Black women are the fierce culture creators of trends, ingenuity, and innovation. In celebration of the genius of Black women, Media and Film Production Company Hip Rock Star, an award-winning Black women-owned socially conscious firm produced HBCU Honors™, Miami’s Richmond Heights: The Black Shangri-La, and HBCU Homecomings: The Journey to the Yard.
HBCU Homecomings: The Journey to the Yard travels to seven Historically Black Colleges & Universities to chronicle the ebb and flow of the ultimate family reunion. This intergenerational celebration is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. From early morning parades to missed flights, it is all a part of this memorable journey back to the yard. April Garrett, a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, delegates her planning months in advance with other alumna cheerleaders and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated sorority sisters. Hampton University graduate Belinda Gordon-Battle, also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, recalls her courtship with her husband, LaTeef Battle on campus and their wedding in the 1886 Memorial Chapel at the University – Black love. HBCU Homecomings is presented by American Family Insurance.
“It was a dream to work with other Black women producers and production crew to produce HBCU Honors™, Miami’s Richmond Heights: The Black Shangri-La, and HBCU Homecomings: The Journey to the Yard. It was a huge undertaking and truly an honor to tell our stories through our cultural lens,” said North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University alumna Jessica Garrett Modkins, Executive Producer and Director. “As a fourth-generation HBCU graduate, it was imperative that we produce these DocuSeries and an award show to amplify the greatness and the impact of Black excellence and HBCUs like never before,” the CEO and Founder of Hip Rock Star continued.
Spelman College alumna Michelle M. Bailey, HBCU Honors™ creator, and Co-Executive Producer stated, “The award show is not just about amplifying current outstanding HBCU alumni. In HBCU pride fashion, the award show was created with a multi-focused purpose.”
“But, it [HBCU Honors™] is also an opportunity to support future honorees…HBCU students who are our next gen leaders,” the former BET Networks Senior Vice-President continued.
Taped live from Miami’s Black Archives-Historic Lyric Theater, the inaugural HBCU Honors™ lauds eight extraordinary alumni from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) whose ground-breaking achievements have helped change the world. Emmy® award-winning producer and actress Wendy Raquel Robinson (“The Game”) hosts the star-studded black-tie affair that is unapologetically all about the greatness of HBCUs. She is a proud cum laude graduate from Howard University.
The Vice-Chair for the White House HBCU Initiative and Tennessee State University President, Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover received the Alumna of the Year award. The all-star night of Black excellence included tributes, awards presentations, musical performances, and featured special guests Oprah Winfrey. Other honorees include Dr. Sheila Chamberlain, the first Black Woman combat intelligence pilot; Aunjanue Ellis, Oscar nominee; and Pinky Cole, Vegan ATL Entrepreneur Extraordinaire. The HBCU Honors™ is supported in partnership with the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB), which is the official, accredited destination sales and marketing organization for Greater Miami and Miami Beach.
