The City of Rochester, Xperience Live Events, Rochester Police Department, and title sponsor Baldwin Richardson Foods welcomed the 2nd annual Baldwin Richardson Foods Frederick Douglass HBCU Football Classic to Rochester in late September. This event, referred to as The Weekend of Hope, included a College Expo, Media Day, Saturday’s Tailgate Party, the Football Game, and the Battle of the Bands. The College Expo Day, organized by the National College Resources Foundation, was extremely successful, with over $6M in scholarships offered and 600 local college-bound students being accepted to HBCUs on the spot.
During the kickoff ceremony, Erin Tolefree, President and CEO of Baldwin Richardson Foods, and Cara Johnson Hughes, Vice President of Customer and Community, spoke. In the spirit of scholarships, I presented both Central State University and Lane College with individual checks for $25,000, stating, “We know that these funds will have a dramatic impact on the college, and so we just want to say congratulations”.
The game was held at the Rochester Community Sports Complex stadium at 460 Oak St., where Central State University (Ohio) defeated Lane College (Tennessee). The Central State Marching Marauders won the Battle of the Bands competition as well. One of the purposes of the Baldwin Richardson Foods Frederick Douglass HBCU Classic is to unite the community. Upstate NY Gospel Magazine had the opportunity to ask several attendees for their feedback on the event, including why they attended, and if attending an HBCU/HBCUs had an impact on their lives.
Here are a few of those interactions:
Michael Taylor, Owner, Henrietta Chick-fil-A. Why did Chick-fil-A opt to be involved in this event?
You want to be part of something big, and I’m passionate about being involved in the community. The magnitude of what’s happening right here, with all the happy faces, is about harnessing the positivity that people know Chick-fil-A for and bringing that hospitality out of those four doors and into the community. It’s all about giving back, being positive, a nd s eeing a nd creating smiles. Wonderful.
Do you have history/personal interaction with HBCUs?
I say I don’t, but then I stand here, and I believe my brother attended an HBCU in Virginia. I was not fortunate enough to attend one, but it’s something I’ve always been invested in and wanted to contribute to. When I was approached about doing this, it was a no-brainer for me to want to be a part of it, simply because it’s something greater than what I typically do. It meant a great deal to be a part of it.
Rachel, University of Rochester Medical Center. How does your booth impact the community, or what motivated you to come out here today?
We are with URMC Cardiac Care, teaching hands-only CPR to the community. We’re actually partnering with the city on a new initiative. It’s called the Heart Safe Initiative. With the Heart Safe Initiative, our goal is to teach hands-only CPR to 15% of Monroe County residents. So, again, hands-only CPR, the bystander CPR, the CPR that anyone can do, because we’re trying to ensure that people feel empowered to act in case of an emergency. There are two simple steps: call 911, and then start compressions. If you find someone who’s down, they’re not breathing, or if you witness someone collapsing. So, again, the two simple steps are to call 911 and start compressions.
Tni Nelson, Supervisor, 585 SNUG, Street Outreach Program for Gun Violence Prevention. Please provide a brief overview of your organization and what you hope to achieve by attending the HBCU Classic Tailgate event.
SNUG is looking to spark fire; trying to open the eyes of the young people that we brought here. They may not know about HBCUs. They aye have never thought about college. If we can open their minds to something they’ve never thought about or never seen before, then I’ve done my job.
Has an HBCU impacted your family?
No. Not directly. I haven’t attended college, let alone a historically black college, but I do love the atmosphere of the tailgate and the camaraderie that comes with being inside the game.
Leroy Thompson, Rochester Resident.
As a parent of a young person, how is the HBCU Classic impacting the two of you? I want him to see all the people who have attended the schools or may have graduated from an HBCU, in the hopes that he will want to attend one. And how old is your son? 11 years old.
Does he want to go to college?
Oh yeah, he talks about college every day. I hope he continues on that path and remains committed to participating in the HBCU Classic.
Cheryl Sampson, member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.,
Cheryl, what brings you here today? Well, I’m here with my sorors, and we’re doing a tailgate with our brother fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma. I am here for the fellowship, to have fun. I’m not a football fan, but I am here to see Battle of the Bands because I love music.
What’s your affiliation with HBCUs?
My youngest daughter briefly attended Howard. I did not attend an HBCU, but I have the utmost respect for the graduates who come out of these institutions. My sorority was founded in 1920 at Howard University.
Dr. Shirley Green, Commissioner for the Department of Recreation and Human Services for the City of Rochester. How has your role with the City of Rochester impacted this event today?
As you are aware, this initiative is sponsored by the city of Rochester, in collaboration with other local agencies. But this started with a former deputy police chief saying, Let’s bring this to Rochester. The mayor endorsed and supported this event. He understands that as part of the Rochester community, we need to celebrate. We refer to this event as the home of Frederick Douglass, where he brought his community together for a positive occasion. That’s why he’s had folks like me who lead the department that works with young people, helping plan this event.
Any additional thoughts today?
Yes, we are here at the tailgate and Classic football game, but let us not forget our first event, our HBCU College Expo, where we had over a thousand kids in attendance. Several million dollars’ worth of scholarships were given out. It was about exposure, because if you live in Rochester, you may not be exposed to an HBCU. So, we brought the people to Rochester, and we’re culminating the weekend with the football classic. I’m hoping you’re here for the fifth quarter to see the battle of the bands because that’s what it’s all about when you talk about HBCUs.
Elder Tanika Harris: What brings you here today?
I’m here to celebrate the HBCU Classic, but more importantly, to celebrate what it can do for our community and the city of Rochester, showcasing that people are living here who have attended HBCUs and have gone on to succeed. We want to let the city know that we’re here and available for service, not just for the game, but also to show some of our young people what’s available to them. At HBCUs, what is coming in terms of what they can see the adults doing now, in terms of gathering together, building a community, and showing them that there is a cohesiveness amongst individuals who have attended historically black colleges and universities? I have been impacted because I have family and friends who have attended. I’ve lived in cities with historically black colleges and universities, and it’s just a different experience. It’s a different experience to attend a place where you see people who look like you in higher education, not just as students, but also as faculty members, as presidents of the colleges and universities, and as people in the guidance counselors’ offices. At every level, you see someone who looks like you, which helps our students and scholars see that there is more and that there are people who look like them who want to push them towards greatness.
Yasmin Redding, Fairport Resident. Did you attend an HBCU?
Yes, I’m an HBCU alum, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA. Many of my family members attended HBCUs. I find it important to support and give back, so that young people can see what HBCUs are all about. The front side, as well as the academic side. I know they had a college fair earlier this week, and they were really promoting the HBCUs to provide that experience and extra encouragement that we need as African Americans, so that we’ll be ready to go out into the world and take on the challenges as they are. I find it very important to support my alma mater and give back. I’m just here for that. I’m glad that Rochester has this.
Now, how has attending an HBCU been a benefit to you?
I got to see people who look like me succeed and hear their stories. I could connect to those stories. I could relate because they look like me, and seeing people of color succeed was an eye-opener for me. Especially since I attended a predominantly white high school, I wanted to have that HBC experience.
Yasmin, you mentioned that most of your educational experience was in a Caucasian school. How did you find out about HBCUs?
I mentioned, I have other family members who have attended as well, and I look forward to seeing them succeed and take pride in being proud HBCU alums. I wanted to be in the number.
Honorable Malik Evans. Mayor, City of Rochester: What was your purpose in bringing this event to Rochester?
The biggest thing was to ensure that we expose young people to all that HBCUs have to offer. As a result, our students were offered over $6 million in scholarships on Thursday, with 900 acceptances on the spot, which is what this is really all about. The football game is important; we want people to attend it, but really, it’s all about scholarships and exposing young people to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. On that end, we accomplished what we really wanted to achieve.
Sir, have you been directly impacted by an HBCU?
Yes, it demonstrates that our city has a rich history, and it’s great to be able to share that history with our community. Rochester is the only city in New York State that hosts an HBCU Classic. There’s one down in New Jersey, but we’re the only one in all of upstate New York and really in New York State that does that. So, it is truly a feather in our cap to have two HBCUs playing football here and bringing that rich culture and history to Rochester. We’re very excited about the game and look forward to hosting this event, as well as more in the future.
What are you looking forward to doing differently next year?
Bringing more people in and letting them share their experiences, particularly those who received scholarships, and having kids tell their stories. To attract more people and allow them to take advantage of all the HBCUs have to offer.
Adam Bello, Monroe County Executive: What was your desire in helping to bring us here? What would you like to accomplish?
The most significant thing we can accomplish today is to connect young people/students with these colleges and universities and to understand the value of attending an HBCU. Just this week alone, representatives from all around here made several acceptances and scholarship offers on the spot. That is an incredible investment in our young people, and it also opens pathways and doors to opportunity. The second thing is this amazing ball game, and this is the only HBCU classic in New York State. It really allows our local players to see what they can achieve. We have thousands of kids here who play football. This type of event provides them with an up-close experience with college football players, showing them what that path forward looks like and allowing them to envision themselves and what they might become. Opportunities may be available to them in just a few years when they’re ready to attend college.
Does attending today’s event provide you with a different understanding/appreciation for an HBCU?
It does, it actually opens our minds a little bit to the history behind HBCUs and the roles that they played over history by providing opportunity for people to be able to go to college or university, at a time when, because of discrimination and racism, they were kept out of being able to get to that higher level of education. That’s why it’s essential to connect the past to where we are today. It’s all about opportunity. Opportunity for young people to see the history behind where people were essentially told they couldn’t, but today they have that opportunity presented to them. I think it is important because WE have to understand our past to inform our future. Thank you to Lane College and CSU for bringing the energy, excellence, and tradition of HBCUs to Rochester.
