Howard-Morehouse will be a celebration to which everyone is invited

Source | Washington Post

By Jason Reid, Friday, September 9, 2:25 PM

Everyone is welcome to join a family reunion Saturday at RFK Stadium. Old friendships will be rekindled, and new ones formed, as Howard University and Morehouse College resume their rivalry in the first Nation’s Football Classic.

Just one thing: Be in the mood for fun.

Attend only if you’re interested in great music and stylish performances. Do something else if a celebration of culture and tradition isn’t appealing. Crowd participation is expected throughout an event that’s about more than football for historically black colleges and universities.

Among the leading HBCUs, Howard and Morehouse are meeting for the first time in 14 years. Through their involvement in this game, the schools will receive a financial boost from sponsors. They’ll attract attention that could help in fundraising efforts vital to HBCUs.

And if Howard and Morehouse get it started right, all HBCUs “up and down the East Coast will” benefit, Indianapolis Colts Pro Bowl defensive back Antoine Bethea, a former Howard standout, said in a phone interview this week. “Obviously, it’s a good thing for Howard, to have this kind of an HBCU game in D.C.

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Howard University Marching Showtime Band Thrilled About Participation in Inaugural Parade

A record-breaking 1,400 marching bands from around the nation applied to perform at Tuesday’s Presidential inaugural parade. Among the more than 80 bands selected is Howard University’s “Show Time” marching band. The band, which represents one of the most prestigious African-American universities, is known for its theatrical choreography and flashy style.

John Newson has been waiting anxiously by the phone since early December. He is the music director of Howard University’s “Show time” marching band. “After the election we went through the process of submitting our application,” he explained. “The only thing I could do was hope and pray we get selected.”

A week before Christmas, he received the call.

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Howard University Marching Band Invited to Inaugural Parade

Howard University’s Showtime Marching Band, landed a coveted spot in the 56th Inaugural Parade for President-elect Barack Obama. Howard University became A Conn-Selmer School in 2007 to support the short and long term growth of music performance and education, and increases the institution’s national and international profile as a music school. Among the nation’s historically Black institutions of higher learning, Howard University and its Department of Music stand at the forefront, revered for its illustrious past and renowned as a premier provider of education for those who aspire to a career in music.
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D.C. Bands Battle for Place in Inaugural Parade

Hundreds of bands from all across the country are competing for an opportunity to showcase their talents in the upcoming Presidential Inaugural Parade on Jan. 20.

While more than a dozen groups hope to be the entity to represent the District of Columbia, many residents believe the nation’s capital should have more than one participant.

Sources said Howard University, Ballou, Cardozo and Eastern Senior High School are at the top of the list to represent the District. The tug-of-war to represent the place where the first-elected African American president will live has become a silent “battle of the bands.”

According to Maj. Maurine Schumann, media spokeswoman for the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee, it has received over 1,500 applications for bands, motorcades, organizations and other parade participants. Read more