THE
THE BACKGROUND. IT IS A NICE DAY TO GET OUT AND
ABOUT AND MAYBE LEARN A THING
OR TWO.
OR TWO.
OR TWO. THE NORTHWEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN
MUSEUM IS TRYING TO GET HIGH
SCHOOLERS AND MIDDLE SCHOOLERS
EXCITED FOR COLLEGE.
TODAY THEY ARE HOSTING A
UNIVERSITIES EVENT AND THAT
GUEST, BRANDY MITCHELL, IS
JOINING US ALONG WITH THE CHAIR
OF THIS EVENT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING
HERE.
HERE.
HERE. THANK YOU FOR GETTING UP EARLY.
FIRST BALL, I HAVE TO ASK YOU,
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO ASK
THEM.>> YOU OFTEN HAVE TO SEE
REPRESENTATIONS OF A MODEL OF
SUCCESS, AND SO WHAT I WANT TO
DO IS EXPOSE THEM TO WHAT IS
POSSIBLE FOR THEM IN LIFE LIKE
IT WAS EXPOSED TO ME ABOUT 30
YEARS AGO WHEN I BEGAN MY OWN
JOURNEY WHICH LED ME TO COLLEGE
AND ULTIMATELY PROVIDED A
BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS IN LIFE.
I WENT TO FLORIDA A&M
UNIVERSITY.
UNIVERSITY. >> I LOVE IT.
WHAT CAN STUDENTS EXPECT TODAY?
DO THEY NEED TO BRING ANYTHING?
SHOULD PARENTS BE THERE?>>
PARENTS SHOULD BE THERE AND
THIS IS FOR MIDDLES SCHOOL
STUDENTS AND HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENTS AND THOSE THAT WANT TO
BE EXPOSED TO PRIMARILY BLACK
UNIVERSITIES.
UNIVERSITIES. AND THEY CAN GET A FULL SPECTRUM
OF THE EXPERIENCE AS A WHOLE.
AND SOUL FROM ACADEMIC LIFE AND
SORORITIES AND FRATERNITIES AND
LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE
EXPERIENCE.>> I THINK A LOT OF
PEOPLE -- I DON'T KNOW IF YOU
CAN EXPLAIN THE HISTORY OF THIS
? I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT
MAYBE BLACK STUDENTS DO NOT
KNOW ABOUT.
KNOW ABOUT. IT NEEDS TO BE -- KIDS NEED TO
BE EDUCATED MORE.>> WHEN I WENT
TO FLORIDA, I WENT BECAUSE OF
ACADEMIC REASONS.
ACADEMIC REASONS. I WENT BECAUSE THEY HAD THE
BEST SCHOOL FOR BUSINESS.
WHAT I LEARNED WAS MORE ABOUT
MYSELF AND THE NARRATIVE FOR
AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND WHAT IT
MEANT.
MEANT.
MEANT. SO
MEANT. SO BEFORE COLLEGE IT WAS, I WAS
THE SMARTEST PERSON IN MY CLASS
AND EVERYONE IN MY CLASS IS
WHITE AND NOW I'M SITTING IN A
CLASS WITH AFRICAN-AMERICAN
STUDENTS AND WE ARE
COMPETITIVE, AND YOU DON'T HAVE
TO VALIDATE YOURSELF AND YOU
ARE TAUGHT ABOUT HAVING THE
CONFIDENCE SO WHEN YOU GRADUATE
YOU MOVE ON IN YOUR CAREER AND
YOU HAVE THAT CONFIDENCE.
>> THAT WILL BE GREAT TO GIVE
THEM YOUR PERSPECTIVE.
TELL US ABOUT WHAT YOU DO AND
HOW YOU SHARE THAT WITH THE
KIDS?>> I OWN THE COMPANY AND
WE CREATE CREATIVE CONTENT TO
HELP ENTREPRENEURS AND AUTHORS
AND SPEAKERS AND MONETIZE THEIR
EXPERTISE.
EXPERTISE. IT IS A LOT OF MARKETING AND
BRANDING AND AT THE END OF THE
DAY I HOPE PEOPLE TELL THEIR
STORIES THAT HELPS TO ELEVATE
THEIR PLATFORM.
THEIR PLATFORM. SO, FOR ME, A LOT OF TIMES
PEOPLE SAY THAT THEY SHOULD DO
SOMETHING WHEN THEY SEE AN IDEA
AND THEY SAY THEY SHOULD DO
SOMETHING.
SOMETHING. AND MY PHILOSOPHY IS THAT THEY
IS USUALLY YOU.
WHEN YOU GET AN IDEA, I WANTED
TO CHANGE THIS NARRATIVE AND BE
ABLE TO EXPLAIN THIS RICH
CULTURE OF THE MARCHING BAND
AND HOW IT HAS INFLUENCED SO
MANY PEOPLE AND I SAID LET'S DO
THIS FILM AND IT HAS BEEN AN
AMAZING JOURNEY AND IT WAS
ABOUT 30 YEARS AGO WHEN I WENT
TO THE CAMPUS AND NOW MY SON IS
AN INCOMING FRESHMAN AT THE
SAME UNIVERSITY.
SAME UNIVERSITY. SO IT IS COME FULL CIRCLE.>>
CAN ANYONE WATCH THIS FILM OR
WHERE CAN PEOPLE CHECK IT OUT?>>
RIGHT NOW WE WILL BE GETTING
DISTRIBUTION FOR IT, BUT WE
HAVE BEEN TOURING AROUND THE
COUNTRY AND WE GO TO SELECT
SCHOOLS AND SOMETIMES
CONVENTIONS HAVE US COME IN.
AND WE ALSO HAVE A BOOK
ASSOCIATED WITH THIS AND SO
THIS IS A GRASSROOTS MOMENT
THAT IS EXPLODING.>> THANK YOU
SO MUCH.
SO MUCH.
SO MUCH. SO THE EVENT HAPPENS TODAY FROM
2 PM UNTIL 6 PM AND PEOPLE CAN
COME IN AND CHECK IT OUT.
IT IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY TO WALK
THE PARK