1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: Atlanta is what higher level education was cool, and people 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 1: came from every city just to go to the schools. 3 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:10,640 Speaker 1: And though I've lived with the blessings of empirical lesson, 4 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: a degree was how many saw their dreams manifested. It's 5 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: hard building in the future without access to the tools, 6 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,240 Speaker 1: like where status core politics caused what's right to be overruled. 7 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:24,320 Speaker 2: This underdog story isn't one of self pity. 8 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 1: It's how struggle gave birth to a movement and a 9 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 1: movie that shaped the greatness of my city. For every 10 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:33,920 Speaker 1: door that closed to what opened up so wide that 11 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,239 Speaker 1: we can hear the rhythm of our history like the 12 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 1: beating of a mighty drum and march to it with 13 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 1: pride on big Route, and Atlanta is marching to Morris Brown's. 14 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 3: BBB Atlanta's historically by Colleges and Universities or HBCUs are 15 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 3: the foundation of the city's black middle class and their 16 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 3: boldest expression the Marching Bell cultural powerhouses that have captured 17 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 3: the mainstream. Two decades ago, Morris Brown College was home 18 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 3: to one of the most exceptional bands in the country, 19 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 3: the Marching Wolverines. 20 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:21,960 Speaker 2: Just Get to Start. 21 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 3: The school and its band took center stage in the 22 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:27,320 Speaker 3: two thousand and two cult classic movie Drumline. 23 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,680 Speaker 1: That's that unstoppable, undefeatable bar In Brand. 24 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 3: Drumline inspired future HBCU students to audition for marching bands. 25 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 3: It also showed that such ensembles could command stages they 26 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 3: had never seen before, from Netflix documentaries to Paris Fashion 27 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 3: Week alongside Kendrick Lamar. These accomplishments make it hard to 28 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 3: remember how back in two thousand and two, both Drumline 29 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 3: and Morris Brown were being cast aside. For a while, 30 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 3: the studio behind Drumline wasn't convinced of its potential. Morris 31 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 3: Brown suffered from severe financial mismanager, and critics saw that 32 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 3: as reason to write off HBCUs altogether. But in the end, 33 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 3: both drum Line and Morris Brown became underdog triumphs that 34 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 3: would transform popular culture coming up. How the uphill battle 35 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 3: to make a future cult classic met a college and 36 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 3: crisis fighting to stay alive. I'm Christina Lee and this 37 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 3: is episode three of Atlanta Is It's the Start of 38 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 3: the Millennium. Charles Stone Third had spent the nineties directing 39 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 3: music videos for a tribe call Quest, Nana Cherry and 40 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:39,079 Speaker 3: the Roots, but he had never found an act as 41 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 3: big as this one. 42 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,799 Speaker 4: A fun challenge, I must say, was filming a performance 43 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 4: with one hundred and seventy five to two hundred and 44 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 4: fifty musicians. 45 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 3: This was for the blockbuster movie drum Line. It was 46 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 3: based on Dallas Austin's life and pitched to twentieth Century Fox. 47 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 3: Dallas was one of the biggest music producers in Atlanta, 48 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:02,640 Speaker 3: having worked with Boys to Men, TLC and Madonna. But 49 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 3: in high school he used to play star in as 50 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 3: marching band, which came with major bragging rights. In the South. 51 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 3: When people go to a football game, they're really there 52 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:15,640 Speaker 3: to see the band play, and at HBCUs the rivalries 53 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,679 Speaker 3: between the bands get even more intense. Drumline tapped into 54 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 3: this world. Even though Dallas grew up in Columbus, Georgia, 55 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 3: Drumline took place in Atlanta for practical reasons, not sentimental ones. 56 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 3: The city provided Charles the director, more places to shoe 57 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,720 Speaker 3: and more access to top marching bands than he would 58 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 3: have anywhere else. 59 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 4: How we chose them has to do a lot with 60 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 4: the production, meaning how to get the biggest bang out 61 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 4: of your buck when you're making a movie. 62 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 3: He wouldn't appreciate what he had to work with until 63 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 3: he touched down in Atlanta for the first time. 64 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 4: I remember when I went down to Morris Brown's training 65 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 4: camp over the summer, and the wind and brassments were 66 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 4: all on the field and the percussion section which are 67 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 4: on the rogues black sheep of the marching bed and 68 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 4: they do their own thing and all that. They were 69 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 4: performing underneath the stands. It's not open air like you're 70 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:16,920 Speaker 4: in like you know, tunnel. It's all concrete. I'm telling 71 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 4: you that's because sound bounces, right. And I remember walking 72 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 4: down the breezeway looking for them and I could hear 73 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:27,360 Speaker 4: rhythms and it was echoing because it was far away. 74 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:30,359 Speaker 4: I'm getting goosebumps now, it's just getting ant like it 75 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 4: was so cool. And I kind of came around, as 76 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:37,720 Speaker 4: you know, the breezeway bends, and there they are, and 77 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:41,359 Speaker 4: it's just thunderous, right. The bass drums are going and 78 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:45,160 Speaker 4: the toms and stairs and cymbals, and on top of that, 79 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 4: it's just come on, like the cadences. 80 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:48,840 Speaker 5: It's just come on. 81 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:51,400 Speaker 4: It's like black folks, man, shit is just like in 82 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 4: the pocket and it's just going. It's a marching band, 83 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 4: which is you know, right, and it's like it's flipping 84 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 4: that shit on it, like it's doing what we did 85 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 4: with jazz music, what we did with rock and roll, 86 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:05,159 Speaker 4: what we did. 87 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 5: With hip hop. It's that thing. 88 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 4: And it was a spiritual moment and I just was like, 89 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 4: I am so in it. 90 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 3: Charles had no idea that the marchin Wolverines and Morris 91 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 3: Brown's future were in jeopardy. On December tenth, two thousand 92 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:28,719 Speaker 3: and two, just a few years after Charles witnessed the 93 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:33,839 Speaker 3: band's glory, Morris Brown lost its accreditation. Three days later, 94 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:38,200 Speaker 3: Drumline premiered in theaters nationwide. While the school was being 95 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 3: celebrated on an international stage. Morris Brown and its students 96 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:46,280 Speaker 3: were scrambling to figure out their future. But first how 97 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:49,320 Speaker 3: the makers of Drumline fought for buyen from the movie's 98 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:50,039 Speaker 3: own studio. 99 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 6: There already was a script for it, but the math 100 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 6: was problematic. 101 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 3: When Tina Gordon agreed to meet with executives at twentieth 102 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 3: Century Fox, it was the first time she set foot 103 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 3: on a studio a lot. After dreaming of becoming an 104 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,159 Speaker 3: actress and then interning at the writer's room for the 105 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:08,919 Speaker 3: Cosby Show. Tina knew that she wanted to become a 106 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 3: Hollywood screenwriter. Her next step to chasing that dream was 107 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 3: to write a script and enter it into the HBO 108 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 3: World Film Festival. She didn't win the contest, but she 109 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:22,159 Speaker 3: did catch Fox's attention. They had ideas that they wanted 110 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 3: to run by her. 111 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:27,360 Speaker 6: And one of them was like the idea of a drumline, 112 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 6: but the story was, you know, a black kid he 113 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 6: couldn't read. 114 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 3: In this first draft of drum Line, the main character, 115 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 3: a young black man, was illiterate and he was part 116 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:43,240 Speaker 3: of a white marching band. The idea was that if 117 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 3: his bandmates would teach him how to read, he would 118 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 3: teach them how to dance. 119 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 6: And I just couldn't really get excited about. 120 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:56,479 Speaker 3: That, mind you. Charles Stone, who became Drumlines director, turned 121 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 3: down this version too. 122 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 5: I didn't want to do something that not poopooing it. 123 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 4: But that was like sister act, Like I didn't want 124 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 4: the magic Negro to come in and instill rhythm in 125 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 4: rhythmless white people. You know, just that was the fear. 126 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:15,400 Speaker 3: But Tina, a recent Atlanta transplant, knew what the script needed, 127 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 3: a shift and focus toward the Atlanta University Center. The 128 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 3: AUC the United States has just over one hundred HBCUs 129 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 3: by one estimate, ninety percent of them are in the South. 130 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:32,920 Speaker 3: Georgia boasts ten HBCUs And what's even more impressive is 131 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 3: that Atlanta has four of them just steps away from 132 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 3: each other. That is the AUC, the largest and oldest 133 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 3: consortium of historically black colleges in the world, Clark Atlanta University, 134 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 3: Morehouse College, Morse Brown and Spelman College. By the time 135 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,800 Speaker 3: Tina moved to Atlanta, the AAC was also a pop 136 00:07:56,840 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 3: culture hot spot. It's where Freaknik, the cruise and street 137 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 3: party that shut down highways was born, right or Spike Lee, 138 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 3: a Morehouse alum, Film school days, just Deem. 139 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:10,480 Speaker 7: Big Brother All Mike, How tall are you? Five feet 140 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:11,200 Speaker 7: five inch? 141 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 4: You You're a five foot five inch piece of shit. 142 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 3: It's also where Tina's then recent boss, Bill Cosby shot 143 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:20,760 Speaker 3: parts of The Cosby Show and it's been off a 144 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 3: different world, Different Wow. Yes, the AEC stood in for 145 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 3: the fictional Heilman College, bringing Cosby's landmark depictions of black 146 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,280 Speaker 3: middle class existence to life. And so Tina told the 147 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:34,760 Speaker 3: Hollywood execs. 148 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 6: Did you ever think of maybe setting it in historically 149 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:39,239 Speaker 6: black college. 150 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 3: Starting in the nineteen sixties, HBCU marching bands and not 151 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:46,679 Speaker 3: the sports teams themselves, became the reason to attend a 152 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:50,400 Speaker 3: football game. Band directors like William Foster of Florida A 153 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 3: and M University or fam You had their drum majors 154 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 3: and major attes dancing, pioneering what's called show style performances. 155 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,600 Speaker 3: They'd lead marching band renditions of popular songs, an idea 156 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 3: that caught fire over the decades. Songs like Talking Out 157 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 3: the Side of Your Neck by Cameo, Boogie, Wonderland by 158 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:13,679 Speaker 3: Earth Wind and Fire, and Who Run It By Three 159 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 3: six Mafia came to be marching band classics. Tina Gordon 160 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 3: knew that HBCU marching bands could present enough flash and 161 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 3: drama to carry a feature film, but Fox, the studio 162 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,199 Speaker 3: behind Drumline, wasn't convinced. 163 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:39,679 Speaker 6: And I said, well, I'm going to go to film 164 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 6: some of the games and you can see what halftime 165 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 6: is like. And so I filmed it, I sent it 166 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,600 Speaker 6: back to them and it was on from there. 167 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,680 Speaker 3: This time Charles Stone signed on to direct, and the 168 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 3: film was able to secure two major child stars, Nick 169 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:57,959 Speaker 3: Cannon and Jason Weaver. 170 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:04,079 Speaker 7: Hello everyone, my name is Jason Weaver, Singer, actor, all 171 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 7: around entertainer. 172 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:07,360 Speaker 3: I guess Jason was only ten years old when he 173 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 3: scored his first movie role. It was opposite Whoopi Goldberg 174 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:14,120 Speaker 3: and Sissy Spasic. He played a young Michael Jackson in 175 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 3: the ABC mini series and was the singing voice for 176 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 3: Little Simba in the original Lion King movie. He would 177 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 3: go on to play Marcus, a high school sophomore, in 178 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:27,080 Speaker 3: the Disney Channel sitcoms Smart Guy and with Drumline, he 179 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 3: saw a new kind of opportunity, the chance to be 180 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:31,240 Speaker 3: grown on screen. 181 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:34,960 Speaker 7: It was a pivotal moment. Is like, you know, a 182 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 7: young man coming into my adulthood, being recognized as a 183 00:10:38,559 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 7: child performer for a number of years. 184 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:41,319 Speaker 8: Maybe. 185 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 3: While Jason never aspired to go to college, he knew 186 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 3: the film setting well. In the late nineties, he followed 187 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 3: his cousin by moving down south. His cousin happens to 188 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:56,720 Speaker 3: be Christopher Tricky Stewart, the music producer whose credits include 189 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 3: Baby by Justin Bieber and single Ladies by Beyonce. Tricky 190 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:04,400 Speaker 3: had just ink to deal with La Face Records. But 191 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,320 Speaker 3: while Tricky was in the studio, Jason and his friends 192 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:10,360 Speaker 3: were at the AUC start struck me. 193 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:12,760 Speaker 7: And my partners. We would just go there and hang 194 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 7: out on the yard. It was just a time. You know, 195 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:18,840 Speaker 7: you get literally balking the AU yard and you may 196 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:22,520 Speaker 7: see chili, you know, just walking with some friends hanging out. 197 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 7: You may see left eye. 198 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:24,320 Speaker 5: You know. 199 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 7: For me, I love TLC. I was in love with 200 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:29,839 Speaker 7: all three of those ladies. So anytime I would run 201 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:32,120 Speaker 7: into one of them at Lennox Mall or something just 202 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:35,400 Speaker 7: in passing, you know that that would just boil my 203 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:36,720 Speaker 7: soul is light on fire. 204 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 3: In Drumline, Jason plays Ernest, who makes the Marching band 205 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:45,439 Speaker 3: playing bass drum and pledges to a fraternity his freshman year. 206 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 2: So the. 207 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:52,319 Speaker 7: Yo, man, I'm with over kyk till I die, Baby, 208 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 7: I thought you lost your damn mind. I couldn't talk 209 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:55,240 Speaker 7: about it. 210 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:56,480 Speaker 6: Yeah, obviously dog. 211 00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:00,199 Speaker 3: He was back at the AUC, though now for five 212 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:03,319 Speaker 3: am call times to film any actually learned to play 213 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:08,000 Speaker 3: no stunt double required opposite real life students and marching 214 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:08,680 Speaker 3: band members. 215 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:12,800 Speaker 7: Even times when we weren't there on the actual set practicing, 216 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:15,240 Speaker 7: we would just get together because we were all hanging 217 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 7: out at that time. And then we would just get 218 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 7: together and we would go through the caenuses. 219 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 3: Side note, Cadence is our music written specifically for drum Lines. 220 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:24,559 Speaker 7: Even if we were had the mall or something, or 221 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:26,800 Speaker 7: hanging out or at lunch or you know, we were 222 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:28,720 Speaker 7: rehearsing that stuff because we wanted to get it right. 223 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:33,600 Speaker 7: We understood that we were telling a unique story and 224 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 7: we wanted to represent it right. 225 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:40,079 Speaker 3: In two thousand and one, Charles Stone, drum Lines director, 226 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 3: shot the climax scene, the final Battle of the Bands. 227 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:48,120 Speaker 3: That scene alone took five days to film. It takes 228 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:51,200 Speaker 3: place inside the Georgia Dome, a stadium that held eighty 229 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:56,080 Speaker 3: thousand people before it was demolished. ESPN broadcaster Stuart Scott 230 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:58,840 Speaker 3: called the event aj and free from one O six 231 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:01,800 Speaker 3: in Park, m Seed Wrapper p D Pablo made a 232 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 3: surprise guest appearance, and the final round starred Morris Brown 233 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:10,800 Speaker 3: College and their Marching Wolverines. 234 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 4: It's not just a sports movie. It's like Transformers. 235 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:18,800 Speaker 3: Director Charles Stone and I. 236 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:21,720 Speaker 4: Literally told the marching bands this or the percussion section. 237 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:25,480 Speaker 4: When we do the big N battle scene, it's literally like, okay, 238 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:30,400 Speaker 4: what types of shapes does the machine say? The percussion 239 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:32,920 Speaker 4: section take form right when they get on top of 240 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 4: each other's shoulder, so they go from horizontal to vertical, 241 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 4: and it's transformers. 242 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 2: You know. 243 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 3: In order to do battle, each drum line must stand 244 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 3: and play in their designated zone. Charles understood that to 245 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,920 Speaker 3: cross those boundaries was an ultimate sign of disrespect. 246 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:53,760 Speaker 4: The space in between the two percussion sections. I used 247 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:56,520 Speaker 4: to call that the neutral zone, which is a term 248 00:13:56,679 --> 00:13:59,400 Speaker 4: used in Star Trek. So if you're gonna do your 249 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:01,199 Speaker 4: thing and angel, so I need you to go into 250 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 4: Klingon space. And that's what's gonna incite a war. You 251 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:09,040 Speaker 4: can't play someone else's drums, that's a no note. 252 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 3: So of course that's exactly what Nick Cannon's character Devin 253 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:16,840 Speaker 3: did at the battles climactic moment. Charles captured this tension 254 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:19,640 Speaker 3: with all the ingenuity and realism he could muster. 255 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 7: We had cameras on Dolly's, we had steady cam operators, 256 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 7: we had cranes going, and I remember Charles was just 257 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:32,800 Speaker 7: shooting from every angle because I was thinking to myself, 258 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:34,600 Speaker 7: I was like, I wonder how he's gonna chop this 259 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 7: up and post, Like he's got so much footage every angle. 260 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,360 Speaker 3: Charles's shot costs money way more than twentieth Century Fox 261 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:43,200 Speaker 3: was willing to pay. 262 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 7: While we were shooting Drumline, there was kind of this 263 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:50,080 Speaker 7: cloud of uncertainty hovering over it. The studio at the 264 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:52,600 Speaker 7: time wasn't that confident in the film as far as 265 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,280 Speaker 7: how I was gonna perform at the box office. They 266 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:58,120 Speaker 7: really thought that it was gonna hit just like a 267 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:01,680 Speaker 7: niche audience, that it wouldn't necess sarely, you know, go 268 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:04,520 Speaker 7: outside of a particular demographic, meaning black folks. 269 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:08,240 Speaker 3: Drumline had a fifteen million dollar budget, but Charles needed 270 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:11,800 Speaker 3: more money to shoot this final scene. After some negotiating, 271 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 3: Fox agreed to give Drumline an extra five million dollars. 272 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:19,359 Speaker 3: But there was a catch. Here's Tina Gordon, Drumline scriptwriter. 273 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:23,640 Speaker 6: They basically said, if you open it up, like if 274 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 6: you have a white character, we might listen up and 275 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:29,520 Speaker 6: give you a little bit more money to finish the 276 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:30,560 Speaker 6: Atlanta classic. 277 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:34,760 Speaker 3: Dallas Austin, the creator of Drumline, needed to figure out 278 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 3: how a white character ends up at a historically black 279 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 3: college in a way that makes sense. Here's what he 280 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:43,240 Speaker 3: told the Quest Love Supreme podcast. 281 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 9: Went to the school Morris Brown. So it's white kid 282 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:45,400 Speaker 9: in the band. 283 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:46,040 Speaker 7: It was Mores Brown. 284 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 9: So it's white kid in the band with red hair. 285 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:51,480 Speaker 9: And I was like, so, how did you get here? Well, 286 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 9: just tell me a story. He's like, Man, I lived 287 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:54,800 Speaker 9: down the street. I always wanted to be in this 288 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 9: band since I was little. 289 00:15:56,120 --> 00:16:01,040 Speaker 3: This is how Drumline got Jason are he how to bat? 290 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 3: And how it got five million more dollars. It's a 291 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:07,600 Speaker 3: good thing that extra money was there because the real 292 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:12,400 Speaker 3: life musician shooting Drumline representing Morris Brown and other HBCUs 293 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:17,800 Speaker 3: didn't make filming easy. Remember these HBCU marching bands take 294 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 3: their reputations very seriously. 295 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:24,840 Speaker 6: They had practiced the choreography so that Nick Cannon's character 296 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:30,840 Speaker 6: will win. Take one. Nick Cannon gets smoked, Devin gets 297 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 6: smoked that opposing Drumline will not follow the script. They 298 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 6: will not follow the choreography so that Devon can win. 299 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:46,480 Speaker 6: And I just remember the producers going, we are burning 300 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:48,000 Speaker 6: cash here right now. 301 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:52,040 Speaker 3: Despite these challenges, Drumline got its Battle of the Band 302 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,760 Speaker 3: scene a year after shooting. On December fifth, two thousand 303 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 3: and two, the Atlantic Civic Center hosted an exclusive sneak 304 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:03,560 Speaker 3: peak of Drumline with Morris Brown students and attendance from there. 305 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:07,840 Speaker 3: Drumline hit just over three thousand movie theaters nationwide. It 306 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:11,359 Speaker 3: screened for a few weeks, which wasn't the fanfare that 307 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,520 Speaker 3: director Charles Stone had hoped for, and. 308 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:16,399 Speaker 4: At the time, thirty two hundred was like significant for 309 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:19,840 Speaker 4: a big studio movie. So I think even with them, 310 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,520 Speaker 4: they were hesitant because, frankly, it's a part of black 311 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:27,080 Speaker 4: culture that is specific to black folks. 312 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:31,640 Speaker 3: Turns out Fox had nothing to worry about. During opening weekend, 313 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:36,119 Speaker 3: nearly half the moviegoers were white. In six weeks, Drumline 314 00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:40,040 Speaker 3: made almost fifty four million dollars. It ended up being 315 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,879 Speaker 3: one of the top ten movies people saw that holiday season, 316 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:45,800 Speaker 3: along with Lord of the Rings and Catch Me if 317 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:50,040 Speaker 3: you Can. One industry expert called Drumline the little film 318 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:53,680 Speaker 3: that could. What a good hearted film, wrote the movie 319 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:57,920 Speaker 3: critic Roger Ebert. But as Drumline is good in glowing reviews, 320 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 3: Morris Brown College, the school featured most prominently in Drumline, 321 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:04,160 Speaker 3: loses its accreditation. 322 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 10: As a matter of fact, I watched drum Line like 323 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:12,040 Speaker 10: a month ago. 324 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:15,080 Speaker 3: Latania Randolph was a freshman at Morris Brown in nineteen 325 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 3: ninety eight. She joined the school's Bubbling Brown Sugar dance team, 326 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:20,920 Speaker 3: and when Drumline was shot in two thousand and one, 327 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 3: she had a cameo as a majorrette. 328 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:25,120 Speaker 10: I saw it populated on my television and I said, 329 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,800 Speaker 10: let me just go back and watch, and just sitting 330 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:30,679 Speaker 10: there watching the movie, there again just scent. Sheels up 331 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:31,160 Speaker 10: my arm. 332 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 3: Latanya managed to catch Drumline within its first five minutes 333 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:39,080 Speaker 3: on the field. Morris Brown's band, Majors and Majorrettes are rehearsing. 334 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:41,840 Speaker 10: I could see us dancing on the side. Never paid 335 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:44,879 Speaker 10: attention to that clip, and so I kept rewind and 336 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,879 Speaker 10: kept pausing, and I was like, oh my god, that's me. 337 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:51,760 Speaker 3: During shooting days back in two thousand and one, Latania 338 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:55,640 Speaker 3: was balancing her film cameo with her studies and extracurriculars. 339 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:58,919 Speaker 3: She felt like a star, but she was also tired. 340 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:01,800 Speaker 10: I remember some days. We went out on the field 341 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:04,359 Speaker 10: one day and it was sleeping rain and we had 342 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:06,639 Speaker 10: on a really small outfits, and I remember telling my 343 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:09,359 Speaker 10: parents I don't think I'm going and my boyfriend but 344 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:12,440 Speaker 10: husband now, I was like, I don't think I'm going back, 345 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:14,880 Speaker 10: and they were like, this is a big new what. 346 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:16,080 Speaker 6: Do you mean You're not going back. 347 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 3: Latanya was gearing up to be the first person in 348 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:22,639 Speaker 3: her immediate family to graduate from college, but during her 349 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,359 Speaker 3: senior year, one year after filming Drumline, rumors about the 350 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:30,639 Speaker 3: school's financial mismanagement swirled around the campus. The school was 351 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:34,520 Speaker 3: at risk of losing its accreditation, meaning the degrees would 352 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:38,439 Speaker 3: be deemed worthless and not recognized by potential employers or 353 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:42,359 Speaker 3: other academic institutions. And when at HBCU, like Morris Brown 354 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:46,040 Speaker 3: loses its accreditation, it directly affects the well being of 355 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:49,880 Speaker 3: Atlanta's black middle class, the very upward mobility that has 356 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:51,639 Speaker 3: made the city known as a black mecca. 357 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 11: I used to very early say Mars Brown is original 358 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 11: fool Booth. 359 00:19:56,880 --> 00:20:00,800 Speaker 3: That is Reverend Hermann Skip Mason Junior, the second generation 360 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:03,399 Speaker 3: Morris Brown alum, who started working at the college in 361 00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:07,120 Speaker 3: nineteen ninety nine. When Skip refers to Morris Brown as 362 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:10,800 Speaker 3: the original Fubu, he's referring to its unique history as 363 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:15,119 Speaker 3: the only HBCU in Georgia founded by black people. In 364 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 3: eighteen eighty one, formerly enslaved men who had become clergy 365 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:22,800 Speaker 3: at the African Methodist Episcopal or Amy Church decided to 366 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:26,480 Speaker 3: start their own college, and they named it after Morris Brown, 367 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:30,920 Speaker 3: one of the founders of the church. At one point, W. E. B. 368 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:33,160 Speaker 3: Du Bois had an office on what is now Morris 369 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:34,040 Speaker 3: Brown's campus. 370 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:38,280 Speaker 11: I'm so glad that when they decided to create this school, 371 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,800 Speaker 11: that they named it for a revolutionary like Mars Brown. 372 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,080 Speaker 3: Which is why when you talk to Reverend Mason about 373 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:47,920 Speaker 3: Morris Brown, you do not use the school's nickname. 374 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:52,720 Speaker 11: I am adamantly against people referring to Marris Brown as 375 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:56,919 Speaker 11: Mole Brown. I know it's just a nickname and a 376 00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:02,280 Speaker 11: short name, but my reverence and love and admiration for 377 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:07,240 Speaker 11: Bishop Marris Brown is strong. So when you say Mars Brown, 378 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,600 Speaker 11: don't say Moe Brown okay, because he went your boy 379 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:14,160 Speaker 11: okay and he won your friend. 380 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 3: And drumline, Morris Brown is the powerhouse that always wins. 381 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 3: But in real life, the college has always been kind 382 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:23,400 Speaker 3: of an underdog, at least compared to its AC neighbors. 383 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:27,240 Speaker 3: That's despite how schools within the AUC often share some 384 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 3: of the same teachers. The thing is, Morris Brown is 385 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:34,639 Speaker 3: not as well resourced and has this reputation for producing 386 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:39,680 Speaker 3: accountants and educators like Latanya. It's simply not as glamorous 387 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 3: as Morehouse College with graduates like Martin Luther King Junior 388 00:21:43,119 --> 00:21:46,800 Speaker 3: and Spike Lee, or Spelman College, where Alice Walker and 389 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:50,480 Speaker 3: Stacy Abrams went to school, or Clark Atlanta, which is 390 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 3: known for its famous alumni in the arts, from Broadway 391 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:57,440 Speaker 3: director Kenny Leon to Blackish TV show creator Kenya Barris. 392 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 3: In nineteen ninety eight, Rris Brown hired a new president, 393 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 3: doctor Dolores Cross, to work on strengthening the school's academic 394 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:09,840 Speaker 3: performance and its reputation. It wasn't long before she started 395 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:14,440 Speaker 3: implementing major changes, like providing all students with a laptop, 396 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:17,639 Speaker 3: and when the school ran out of campus housing, she 397 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,719 Speaker 3: footed the bill and sent hundreds of students to live 398 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:24,639 Speaker 3: in nearby motels. Around this time, drum Lung got shot. 399 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:28,399 Speaker 3: The release was approaching and the thinking was, surely this 400 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:31,560 Speaker 3: will create a boom and admissions. But there was a 401 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:35,480 Speaker 3: major problem. Morris Brown couldn't afford all of the computers 402 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:39,080 Speaker 3: and hotel rooms, among other things, and there was certainly 403 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 3: no way they could afford to bring on new students, 404 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:45,919 Speaker 3: let alone a high number of them. Doctor Cross, who 405 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,400 Speaker 3: declined to speak with us on the record about this period, 406 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,520 Speaker 3: resigned in February two thousand and two, but the problems 407 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:56,560 Speaker 3: kept piling on. An investigation by the US Department of 408 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:00,919 Speaker 3: Education found that Morris Brown had illegally spent millions of 409 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:04,119 Speaker 3: dollars of financial aid money what should have gone to 410 00:23:04,119 --> 00:23:09,040 Speaker 3: students was going toward the school's amenities. Then, on December tenth, 411 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:12,000 Speaker 3: two thousand and two, Morris Brown's student body learned that 412 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:15,679 Speaker 3: the rumors on campus were true, confirming their worst fears. 413 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:18,320 Speaker 12: With trouble that Morris Brown began in December of two 414 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:22,359 Speaker 12: thousand and two. Because of years of mismanagement and accumulated debt, 415 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:26,640 Speaker 12: Morris Brown lost its accreditation. Essentially, it's right to operate 416 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:27,960 Speaker 12: without accreditation. 417 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 3: The school lost its accreditation. That means a few things. 418 00:23:32,359 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 3: Not only were degrees from the school now basically meaningless, 419 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:38,320 Speaker 3: but students who wanted to go there anyway couldn't get 420 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,840 Speaker 3: federal financial aid. At the time, it seemed like a 421 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 3: death sentence. 422 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:46,120 Speaker 5: We had to bring everybody into the gymnazy. 423 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:48,560 Speaker 3: Reverend Skip Mason, who was dean of students at the time. 424 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:53,080 Speaker 11: I got up and the gym was packed, I mean 425 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 11: it was packed, and I got up and I made 426 00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,840 Speaker 11: some comments. I think we prayed, and then I brought 427 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:04,120 Speaker 11: the president of so he could share the news. And 428 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,439 Speaker 11: I tell you, boy, that day broke my heart. People 429 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:13,719 Speaker 11: start getting up. You heard crying, you heard cursing. I mean, 430 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:15,240 Speaker 11: people were just mad. 431 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 10: I had conversation with my parents and so they were like, well, 432 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:21,920 Speaker 10: it's going to be okay, Everything's going to work out. 433 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 10: By that time, I was in mode of no, it's 434 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:26,560 Speaker 10: not okay. 435 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:29,560 Speaker 3: The college planned to appeal the decision in the spring 436 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 3: of two thousand and three, though seniors like Latanya didn't 437 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,560 Speaker 3: have time to wait for the verdict. Unfortunately, only a 438 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,120 Speaker 3: few schools would accept all the credits that Morris Brown 439 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:42,880 Speaker 3: students earned thus far, like Howard University in Washington, DC 440 00:24:43,359 --> 00:24:47,720 Speaker 3: and Fisk University in Nashville. Latanya originally planned to graduate 441 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:50,679 Speaker 3: in spring two thousand and three. That did not happen. 442 00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:55,120 Speaker 3: That's because she decided to transfer to Clark Atlanta. Even 443 00:24:55,119 --> 00:24:58,160 Speaker 3: though Clark Atlanta was also part of the AUC, all 444 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:00,960 Speaker 3: the time she spent studying at Morrisprea didn't count. 445 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:06,320 Speaker 10: It's quite devastating because I still had to go over 446 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:11,720 Speaker 10: in complete two additional years to meet their school's qualifications. 447 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:15,399 Speaker 3: But it wasn't only students who were affected. Here's Reverend 448 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:16,119 Speaker 3: Skip Mason. 449 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:20,879 Speaker 11: It was on my way home one evening, and the 450 00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:22,320 Speaker 11: Directive human. 451 00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:25,399 Speaker 5: Resources was a good friend. He called me. 452 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:28,439 Speaker 11: He said, I just wanted to give you a heads 453 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,960 Speaker 11: up that you're scheduled to be terminated tomorrow. He did 454 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,679 Speaker 11: that as a favor, as a friend, so I wouldn't 455 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,720 Speaker 11: be caught off guard. And I'm driving around the curve 456 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:40,000 Speaker 11: on my way home and I literally almost just go 457 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:42,720 Speaker 11: off the side of the road. I mean, I remember 458 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 11: the most humbly moment after I lost my job at 459 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:50,560 Speaker 11: Mars Brown was going down to where you go to 460 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 11: get unemployment benefits. I put on a suit because that's 461 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,920 Speaker 11: what I always wore. I was so old addressed. 462 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:05,320 Speaker 3: Once Morris Brown was stripped of its accreditation, it also 463 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:08,399 Speaker 3: lost the support of its peers. It was no longer 464 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:12,800 Speaker 3: part of the Atlanta University Center. Things got worse. The 465 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:15,800 Speaker 3: school shut down its Greek life and marching band programs, 466 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:18,879 Speaker 3: the very aspects of campus life that made Morris Brown 467 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:23,200 Speaker 3: exciting to be part of and watch on screen. Drumline 468 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:26,240 Speaker 3: was released on December thirteenth, two thousand and two, just 469 00:26:26,359 --> 00:26:30,480 Speaker 3: three days after Morris Brown officially lost its accreditation. By 470 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:34,240 Speaker 3: this time, only sixty students were enrolled on the campus. 471 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:38,359 Speaker 5: How do you get people to believe in something that's did? 472 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:42,400 Speaker 3: Doctor Kevin James had always dreamed of becoming the president 473 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:46,280 Speaker 3: of an HBCU, which is why in twenty eighteen he 474 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:50,439 Speaker 3: successfully applied to take charge of Morris Brown. Once that 475 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:53,560 Speaker 3: dream became reality, Kevin realized that he had his work 476 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:54,400 Speaker 3: cut out for him. 477 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,040 Speaker 8: I know Morfroun had been through a lot of challenges, 478 00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,240 Speaker 8: but I didn't really know how bad it was until 479 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:02,120 Speaker 8: my very first You know, I walked in thirty five 480 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:04,960 Speaker 8: million dollar bankruptcy. We couldn't pay our bills, we couldn't 481 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 8: make payroll, we didn't have an endowment, our programs were defunct. 482 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:15,240 Speaker 8: We had about twenty students, And I said, oh my god, 483 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:16,600 Speaker 8: what in word did I just walk into. 484 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:19,679 Speaker 3: Kevin was now part of a long list of people 485 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:23,240 Speaker 3: who try to revive Morris Brown, like radio host Tom 486 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:27,399 Speaker 3: Joyner and HBCU grad himself. When Morris Brown lost his accreditation, 487 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:32,240 Speaker 3: Tom said he'd box Mike Tyson to raise money. Then 488 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:35,280 Speaker 3: he said he wanted to buy the school outright. The 489 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:38,680 Speaker 3: school declined his offer, though it did accept a million 490 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:43,240 Speaker 3: dollar donation from the radio host, But private donations couldn't 491 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:45,919 Speaker 3: stop Morris Brown from becoming part of a larger debate 492 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:51,440 Speaker 3: over whether America needed HBCUs at all. HBCUs were suffering 493 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:56,159 Speaker 3: from low graduation and retention rates. Predominantly white institutions or 494 00:27:56,200 --> 00:28:00,720 Speaker 3: pwi's snapped up the best performing black students to diversified 495 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:04,600 Speaker 3: their own student bodies. Morris Brown became a shell of 496 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:09,720 Speaker 3: its former self. Many of its buildings went vacant, others deteriorated. 497 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:14,000 Speaker 3: One building that caught fire had joys that were completely exposed. 498 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:18,240 Speaker 3: The stadium that Nick Cannon and Jason Weaver ride pass 499 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 3: at the start of Drumline had been sold to help 500 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 3: pay down the school's massive debt. Yet despite all appearances, 501 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:29,080 Speaker 3: Morris Brown had never actually closed Since losing its accreditation, 502 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:32,640 Speaker 3: The school even hosted two more film productions in two 503 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:37,280 Speaker 3: thousand and six, We Are Marshall and Stopped the Yard Stomp. 504 00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:39,880 Speaker 3: The Yard in particular was significant for how it too 505 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:44,000 Speaker 3: focused on HBCU campus life. Here's Will Packer stopped the 506 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:44,760 Speaker 3: Yard's Producer. 507 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:46,640 Speaker 2: There was no energy at Morris Brown. 508 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:49,000 Speaker 7: We had to recreate it, and I'll never forget. 509 00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:50,400 Speaker 13: There was an older lady that came up to me 510 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,080 Speaker 13: while we were shooting one of the scenes on campus, 511 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:55,200 Speaker 13: and we had all these extras, and we had done 512 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:58,200 Speaker 13: all this art and production design, and so the campus 513 00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:01,760 Speaker 13: really look good. It looked like, you know the way 514 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:05,480 Speaker 13: a college campus looks when it's vibranting, popping. And she 515 00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:07,560 Speaker 13: came up to me and she was in tears, and 516 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:09,440 Speaker 13: she said, are you the producer? I heard you're the 517 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:11,960 Speaker 13: producer of this movie. I said yes, ma'am, And she said, 518 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,600 Speaker 13: I just want to say thank you because I am 519 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:19,400 Speaker 13: a you know, fifty year alumni of Morris Brown College, 520 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:22,719 Speaker 13: and I didn't think I would ever see my school 521 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:23,800 Speaker 13: look like this again. 522 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:31,040 Speaker 3: When Kevin James took over in twenty eighteen, he knew 523 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 3: he needed to pitch Morris Brown as more than just 524 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:34,120 Speaker 3: a film set. 525 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:38,640 Speaker 8: So how do I walk into a major philanthropic organization 526 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:41,800 Speaker 8: or major corporation and say, hey, give us a million dollars? 527 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:45,720 Speaker 8: Everyone I did that to ask me the same questions 528 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:51,160 Speaker 8: Morris Brown, aren't you all closed? No, we're not closed. 529 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:53,240 Speaker 8: We're still open. We've been open since eighteen eighty one. 530 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:55,959 Speaker 8: The second question they would ask me is, well, are 531 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,160 Speaker 8: you guys accredited I thought y'all were closed, aren't you? 532 00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:01,040 Speaker 8: Are you guys accredited? And then I would say, oh, no, 533 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:03,479 Speaker 8: we're not accredited. You know, we're working on it. Well, 534 00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:05,640 Speaker 8: how long have you been without your creditation? Oh, we've 535 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:08,600 Speaker 8: been without our creditation for twenty years. How many students 536 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:11,800 Speaker 8: do you have? Oh, we have twenty students. Get out 537 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:12,520 Speaker 8: of my office. 538 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,400 Speaker 3: To regain its accreditation, Morris Brown needed a plan to 539 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:19,440 Speaker 3: pay back all its debt. Kevin realized that he should 540 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:22,640 Speaker 3: start fundraising with the very people who'd shown the school 541 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:26,160 Speaker 3: the most support from the beginning, the Ame Church and 542 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:30,320 Speaker 3: the alumni. The Ame Church, of course, was the institution 543 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:34,160 Speaker 3: that made Morris Brown possible in the first place. The alumni, 544 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:37,080 Speaker 3: most of whom attended the school well before all the 545 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:40,800 Speaker 3: financial chaos, were still strongly connected to their alma mater. 546 00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:44,200 Speaker 3: Just ask Reverend Skip Mason, the former dean of students. 547 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,680 Speaker 3: His class raised fifty thousand dollars ahead of its forty 548 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:49,200 Speaker 3: year college reunion. 549 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:51,880 Speaker 5: Because Mars Brown was so good to us in nurtured us. 550 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:55,960 Speaker 3: Or Latanya Randolph, the educator who, despite Morris Brown not 551 00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:59,680 Speaker 3: having a football team or marching band anymore, has returned 552 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:03,800 Speaker 3: every every single year to attend homecoming. Latanya got her 553 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:07,800 Speaker 3: degree from Clark Atlanta University, but she introduces herself first 554 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:09,600 Speaker 3: and foremost as a Morris Brown alum. 555 00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:12,960 Speaker 10: When I walk into any school building, whether it's in 556 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:16,720 Speaker 10: the state of Georgia a beyond, I have this great 557 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:19,719 Speaker 10: air and confidence that's instilled in me because of what 558 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:25,160 Speaker 10: I gained from my professor's, mentors, teachers, sorority sisters lone 559 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:29,200 Speaker 10: sisters right there at Morris Brown. So although that accreditation 560 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:32,960 Speaker 10: went away, every year, we still came back for homecoming 561 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:35,680 Speaker 10: because it was a heartbeat and a love there that 562 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:37,840 Speaker 10: can ever be replaced. 563 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:41,400 Speaker 3: Support from Morris Brown has kept growing, and I'm not 564 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:45,760 Speaker 3: just talking about the alumni. Georgia Senator John Ossoff successfully 565 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:49,120 Speaker 3: called on the Biden administration to restore federal financial aid 566 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:53,120 Speaker 3: for Morris Brown students, and in twenty nineteen, Kanye West 567 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:56,840 Speaker 3: donated money to New Birth Missionary Baptist Church as thanks 568 00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:59,520 Speaker 3: for hosting one of his shows. But New Birth pay 569 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:03,400 Speaker 3: that donatetion forward to Morris Brown. It's where Yeay's late mother, 570 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:05,840 Speaker 3: Donda West was once a faculty member. 571 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:09,600 Speaker 8: We owed it to our founders, these former slaves that 572 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:14,840 Speaker 8: started the school. That resilience, that perseverance, that legacy has 573 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:19,160 Speaker 8: been translated for generations, and so it wasn't our nature 574 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:19,960 Speaker 8: to give up. 575 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:28,080 Speaker 13: Fam After a twenty year battle, Atlantis, Morris Brown College 576 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:32,400 Speaker 13: is now a fully accredited universities. 577 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:36,640 Speaker 3: On April twenty seventh, twenty twenty two, Morris Brown's accreditation 578 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:37,600 Speaker 3: was restored. 579 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,600 Speaker 8: We just made history as the first HBCU to rebound 580 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:44,520 Speaker 8: after a twenty year hiatus, and we're. 581 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:47,720 Speaker 3: Kevin James wants to raise three million dollars to bring 582 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:53,280 Speaker 3: back the famous Marching Wolverines. Fortunately, mentioning Drumline makes for 583 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:54,680 Speaker 3: a great elevator pitch. 584 00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:57,320 Speaker 8: You know, when I go around the community and I 585 00:32:57,360 --> 00:32:59,640 Speaker 8: meet different people and they asked me. Some folks say 586 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:02,800 Speaker 8: where's Oars Brown? And I always ask the same question, 587 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,200 Speaker 8: have you ever seen the movie Drumline? And I have 588 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:06,680 Speaker 8: never met someone to say no. 589 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:09,800 Speaker 3: He should expect to receive that kind of response in 590 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:13,320 Speaker 3: the foreseeable future, because as Morris Brown works on getting 591 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:16,480 Speaker 3: the band back together, the role it played in Drumline 592 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:22,040 Speaker 3: continues to impact pop culture today. Twenty years ago, Atlanta's 593 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:24,760 Speaker 3: Mighty Outcast was one of the rare acts that uplifted 594 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:28,840 Speaker 3: Morris Brown College. Previously, Outcast had the schools gospel choir 595 00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:34,520 Speaker 3: and the song Bombs Over Baghdad. Then in two thousand 596 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:37,480 Speaker 3: and six, Outcast had the Marching Wolverines on one of 597 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:40,560 Speaker 3: its very last singles as a group. The song was 598 00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:44,600 Speaker 3: called Morris Brown. The school may have been in dire straits, 599 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:47,920 Speaker 3: but the song was an uplifting tribute. It was as 600 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:51,760 Speaker 3: if Outcast refused to let the school's legacy die. Oh Yes, 601 00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:57,000 Speaker 3: for a while, it was only rap artists from the 602 00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:00,320 Speaker 3: South who were paying attention. But then Drumline comes out 603 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:04,360 Speaker 3: and it has this domino effect on popular culture. Today, 604 00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:08,080 Speaker 3: artists like Young Thug Gunna and Lil nas X take 605 00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:10,120 Speaker 3: major stages flanked with marching. 606 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:12,240 Speaker 6: Bands, USC Trojans drum Line. 607 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:18,160 Speaker 3: Think the Tonight show The VMAs. Tyler, the creator featured 608 00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:21,000 Speaker 3: drum line members from Atlanta's Westlake High School in his 609 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:25,680 Speaker 3: twenty twenty four songs Sticky and of Course. You have 610 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:30,480 Speaker 3: Beyonce and her twenty eighteen Coachella performance, where actual HBCU 611 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:34,040 Speaker 3: majors and majorrettes filled the bleacher she brought on stage. 612 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:37,600 Speaker 3: Half of the show's musicians came from Atlanta and they 613 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:41,200 Speaker 3: were all hand selected by Don Roberts, a band director 614 00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:47,040 Speaker 3: from Southwestercap High School just east of Atlanta. Drumln my 615 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:48,440 Speaker 3: company had a lot of credibility. 616 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:50,720 Speaker 7: They got out the plane and we landed in California 617 00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:52,239 Speaker 7: and said, okay, guys, come to gather around. 618 00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:54,759 Speaker 4: Let me tell you going to play for And it 619 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:57,640 Speaker 4: was like we're gonna be performing with Beyonce and. 620 00:34:57,560 --> 00:34:57,920 Speaker 5: It's like. 621 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:03,560 Speaker 3: Don had previously worked on Drumline. His job was to 622 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:06,200 Speaker 3: make sure the Hollywood actors appeared convincing on the big 623 00:35:06,239 --> 00:35:09,160 Speaker 3: screen and staff the production with players from his own 624 00:35:09,239 --> 00:35:12,959 Speaker 3: high school in places where Morris Brown and other HBCUs 625 00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:16,600 Speaker 3: couldn't fill in. His demand has kept growing in Hollywood. 626 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:19,560 Speaker 3: HBO tapped him for the first season finale of its 627 00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:23,920 Speaker 3: critically acclaimed teen drama Euphoria. The episode ends with a 628 00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:29,480 Speaker 3: coke fueled fantasy sequence or Sindaea's character Rue stumbles, lurches, 629 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:31,800 Speaker 3: and gets lifted up in the air to a marching 630 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:34,840 Speaker 3: band version of the song All for Us by Labyrinth. 631 00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:40,680 Speaker 3: This backing ensemble isn't explicitly in EACHBCU marching band, but 632 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:44,359 Speaker 3: if you look closely, the signs of Drumlines influences are there. 633 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:48,520 Speaker 3: How the brass players performed Showman style and dance with 634 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:52,319 Speaker 3: a flash mob that crowds around Zindeya. Those signs are 635 00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:58,080 Speaker 3: there because Don Roberts consulted on this scene too. Marching 636 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:02,400 Speaker 3: band performances wouldn't have become pop culture fodder without HBCUs. 637 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:06,839 Speaker 3: Don himself graduated for FAMU. In twenty twenty two, The 638 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:10,080 Speaker 3: Washington Post spoke with musicians and band directors who saw 639 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:14,680 Speaker 3: increased participation in marching bands thanks to drumline. A trumpet 640 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:19,160 Speaker 3: player at HBCU in Mississippi told the newspaper quote, when 641 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:21,919 Speaker 3: I joined the band, all the boys wanted to play 642 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:26,200 Speaker 3: snare like Nick Cannon, the movie that twentieth Century Fox 643 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:30,160 Speaker 3: was nervous about featuring an HBCU that everyone was ready 644 00:36:30,239 --> 00:36:33,640 Speaker 3: to count out. Has been more influential than anyone could 645 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:38,600 Speaker 3: have anticipated. Then, in summer twenty twenty five, there was 646 00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:42,680 Speaker 3: a moment where life truly imitated art. On July eighteenth, 647 00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:45,799 Speaker 3: the day he turned forty six years old, Jason Weaver 648 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:49,400 Speaker 3: spent his birthday flying three into something miles from Atlanta 649 00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:53,320 Speaker 3: to Lexington, Kentucky to be inducted in the band fraternity 650 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:57,120 Speaker 3: Kappa Kappa PSI. That's the same band fraternity that is 651 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:01,160 Speaker 3: Drumline character joins in the film. Side was so touched 652 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:04,400 Speaker 3: by its inclusion and Drumline that, nearly twenty five years 653 00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:08,280 Speaker 3: after the film hit theaters, during its national convention in Lexington, 654 00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:11,440 Speaker 3: the organization made Jason an honorary member. 655 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:15,680 Speaker 7: That was my college experience was working on Drumline. 656 00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:19,000 Speaker 3: Drumline wouldn't have had such credibility if it weren't for 657 00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:23,600 Speaker 3: the real life HBCUs in Atlanta that participated That especially 658 00:37:23,719 --> 00:37:24,720 Speaker 3: goes from Morris Brown. 659 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:28,799 Speaker 7: You were literally helping tell this beautiful story while also 660 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:31,680 Speaker 7: learning more about your people and just the rich history 661 00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:35,080 Speaker 7: here in Atlanta. It was an eye opening and rewarding experience. 662 00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:52,200 Speaker 1: With each of us. This show we truly value ourself. 663 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:55,240 Speaker 1: We can inspire to next, to rise up and overcome, 664 00:37:55,719 --> 00:37:56,760 Speaker 1: regardless of wealth. 665 00:37:57,360 --> 00:37:59,200 Speaker 2: When the whale runs dry, we. 666 00:37:59,239 --> 00:38:02,160 Speaker 1: Keep our heads lie to live through the thirst and 667 00:38:02,239 --> 00:38:05,080 Speaker 1: darkest days. We find new ways to deal with the 668 00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:09,760 Speaker 1: worst when a positive end result justifies exhausting our own means. 669 00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:13,160 Speaker 1: When success is reached, we see the struggle isn't as 670 00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:14,200 Speaker 1: hard as it seems. 671 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:16,640 Speaker 2: Through the roughest times, we have. 672 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:18,960 Speaker 1: The heart to climb up out the dread and show 673 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:21,600 Speaker 1: those that assume you wouldn't survive and left you for dead. 674 00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:25,799 Speaker 1: The underestimation is a grave mistake that only feeds the 675 00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:27,880 Speaker 1: will of those that are strong enough to do what 676 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:30,040 Speaker 1: it takes to prove them wrong. 677 00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:39,480 Speaker 3: In the next episode, we tell the story of an 678 00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:43,400 Speaker 3: unlikely cast who turned their cinematic dreams into reality and 679 00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:47,920 Speaker 3: transform the city into a movie making capital. In Atlanta 680 00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:49,920 Speaker 3: is filmed on location. 681 00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:52,239 Speaker 5: We like for. 682 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:54,520 Speaker 13: Naggled our way into a meeting with Jermaine du Prix, 683 00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:56,800 Speaker 13: you know, and we foragled our way into a meeting 684 00:38:56,800 --> 00:38:58,759 Speaker 13: with Dallas Ausoin, Like we were hustled, so we had 685 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:00,919 Speaker 13: to get to these people. These are like big music 686 00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:04,040 Speaker 13: industry legends that we did not know. We did not 687 00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:06,719 Speaker 13: shoot one music video. 688 00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:15,200 Speaker 1: Atlanta is the Will Packer Media Production in partnership with 689 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:21,480 Speaker 1: iHeart Podcast, Idea, Generation and Complex. This episode was written, reported, 690 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:25,400 Speaker 1: and produced by Christina Lee, with additional production from Maurice 691 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:29,400 Speaker 1: Garland and Jewel Wicker. Our supervising producer and editor is 692 00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:34,239 Speaker 1: Shiva bayad Our. Managing producers are Rose Froulini Bacon, Omari 693 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:39,560 Speaker 1: Graham At Shamara Rochester. Editorial support from Sean Setero and 694 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:40,360 Speaker 1: Jack Irwin. 695 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:43,360 Speaker 2: Original theme music by Alman Shota. 696 00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:47,920 Speaker 1: Sound designed by Shiva Bayat and Our Mind Sahota, mixed 697 00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:52,240 Speaker 1: and mastered by Oman Sahota. Fact Checking done by Sean Setero, 698 00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:57,600 Speaker 1: Clarence Counsel, Donison, Caliph Perez, Lisa Kliff and Jacqueline Schwedt. 699 00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:01,640 Speaker 1: Executive producers for will Packer Meet A Will Packer and 700 00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:06,040 Speaker 1: Alex Bowden. Co producer for will Packer. Media is Nimmi Mohunt, 701 00:40:06,680 --> 00:40:10,640 Speaker 1: executive producers for Idea Generation from Complex of Jack Irwin 702 00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:11,800 Speaker 1: and Noah Callahan. 703 00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:13,840 Speaker 2: Beber. Head of Talent. 704 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:18,320 Speaker 1: Relations for Complex is Anthony Already, Talent associate for Complex, 705 00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:22,360 Speaker 1: is Ryan Houston. Senior attorney for Complex is Jordan Washington. 706 00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:28,200 Speaker 1: Special thanks to Tyler Klan, Terry Harrison, Chris Senator, Noams Griffin, 707 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:29,600 Speaker 1: and Candice Howard. 708 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:31,800 Speaker 2: I'm Big Rude piece