Attending a historically Black college or university (HBCU) was always the end goal for Pennsylvanian freshman Ellyssa Elliott.
After enrolling into a predominantly white Catholic school in the sixth grade, the then-future Bison admitted she felt slightly detached from her Black roots and connection to the community. This all changed when an NBC sitcom based on HBCU culture caused a shift in her perspective on the Black collegiate experience.
“To [see] the joy and excitement to learn, the positive representation of Black characters on TV who are willing to use creative expression and discuss the political things happening in society,” Elliott said of her resonance with this show. “The fact that a show from the ‘80s still has students [from] Gen Z that excites us…it shows that they still have that much power and that we’re yearning for representation to show the Black scholar side.”
A 1987 spinoff of “The Cosby Show,” “A Different World” is recognized for its representation and ability to combine light-hearted humor with pivotal life lessons for Black youth. The sitcom was ranked the No.2 show in the world during its prime, credited for the 26% increase of HBCU enrollment between 1976 and 1994, though it is noted that “virtually all of the increase was between 1986 and 1994.” “A Different World” aired from 1987 to 1993.
Elliott recalls pursuing Howard in an effort to recreate the “Hillman experience” depicted in the show. She recited a poem that she wrote during her first week at Howard, in which she compares the two historically Black institutions and acknowledges her acceptance, as well as the A Different World HBCU 2024 Tour, as “divine timing”:
“Hillman, Howard, HU / The Pit, The Yard. All beautiful hues / Let’s go take this Mecca by storm / A surplus of opportunities and people to see / A place where we thrive and not conform / See how different this world could be?”
On Tuesday, April 10, more than three decades post-air, Howard University hosted the former castmates for their DC stop of the HBCU Tour.
“I don’t think that any of us even then were aware of the impact. As people of color, we felt the love from our people, but not necessarily from the industry at large. So it really is a retro-active love, and I have to say it’s kind of the best,” said Cree Summer, who played Winifred “Freddie” Brooks in the show. “Now we’re all old enough to really appreciate it, and to walk into a school like Howard and have people that weren’t even born when this show was on know all the details. I mean, it just makes my heart expand. It’s humbling, it’s overwhelming. It just lets me know that the legacy will live on.”
Generations of Bison were on the Yard for the #HillmanTakeover, a day consisting of interactive discussions, guest speakers, and live music in anticipation for the main event: a panel featuring some Hillman College legends. Summer was joined by her castmates – Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Dawnn Lewis, Darryl M. Bell, Charnele Brown, and Emmy Award-winning actor Glynn Turman – on the second stop of their two-semester HBCU Tour, a full-circle moment for many Bison who have credited the show as their inspiration to attend an HBCU.
“I grew up watching the show… and it was part of the reason why [my sister] and I both chose to go to an HBCU…just feeling the culture that was there,” said senior journalism major Amber Smith. “I’m always going to say it is based on Howard, just because Debbie Allen – being a Howard alum – changed the trajectory and the feel of the show by bringing that HBCU culture in there. I’d say it’s more based on Howard than anything.”
With plenty of sentimental and inspirational takeaways from the event, a common theme was the emphasis on prioritizing Black minds and creations.
“The ability to be an artist on a show where I don’t have to hold up the whole race because I’m the only Black character gave me a creative freedom that I hadn’t experienced before. We weren’t all playing the same thing from the same side of the tracks – we were bringing a variety of lifestyles in the Black community because we are not a monolithic group of people,” Guy told The Washington Informer. “Black is not a genre. [“A Different World”] is diverse and…shows the country that we have different ways of thinking, challenging and expressing ourselves.”
The A Different World HBCU Tour is set to continue in the fall of 2024 at Tuskegee University.
