00:00What's going on, Essence family? It's your girl, Cherie Nicole, here in Boston, and I'm
00:18here for the HBCU Classic Football game between Morehouse 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 Fourth, 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, and 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.
02:01And you already know, I wasn't going to leave them hanging.
02:08So, 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 at Midley, I was curious. All I'd ever heard about
02:23this city was that we don't exist. But with every encounter I was coming to find, that simply
02:28wasn't the case. I can see why folks have that misconception, but I have to name that it is a
02:34misconception. Boston is a majority-minority city, which a lot of people do not know that. Boston has
02:40a strong legacy of black excellence and advocacy. We know that Dr. Martin Luther King got his PhD here.
02:48We know that there were a lot of folks from the civil rights movement. And so we do have a history of
02:53liberation and justice. Whether it's the past or the present, black people in Boston
02:58and in this particular case, black women are prioritizing representation.
03:03Meet Sheena Collier, the founder of Boston While Black, a membership network to foster cultural
03:08connections for black entrepreneurs, professionals, and students in the city.
03:13Boston is such a dope place. It really is a lot to experience here. And I realized that black
03:18people weren't really taking full advantage of it. Boston While Black was really my way to say,
03:22we're here. Yes, there are black people in Boston. But also, how can we find each other easily?
03:27So once I was assured that black people have lived and do live in Boston, it was time to
03:32hit the yard to immerse myself in all the pregame action.
03:40Tailgating is one of the cornerstones for not only the essence HBCU classic, but the culture itself.
03:49With 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. Shout out to my sororers of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.
03:59No shade to Morehouse, to the J.C.S.U. Band, for letting me get some reps in with them.
04:04So you want to bring the right side under your arm. There you go.
04:06Or at least that's what I'm calling it.
04:07That's it.
04:09Boom! Bam! Before 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.
04:19With history literally in the making, how are the heads of Morehouse College and J.C.S.U.
04:23Athletics 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. Bowman, 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,
04:52Denisha Hendricks.
04:54Clear 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, not 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, it was time for the big game.
05:39Morehouse College and Johnson C. Smith University.
05:43Winner takes the trophy, more importantly, bragging rights.
05:47And, yeah, that applies to the bands as well.
05:52All in all, the SSHBCU Classic and the city of Boston did not disappoint.
05:56HBCU 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.
Comments