and advocacy.
02:45We know that Dr. Martin Luther King got his Ph.D. here.
02:48We know that there were a lot of folks from the civil rights movement.
02:51And so we do have a history of liberation and justice.
02:54Whether it's the past or the present, black people in Boston, and in this particular case,
03:00black women, are prioritizing representation.
03:03Meet Sheena Collier, the founder of Boston While Black, a membership network to foster
03:08cultural connections for black entrepreneurs, professionals, and students in the city.
03:12Boston is such a dope place. It really is a lot to experience here.
03:16And I realized that black people weren't really taking full advantage of it.
03:20Boston While Black was really my way to say, we're here.
03:22Yes, there are black people in Boston. But also, how can we find each other easily?
03:28So once I was assured that black people have lived and do live in Boston,
03:32it was time to hit the yard to immerse myself in all the pregame action.
03:36Let me get two claps in the end.
03:43Tailgating is one of the cornerstones for not only the Essence HBCU classic, but the culture itself.
03:48With the city of Boston as their backdrop, students and alum from both schools came to represent.
03:53And yes, I'm partial. Don't hate.
03:55Shout out to my sororers of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.
04:00No shade to Morehouse, to the J.C.S.U. band, for letting me get some reps in with them.
04:04Oh, you want to bring the right side under your arm. There you go.
04:06Or at least that's what I'm calling it.
04:08That's it.
04:09Boom! Bam!
04:10Before they took to the field for the game.
04:14As a former athlete myself, I'm often curious about how leadership handles the calm before the storm.
04:20With history literally in the making, how are the heads of Morehouse College and J.C.S.U. Athletics managing this moment?
04:26Meet Harold Ellis, athletic director for Morehouse College.
04:29And the former pro basketball star in his own right admits this game goes way beyond football.
04:35So I got a chance to speak to Dr. Goldman, our new president.
04:38He's all about academics and athletics.
04:40We're not only bringing the football team, we're bringing our alumni out.
04:44That was another reason to make it up here to Boston.
04:47On the other side of the sideline, Johnson C. Smith University athletic director and my soror, Denisha Hendricks.
04:54It's clear on the connection between this game and the impacts it's making on the city she once lived in as a child.
04:59And you guessed it, that city is Boston.
05:01What a moment.
05:02You know, for us, Johnson C. Smith University being one of the two teams who played in the very first HBCU football game in 1892.
05:11And then, of course, to be here at Harvard, where it's the birth of football, right?
05:14I mean, talk about just walking in history.
05:17And so my hope and my prayer is that our young men are just taking it all in and really, really understand what this means,
05:25not just to them, but to really the community as a whole.
05:28With both teams braced for battle and after almost two days of celebrating the culture and catching up with people who are driving the black experience in Boston,
05:38it was time for the big game.
05:40Morehouse College and Johnson C. Smith University.
05:43Winner takes the trophy.
05:44More importantly, bragging rights.
05:47And yeah, that applies to the bands as well.
05:49All in all, the SSHBCU Classic in the city of Boston did not disappoint.
05:57HBCU football or not, the culture was there, is here, and not going anywhere.
06:02So if anyone ever asks you, are there black people in Boston?
06:05Hold your head up high, look them straight in the eye, and tell them yes.
06:10Hold your head up high, look them straight in the eye.
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