Black college band cashes in by playing Trump inaugural

The Talladega College Marching Tornado Band plans to perform at President-elect Donald Trump‘s inaugural parade in spite of protests by some alumni and members of the public. It is the only historically black college or university (HBCU) scheduled to participate.

Shirley Ferrill, a 1974 Talladega alum, has launched a petition on Change.org demanding the college withdraw its band from the inaugural parade on Friday, Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C. As of today it had over 2,700 signatures. There has also been an outcry from the black community.

Talladega College President Dr. Billy Hawkins defended his decision to Roland Martin during a Tom Joyner Morning Show on News One and elsewhere explaining that rather than an endorsement of President-elect Trump, the school views the inauguration as a civil ceremony celebrating the transfer of power.

This sentiment was echoed by band member Dollar Young  who stated in a petition in support of the band’s participation, “We believe that this parade is not about politics, it’s about seeing firsthand the process of a transition.”

To the contrary, politics is precisely what this is about, and the HBCU with no football team but a 230-student show-band (a quarter of campus enrollment), just made a smart and gutsy move that is already paying dividends.

A month ago Alabama’s oldest HBCU, was little known, overshadowed by historically significant Tuskegee University. But now Talladega is appearing in headlines and news crawls of major media outlets.

After an appearance of Fox’s Bill O’Reilly, over $300,000 in donations rolled in. Reportedly, Grady Thornton, a member of the Alabama Republican Executive Committee, with the help of the Alabama Republican Party will assist with travel expenses.

Perhaps Hawkins is taking a page from the playbook of the late Dr. James Cheek, the black Republican, presided over Howard University for 20 years and proved how relationships with conservatives can pay dividends. Beginning in 1969 Cheek actively courted controversial Republican president Richard Nixon and was awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan.

As a result of his close ties with the Republican Party, Howard, which had a unique relationship with Congress from which it receives a special appropriation —    

was able to increase the university’s federal appropriation from $29 million to $178 million. This led to an expansion of the student body to 12,000 from 9,500; its schools and colleges from 11 to 18; and quadrupled its faculty members to nearly 2,000.

This alliance came at very little cost. It didn’t stifle Howard’s pro-black agenda where Muhammad Ali, at the time a controversial figure, and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan were welcomed on campus. Sure conservatives had a “black friend” to parade around at parties, but by and by, Cheek was building the largest army of black professionals.

Were he alive today, I’m sure Cheek would say, “Well played, Talladega.”

Yolanda Young is a commentator on TV One’s News One Now with Roland Martin and executive director of Lawyers of Color. Follow her on Twitter @yolandayoungesq

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