September 4, 2023 • 37 mins
Join us for a captivating talk with Travis Mitchell, Senior VP and Chief Content Officer at Maryland Public Television. With over 30 years in media and a strong focus on community, Mitchell delves into his career journey, storytelling, and the importance of HBCUs. Don't miss his insights on HBCU Week, an initiative expanding the representation of Historically Black Colleges nationwide.
Host: Rob Lee
Music: Original music by Daniel Alexis Music with additional music from Chipzard and TeTresSeis.
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- Produced by Rob Lee & Daniel Alexis
- Edited by Daniel Alexis
- Show Notes courtesy of Rob Lee and Transistor
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rob Lee (00:10):
Welcome to the Truth in Us Art. I am your host, Rob Lee.
And thank you for tuning in formore authentic stories from
creatives from Baltimore andbeyond. Today, I am excited to
welcome my next guest, aseasoned media executive with
over 3 decades of experienceknown for his groundbreaking
initiatives, including therenowned HBCU Week. He's a
(00:31):
senior vice president and thechief content officer at
Maryland Public Television,please give a warm welcome to
Travis Mitchell.
Welcome to the podcast.
Travis Mitchell (00:41):
Hey. Thanks for having me. Thanks for having me,
Rob.
Rob Lee (00:44):
Thank you for coming. Always good to connect with a,
you know, fellow fellow HBC, youknow, with that that sort of
energy. So, you know, forstarters, I like to kick things
off by, like, diving in to thejourney. And if you will, Could
you share sort of that that keymoment or experience that you
know led you on your path likeYou know we there's always that
(01:06):
one thing that sticks out, inthe the sort of Marvel parlance
and the recent Spider man moviefolks will say it's a canon
event. You know, I had that onewhen it comes to doing this, you
know, There's a former presidentthat says something really ill
about Baltimore, and I was likeactivated That's that sort of
pinpoint moment for for you andyour career what has been that
(01:26):
sort of, like, introductory, themoment, that starting moment for
you and your journey?
Travis Mitchell (01:31):
Well, thanks for the question. And and
without a doubt, it's it's myrole as a student spokesperson
for, the largest student protestin Morgan State's history, when
I was a sophomore. See, I camefrom Raleigh, North Carolina
with a, dream of playingbasketball. I had a double
scholarship. I was a honorsstudent.
(01:51):
I was a basketball player, andthings on the, on the court
didn't go as I anticipated. Andso I was able to red shirt take
a red shirt year, my sophomoreyear, right when the season
started. And then it gave mesome time to explore what it
truly meant to be a student, notjust a student athlete. And so I
(02:14):
got involved with the campusnewspaper, The Spokesman. And,
the SGA student leaders came byand, leaders from the panel and
the council and said that, youknow, we're gonna we're gonna
protest tomorrow some of theconditions on campus.
And, we're gonna meet with theadministration, and and, you all
(02:34):
might wanna come cover it. Andso the next day, while sitting
in the administration office inTruth Hall, it it at the end, it
was, well, we need you to movefrom being, covering this. We
need you to be our spokespersonbecause you have media
experience. And so, I reallydidn't have media experience. I
(02:55):
only had a week or so, on thespokesman in a semester news
writing class.
But, but I took the challengeand to become the spokesperson,
and, it changed my life. It issomething that, you look back on
and and and and you don't know,how profound of an impact it's
(03:16):
gonna have, but it truly wastransformative. 1st and
foremost, I was able to equipmyself quite well in forming
partnerships with, the localmedia. Many relationships I have
to this day, were from thatpoint, which is roughly, 30
years ago 33 years ago to beexact, when when that happened.
(03:38):
And so I was able to gain in myconfidence, in putting together
media strategies.
I was was we won the publicrelations battle with a very
popular governor who happened tobe a Democrat of the state of
Maryland, William DonaldSchaefer. But we won in the
(03:58):
court of public opinion. We wereable to come up with, a theme,
and a saying for, students toremember when reporters
inevitably came up on campus andwanted to get the reaction from
student body. And that was allof our love, peace, and
happiness we're gonna give toMorgan. And so the the net
(04:21):
effect of it was that, the mediabecame convinced, that we as
Morgan students who wereprotesting against inequitable
funding, which resulted indilapidated buildings, resulted
in not having enough security,on and on and on.
(04:43):
They were convinced that we wereright Yeah. And that, it was not
fair that the state of Marylandhad, for 40 years, neglected
Morgan's, State University andthe build out of our campus. And
so as our protest prolonged, itwent from a sit in to our
(05:04):
administration building to, a 2and a half mile caravan that
descend descended upon Annapolisand a meeting with the governor
and, included a hunger strike,included, on the 7th day when we
returned the campus to ouradministration. It was because
we had reached a tentativeagreement with the governor. We
(05:24):
had discovered in our duediligence that there was a 25
year plan of development forMorgan, that had not been
funded.
And so a plan is only as good asthe paper is written on if
there's no investment in it. Andso we kept pressing the
government to take action now,and he had in his power to
(05:44):
authorize the renovation of our2 worst dormitories, which back
then were the male dormitoriesthat happened to be going under
renovation. Again, that'sBaldwin and Cummings. Mhmm. And
we needed him to go ahead andmove those dormitories under
renovation.
And so, when we left thebuilding, we did so, with a note
(06:05):
to the governor that if he didnot show action, that we would
come back. And so as thegovernor delayed to get us to
right before finals, Myself and5 other students, put on trash
bags and had a press conferencein front of troop hall and said,
(06:25):
mister governor, you've trashedyour word, and today, we're
gonna return your trash to yourdoorsteps. And we began to walk
from Morgan to Annapolis. Thefunny thing, Rob, is, being from
Raleigh, North Carolina, Ithought, what it's not a big
deal. It's only about 13 miles.
And then I got 13 miles in andsaw a sign that said Annapolis
28 more miles. And then I knewwe we were we were in for it.
(06:48):
And in fact, I think we startedseeing some old Negro spirituals
at that particular time. But thereality was, you asked me what
changed my life, and it showedme that sometimes, you have to
understand this saying, whichis, you know, yesterday was
great. Tomorrow may be greater.
(07:09):
But today, is a gift, and that'swhy it's called the present. You
have to understand somethingabout operating in the now. And
so as a result of our labor, I'mpleased to share that, Morgan
received we were a catalyst.Let's be clear. We were simply a
catalyst to light fire behindsomething that already existed,
(07:30):
a movement that was ready to toburst.
And so the president at thattime, doctor Earl s Richardson,
who is a mentor of mine to thisday, really had already put
together a a campus improvementplan. And so we were the fuel to
to light the fire behind thestate. And in in in 25 years,
(07:51):
that plan resulted in about1,500,000,000 in on campus
renovations. If anybody has beenup to Morgan, you'll see that,
doctor Richardson's vision cameto pass. And then doctor Wilson,
who replaced, doctor Richardson,our current president, has his
own vision.
And and over the last 14 yearshas initiated some 1,100,000,000
(08:14):
in campus renovation. Soaltogether, we've had well over
$2,000,000,000 of campusrenovation since my time at
Morgan. And it just says that ifyou invest seeds of hope and
inspiration in today, investingyour time, talent and treasure,
that it will produce a futuretree of success for future
(08:35):
generations whom you do notknow.
Rob Lee (08:38):
Wow. That is that is the and I don't even know if
they even qualified as aintroductory question. That was
it I Love it like you youcrushed 2 of my maybe 3 of my
other questions So you knowyou're making my job easier, so
thank you for that and and thankyou for for taking us back down
sort of like, you know, sort ofthe inspirations that are there
and memory lane, if you will.You know, you mentioned some of
(09:01):
the different landmarks onMorgan's campus. I go back to
being a goofy 18 year old and,like, oh, man, 2003.
This is great. Right? And, andeven, you know, can extend a
little bit and relate in thisway in in doing this and doing,
like, audio and and doing radioand all of that stuff. It it
started with this sort of offchance thing at, WEAA through my
(09:25):
scholarship program at the graveschool. It's like, hey, go over
there and, you know, get on,Omar Mohammed's, show and just
just talk a bit.
That was me getting bit by thebug, you know?
Travis Mitchell (09:35):
And it's funny you mentioned Omar Mohammed.
Omar and I were roommates, afterwe graduated from college. We
were really close at Morgan, sohe's a good man and very proud
of him.
Rob Lee (09:47):
Great. I wanna move, a little bit into sort of, you
know, your your your currentwork and sort of this where
does, like, sort of thatintersection how did the the
story with, you know, MarylandPublic Television and you, like,
you know, your vision, yourvalues, how did those two
things, like, align? Theirvision, their mission, your
(10:08):
vision, your mission as as anindividual, how did they align
specifically in your role as,chief content officer?
Travis Mitchell (10:14):
Well, I I think let me let me prep you as well.
So, you know, in my time inmedia, I went from the campus
newspaper, The Spokesman, at avery young age, around 23, I was
managing editor of 4 nationalpublications, coming out of
Baltimore, called a companycalled Career Communications
(10:35):
Group. And they were nationaltrade publications that I was
the managing editor of. And Imorphed that into a time, where
I launched my own media firm forabout 7 years, called Between
the Lines Communications, andit's in in in that capacity that
I snagged a daily televisionshow that I produced out of
(10:56):
Washington DC that was national.Then I was recruited, to join an
effort by former heavyweightchampion, Yvanda Holyfield.
And at the time, Cecil Fielderof the Yankees and Marlon
Jackson of the Jackson family.And at that time, world famous,
and notable attorney, AfricanAmerican attorney, Willie e
Gary, to start a a channel thatwas a competitor to BET. It was
(11:20):
called the NBC Network, and thenlater it became the Black Family
Channel. And, I was the chiefoperating officer and executive
vice president and grew thatchannel to, we we also were a
precursor to what you seehappening now. We had exclusive
contracts with every HBCUconference.
(11:42):
So you you'd see we did over 300live football and basketball
games. We covered baseball,track and field, and so you name
it. I've been working ondeveloping content to support
HBCUs for a very long time.
Rob Lee (11:58):
Wonderful.
Travis Mitchell (11:58):
And, upon successfully scaling that
network and it being sold, wentback to North Carolina and ran a
nonprofit for a number of years.And then the governor of North
Carolina, there was an openingon, the board for UNC TV, now
public PBS North Carolina. Andthe governor had his team reach
(12:20):
out to me and ask if I wasinterested with my media
background. And so my publicmedia career began in earnest,
when I was placed on the boardof UNC TV somewhere around 2012.
So I was on the board oftrustees for this statewide
public media channel thatactually helped teach me to
read.
(12:40):
You see, when I was growing up,my mother had recently divorced,
and we were in Raleigh, NorthCarolina living with my
grandmother. And, my mother wentback to school to get not one,
but 2 master's degrees so thatshe could create a better life.
So I've been from the South, theone thing you know is we don't
call, soap opera soap operas. Wecall them stories. And so when
(13:02):
my grandmother, my signal to goto my room was when I heard the
theme music for the young andthe restless come on.
That was my theme music. Thatwas my signal to go to my room,
and we only have 4 channels. Weonly had ABC, CBS, and NBC, and
you had this little channelcalled PBS. And so when I when I
(13:23):
turned to PBS, in my room,that's where my world opened up.
I was able to explore theuniverse through Nova.
I was able to, identify with andand and learn from EasyReader. I
knew Morgan Freeman asEasyReader, not, driving miss
Daisy. You know, I was able toventure down Sesame Street on my
(13:46):
way to a electric company. So soPBS is where I learned how to
read. And, so to become the thelater, I was asked if I would
step off the board by our newgeneral manager and CEO and if I
would take the helm as a chiefcontent officer.
And, I have been running anonprofit at that time, and I
said this might be a good timefor me to get back in the media.
(14:08):
And so it was, destiny to haveme be the chief content officer
of the very, TV PBS station thattaught me how to read. And so
my, my longing to return to theMaryland area came from the fact
that my daughter, decided tofollow in my footsteps as a
freshman at Morgan. And I hadalways wanted to come back what
(14:32):
I consider my second home.
Rob Lee (14:34):
Yeah.
Travis Mitchell (14:35):
And, Maryland Public Television was looking
for senior vice president andchief content officer. And so I
applied and, came here, left UNCTV on February 25th 2020, got
here on February 26, 2020. Andthen the first order of business
was shutting down ourprogramming, and productions
(14:58):
because of COVID. And so I washere, but, really, it took about
a year and a half for me toreally begin to circulate again
in this Baltimore area era. Sothat's really why I came, and
and our mission here, is to,enrich lives and strengthen
communities through the power ofmedia.
(15:19):
And, because of my backgroundand many of the things I did at
in at UNC, TV, it was allcommunity focused programming
because I believe that the valueof public media lies in our
ability to tell authenticstories about the communities
that we serve. And the more wedo that, the more people
(15:40):
resonate with our contentbecause commercial content
doesn't necessarily care aboutyou on what's happening in your
community, but we do. And soit's it's ingrained in our DNA,
and that's why, I believe thiswas a a good fit for me at the
right place at the right time.
Rob Lee (16:00):
Thank you. Well, again, you know, knocking out these
questions. So I appreciate you,and I appreciate that that
insight there. Yeah. I thinkwhen we're in a sort of local,
like, content creation and andspeaking or being representative
of a a community, and it doesn'tseem to be reflective at times
of the community.
There there's some sort ofdisconnect. Are you really into
(16:21):
the community? And there isalmost, like, some sort of sense
of, how do we go about this? Howdo we go about making this
happen? How do we scale it?
How do we grow it? And listeningto you, there's obviously this
the strong track record andknowledge base and knowing,
like, yeah, this this fits. Thisfits. This makes sense. So if
(16:41):
you would, could you share, youknow, maybe 2 to 3 insights that
have kind of guided the way thatyou go about selecting sort of
content and and working in thatcapacity that's reflective of of
the community, that isreflective of, you know, sort of
like a a narrative?
Travis Mitchell (16:57):
So I I think for for public media, a local a
local media outlet. And in ourcase, we serve the entire state
of Maryland, Northern Virginia,DC, parts of West Virginia,
Pennsylvania. It's veryimportant that when people tune
in to watch you that they seethemselves. And so this also led
(17:20):
to me developing, a diverseslate of programming, post
George Floyd, and I'll talkabout that more in a moment. But
I think you have to be relevantby showcasing, the people that
are in your backyard, so tospeak.
I think you have to give themaccess to the airwaves so that
(17:40):
they can own the airwaves. Youknow, it's really important for
people to own the airwaves, andthat's the differentiation
differentiator between us andcommercial media is that people
can actually engage with thecontent on a regular basis. And
then I I think you you have toremember that your content has
(18:01):
to have 3 things. It's gotta beentertaining. It should inform,
and it should inspire.
Rob Lee (18:10):
Yeah.
Travis Mitchell (18:10):
So the best content, I think, does the three
things. They it's entertaining.It's informative. It teaches
somebody, and then it inspiresthem. You know, evoking emotion
out of people, whether it'slaughter or empathy, I think, is
the sign of incrediblycompelling content.
(18:32):
And it's not always how polishedthe content is. Mhmm. It is how
compelling it is. So I try tolook for content that moves
people, and we try to developcontent that fits within our
mission, which is to in strengthenrich lives and strengthen
communities through the power ofmedia. That power is the ability
(18:56):
for me media to resonate deeplywith people and move them, in
some instances, to action, movethem to understanding, moving
them to do something positive,with the people that are around
them.
And so I think those are thefilters that I have used to
decide what fits for the momentof any channel or any station
(19:20):
that I happen to be overseeing.
Rob Lee (19:22):
Wow. That is that's that's great. I'm I'm over here.
Like like I said, I'm fanboyingout because, like, this is the
thing that I've literally beenpreaching to folks when it comes
to this sort of, like, you know,industry building out a podcast
and all of that stuff. And, youknow, I I talk with folks, and
they'll say, oh, I don't thinkit's gonna be great.
I don't have the best mics andso on. I was like, do you have
an idea? Does it make sense? Canyou be entertaining? You know,
(19:46):
is it inspired?
Things of that nature. And I waslike, look at it as a draft.
You're gonna eventually find it.You'll eventually get the budget
to get that fancy new mic thatyou really can't. But, you know,
but you'll be able to get themsome of those upgrades, but
really, you know, it's the why.
It's like why are you doing it?Having that sort of, like, North
Star, if you will.
Travis Mitchell (20:04):
Yeah. I mean, if you're not using your cell
phone to record yourself, thenwhy spend money on a mic? You
you start with where you are.Mhmm. When I started with the
campus newspaper at Morgan, ithad not been published for 8
years.
That didn't stop me. I wentabout it. I was the editor in
chief, became the publisher. Wewent out and raised our own
(20:27):
money, but I thought mypublication was just as
important as the daily BaltimoreSun or the USA Today. In fact, I
I would call and set up meetingswith the publishers and editors
in chief because I saw myselfeye level to eye level with
them.
You're a publisher. I'm a pubpublisher. Don't discount me
because of my age or yourperceived, view of my lack of,
(20:49):
of experience. You know, thereality is this is the seat I'm
in now. I have some questions.
Let's talk peer to peer. Mhmm.And so, respectfully, but
confidently. And I think ifyou're gonna be in the creative
space, you have to go with whatdo you see inside, and just be
(21:11):
patient enough to give birth toit. When you when you when you
learn the skills that go alongwith content creation, you can
give birth to what you seeinternally.
But you also have to beconfident enough to know you may
not be the best, producer or thebest editor or the best host.
(21:33):
But if you have the vision, youare the content creator. So if
you just attract people to youthat can buy your vision, then
you're one step closer to beingable to to to give birth and
produce and bring to the worldthat concept or that content or
that idea whose time has come.
Rob Lee (21:51):
Yeah. I, I've been calling it rotting that wave.
Maybe it's in an Aquarius thing,but call it rotting that wave
of, like, look, I have a visionof what I wanna accomplish, and
sometimes it's a little broaderthan what it originally looked
like. Like, Oh, I didn't evenknow I had an interest in that.
Does it make sense?
This is a line. And but stilltrying to see it to its
(22:11):
fruition. And you have so manydifferent folks that might come
in and say, oh, well, maybe youshould do it this way or maybe
you should change it. And it's,like, not at no no, you know, no
disrespect, no qualms aboutlistening to another person and
their insight. People may knowmore than you, but it's, like, I
know my vision.
Yeah. So it's just like, it hasto fit. It has to fit within my
framework. So what what I wannado in these, like, next few
(22:36):
questions, which wouldultimately be the final few
questions, is I want to talkabout HBCU Week. Can we, can we
talk about that a bit?
Travis Mitchell (22:44):
Absolutely.
Rob Lee (22:45):
So tell us about HBCU Week. What's your
Travis Mitchell (22:48):
I think to get started, I I shared my
backstory. He asked me thequestion about a transformative
moment, and it was at Morgan. Igrew up on the campus of Shaw
University in Raleigh, NorthCarolina where my father was a
basketball coach. My my lateuncle was a was a chair of the
city school board of the countyschool board. My mother was a
graduate of that institution.
(23:10):
It is the oldest HBCU in thesouth that has given birth to
several other HBCUs in NorthCarolina. North Carolina A and T
State University being one ofthem was birthed on the campus
of Shaw University. When I waswalking that campus as a child,
it's what I now realize was notWakanda experience. It's the
(23:32):
place where I saw blackexcellence in action.
Unapologetic, strong blackleaders who demanded excellence
from their students.
And and that was an environmentthat I was raised in that
nurtured me. It is the placethat gave my parents an
opportunity to go to school whenmajority institutions, PWIs that
(23:56):
we call them now, would notaccept people of color. Right.
And so my parents went to Shaw.They chose Shaw, but Shaw also
chose them.
And they loved Shaw Universitywhere I now happen to serve on
the board of trustees. But whenI came to Maryland in the
(24:17):
aftermath of George Floyd, ourCEO, Larry Unger, said, let's
come up with a way to respondand not react to the crisis at
hand. And so we developed amultiyear 10 point plan called
(24:39):
standing against racism,fostering unity through
dialogue. And I said one of thebest ways for us to embrace the
African American community isthrough partnership with the 6
HBCUs located in the DMV. BowieState, Compton State, Morgan,
(24:59):
Howard, UDC, and then theUniversity of Maryland Eastern
Shore.
And I thought that if we couldbring to light films that
reflected my Wakanda experiencewalking on the campus of Shaw,
leading a protest at Morgan. Ifwe could capture what makes
HBCUs American treasures, theoriginal diversity, equity, and
(25:21):
inclusion experiments in Americawhere, philanthropists and and
and and and and, white peoplewho saw the need to remedy and
address the ills of slaveryalong with, free blacks and
along with, newly fled freedslaves would come together and
(25:43):
open up the doors to educate apopulation that was largely
illiterate and ignorant becauseof, the rules of slavery and the
oppression of the slave masters.Yet, in a few short years, gave
rise to a professional class ofnewly educated freemen. I
thought if we could explain thehistory of HBCUs, if we could
(26:07):
explain the contemporaryrelevance of HBCUs, for
instance, HBCUs produce thelion's share of STEM graduates,
annually in this nation. If wecould unpack the mystery of
HBCUs, we could create anopportunity to increase the
value proposition of HBCUs bystrengthening, awareness, brand
(26:29):
identity, and also, brandequity, so that the community
could understand that it isimperative that it supports the
local HBCUs.
And so if the African Americancommunity was going to heal, no
better way for it to heal thanto showcase something positive
(26:49):
in the midst of so much nationaldivision and chaos.
Rob Lee (26:53):
That's that's beautiful. It's it's important.
It's it's important to do that.I remember just, you know,
during that time and even alittle further back with, like,
Freddie Gray here in inBaltimore and sort of what that
experience is being being like.And, and and being doing this,
doing media, doing podcasts,like, you know, I've been doing
(27:15):
it as long as I have that, youknow, I couldn't exclude it from
conversation despite it being aa topic.
And I found that in doing thisparticular podcast, like, early
on when, you know, sort of theGeorge Floyd and all of the the
the protests and then the thesort of response to it, I got
(27:36):
some of the weirdest DMs fromfolks, you know, of me, oh, oh,
not like, oh, well, you didn'texperience that. I was like, oh,
you're gonna tell me what myexperience is as a black
Exactly. In this country. Right.It's like, don't get it
confused.
And Oh, yeah. Still this, and itstill comes through list this
lens. Yeah. Oh, and this is notwhat it is. But if you want me
to get real, I can get real andreally share something that's
(27:58):
representative of being in thiscity the entire time I've lived
here and having some of thethings that I've seen and even
more broadly because you youlook local, but also you look
more broadly.
You look for places that aresimilar, and you're like, I see
this everywhere.
Travis Mitchell (28:13):
That's right. That's right. I mean, it's you
know, so so we have a choice,And and and and people have to
understand it. We choose asblack men in America to, invest
in ourselves so that we can bepillars in our community, but it
does not mean, that we don't paya price. And so I think it's
(28:33):
important to be truthful aboutour truly unique American
experience, so that the largerpublic can understand, but also
for the larger public and futuregenerations to see our
resilience.
And I refuse, to be deniedattitude, just living and
walking and striving to progressevery day despite the obstacles
(28:54):
that we might face. And I refuseto let others hijack the
American dream. My foreparentsand my forefathers shed their
blood for America to be a freenation, and we have to be
determined to fight for thatliberty, to fight for equal
access. And that's what the HBCUexperience, I think, teaches us,
that we have a responsibility tofight for freedoms. We have a
(29:17):
responsibility to address themoment at hand.
Had it not been for the studentnonviolent coordinating
committee founded at the campusof Shaw University in 1960, It
was students who desegregatedlunch counters across the
country. It was students whomarched in Selma and face fire
hoses and dogs. It was studentswho led that charge. So like
(29:38):
Hbcu s present an opportunityfor the next generation of
leaders to be trained and tooperate in the now. So had it
not been for SNCC, there wouldhave been no civil rights act,
no voting rights act, therefore,no Obama.
So there are things that happenon the campuses of HBCUs that
prepare students to really trulyimpact their generations and
(30:00):
impact their world. So when youtune in to HBCU week this week,
September 4th, starting onMonday, September 4th, all the
way through, Sunday, September10th. You'll see a lineup that
celebrates the history, theculture, the legacy of HBCUs, 27
hours, most of which are inprime time. It's unprecedented.
(30:21):
It's never been done locally.
It's never been done nationally.27 hours of content with repeats
on Sunday, encore presentations.And Monday night, if I could put
in a plug for our alma mater, ifyou're a Morgan a Morganite, you
really wanna tune in becausewelcome to HBCU Week gives you a
(30:41):
preview at 7 on Monday, the 4th.This is Labor Day, Monday, at 4.
You get a 1 hour treat where youget a chance to learn,
everything that's coming up forHBCU.
Again, it was taped from thecampus of the Morgan State
University, the nationaltreasure. So there's an
extensive interview with ourpresident, doctor David Wilson,
(31:03):
along with highlighting, otherconversations with dynamic
student leaders on campus whilewe take you on a day by day,
sampling of what's to come up,for the rest of the week. So
Monday night on MPT is reallyMorgan night. You you start off
with welcome to, welcome to HBCUweek from the campus of Morgan
(31:24):
State, then you get right overinto Dreamer, which is about
Jasmine Barnes, a Morgan alum,who commissioned was
commissioned to do some somework with the Baltimore Choral
Arts Society, paying homage toHarriet Tubman and Frederick
Douglass, using Mozart pieces.And so she's a dynamic, artist,
and you'll get a chance to seeher work her work, follow excuse
(31:49):
me.
Follow-up by Sounds of the Gamefeaturing, an interview with
doctor Melvin Miles, his 49 yearcareer of, being at the helm of
the magnificent marchingmachine, and then we end up
with, Morgan Choir, a joyfulcelebration, which is pays
homage to doctor Nathan Carter,legendary choir director at
(32:10):
Morgan, and an update with hisstudents and protege. So Monday
night is by far packed withnothing but stories about the
national treasure and our richgraduates and people.
Rob Lee (32:24):
Wow. I mean, so so Labor Day, we have, you know,
the real plate since that's,like, the last time for
barbecue, really. And then wehave, like, the media plate with
all of this, like, diverse andgreat program you programming
you've been describing. I amlooking forward to it. I mean,
it's it's gonna be great, andthat's and the cool thing is you
because, you know, mediaprofessional, you know, you've
(32:45):
answered the last threequestions in that last pitch
there, so I appreciate that.
Travis Mitchell (32:49):
Well, we do, Rob, wanna tell people to go to
mpt.org backslashhbcu. That'smptdot org backslash HBCU to see
the lineup for yourselves.There's great trailers and
promotional videos up there.Check it out and tune in. Don't
forget to tune in.
Tell everybody. Tell your momand them. Tell your friends.
(33:11):
Tell everybody. Tune in, nextweek, Monday, September 4th,
through Sunday, September 10thfor HBCU week.
DVR it. Record it. Watch it overand over again. We need your
support.
Rob Lee (33:23):
Absolutely. So in these these final moments here, I
wanna I wanna hit these 2 rapidfire questions with you because
I think I think they're fun. Ithink they're fun.
Travis Mitchell (33:31):
Okay.
Rob Lee (33:32):
This is the first one. And, you know, I see you the
you've got your jacket on rightnow. You know, the exact type
have to wear a certain fit. Whatis your go to, like, accessory?
Are you a pocket square guy?
Are you a tie guy?
Travis Mitchell (33:43):
Pocket square.
Rob Lee (33:44):
Okay.
Travis Mitchell (33:45):
Whether I wear a tie or not, I I'm known. I
just didn't happen to wear ittoday, but that's become my
thing. My daughter kindaredesigned my look, and she
wanted me to be known for pocketsquares. So I kinda have a a
thing for pocket squares.
Rob Lee (33:57):
I'm working on that myself, actually, and I've been
working with a weird sort ofascot thing with things that it
shouldn't be with. It's like,I'm putting the ascot on. It's
like, so the big guy with theascot, that's he would have
talked to you. That's gonna bemy thing. This this is sort of
the last one.
You mentioned Wakanda earlier,right? And I and I have to
mention it. So Wakanda's alwaysbeen in in in in film, depicted
(34:19):
as a technological wonder withblack folk at the helm. What is
your favorite gadget? Do youhave a gadget you like?
Travis Mitchell (34:26):
Probably my flip phone that I just got. I
mean, it's a it's a Samsung flipphone. Yeah. It it it reminds me
of when I was a kid, the coollittle, tricorder that they had
and communicate on Star Trekwhere they would flip it open.
It's it's it's the old flipphone, times a 100.
Right? So, I love this thing.It's my favorite gadget. It's I
(34:50):
I run my life through thisphone, for work. I'm able to
move around and still getconnected to the office and do
what I need to do from remotelocation.
So that's my favorite gadget.
Rob Lee (35:01):
That's dope. That's dope. So, one last time for the
folks out there sitting in theback, where can they check out
the schedule? Where can theycheck out everything HBCU week
that's coming up? Give them thatwebsite one more time, please.
Travis Mitchell (35:14):
Mpt, m as in Mary, p as in Pat, t as in
Travis, mpt.org backslashhbcu.You can find out about our
programming, and you can alsofind about ways that you can
watch us. It's also livestreamed. So if you're in this
area and you go to our websiteand you can't get home, but you
wanna check it out, you can livestream it through your phone or
(35:35):
you can live stream it throughour website so that you can stay
on top of, the each day'sprogram.
Rob Lee (35:42):
There you have it, folks. I wanna again thank
Travis Mitchell for coming on,the great Travis Mitchell for
coming on to the podcast. AndI'm Rob Lee saying that there's
art, culture, and a big emphasison community in and around your
neck of the woods. You've justgotta look for it.
Welcome to the Truth in Us Art. I am your host, Rob Lee.
And thank you for tuning in formore authentic stories from
creatives from Baltimore andbeyond. Today, I am excited to
welcome my next guest, aseasoned media executive with
over 3 decades of experienceknown for his groundbreaking
initiatives, including therenowned HBCU Week. He's a
(00:31):
senior vice president and thechief content officer at
Maryland Public Television,please give a warm welcome to
Travis Mitchell.
Welcome to the podcast.
Travis Mitchell (00:41):
Hey. Thanks for having me. Thanks for having me,
Rob.
Rob Lee (00:44):
Thank you for coming. Always good to connect with a,
you know, fellow fellow HBC, youknow, with that that sort of
energy. So, you know, forstarters, I like to kick things
off by, like, diving in to thejourney. And if you will, Could
you share sort of that that keymoment or experience that you
know led you on your path likeYou know we there's always that
(01:06):
one thing that sticks out, inthe the sort of Marvel parlance
and the recent Spider man moviefolks will say it's a canon
event. You know, I had that onewhen it comes to doing this, you
know, There's a former presidentthat says something really ill
about Baltimore, and I was likeactivated That's that sort of
pinpoint moment for for you andyour career what has been that
(01:26):
sort of, like, introductory, themoment, that starting moment for
you and your journey?
Travis Mitchell (01:31):
Well, thanks for the question. And and
without a doubt, it's it's myrole as a student spokesperson
for, the largest student protestin Morgan State's history, when
I was a sophomore. See, I camefrom Raleigh, North Carolina
with a, dream of playingbasketball. I had a double
scholarship. I was a honorsstudent.
(01:51):
I was a basketball player, andthings on the, on the court
didn't go as I anticipated. Andso I was able to red shirt take
a red shirt year, my sophomoreyear, right when the season
started. And then it gave mesome time to explore what it
truly meant to be a student, notjust a student athlete. And so I
(02:14):
got involved with the campusnewspaper, The Spokesman. And,
the SGA student leaders came byand, leaders from the panel and
the council and said that, youknow, we're gonna we're gonna
protest tomorrow some of theconditions on campus.
And, we're gonna meet with theadministration, and and, you all
(02:34):
might wanna come cover it. Andso the next day, while sitting
in the administration office inTruth Hall, it it at the end, it
was, well, we need you to movefrom being, covering this. We
need you to be our spokespersonbecause you have media
experience. And so, I reallydidn't have media experience. I
(02:55):
only had a week or so, on thespokesman in a semester news
writing class.
But, but I took the challengeand to become the spokesperson,
and, it changed my life. It issomething that, you look back on
and and and and you don't know,how profound of an impact it's
(03:16):
gonna have, but it truly wastransformative. 1st and
foremost, I was able to equipmyself quite well in forming
partnerships with, the localmedia. Many relationships I have
to this day, were from thatpoint, which is roughly, 30
years ago 33 years ago to beexact, when when that happened.
(03:38):
And so I was able to gain in myconfidence, in putting together
media strategies.
I was was we won the publicrelations battle with a very
popular governor who happened tobe a Democrat of the state of
Maryland, William DonaldSchaefer. But we won in the
(03:58):
court of public opinion. We wereable to come up with, a theme,
and a saying for, students toremember when reporters
inevitably came up on campus andwanted to get the reaction from
student body. And that was allof our love, peace, and
happiness we're gonna give toMorgan. And so the the net
(04:21):
effect of it was that, the mediabecame convinced, that we as
Morgan students who wereprotesting against inequitable
funding, which resulted indilapidated buildings, resulted
in not having enough security,on and on and on.
(04:43):
They were convinced that we wereright Yeah. And that, it was not
fair that the state of Marylandhad, for 40 years, neglected
Morgan's, State University andthe build out of our campus. And
so as our protest prolonged, itwent from a sit in to our
(05:04):
administration building to, a 2and a half mile caravan that
descend descended upon Annapolisand a meeting with the governor
and, included a hunger strike,included, on the 7th day when we
returned the campus to ouradministration. It was because
we had reached a tentativeagreement with the governor. We
(05:24):
had discovered in our duediligence that there was a 25
year plan of development forMorgan, that had not been
funded.
And so a plan is only as good asthe paper is written on if
there's no investment in it. Andso we kept pressing the
government to take action now,and he had in his power to
(05:44):
authorize the renovation of our2 worst dormitories, which back
then were the male dormitoriesthat happened to be going under
renovation. Again, that'sBaldwin and Cummings. Mhmm. And
we needed him to go ahead andmove those dormitories under
renovation.
And so, when we left thebuilding, we did so, with a note
(06:05):
to the governor that if he didnot show action, that we would
come back. And so as thegovernor delayed to get us to
right before finals, Myself and5 other students, put on trash
bags and had a press conferencein front of troop hall and said,
(06:25):
mister governor, you've trashedyour word, and today, we're
gonna return your trash to yourdoorsteps. And we began to walk
from Morgan to Annapolis. Thefunny thing, Rob, is, being from
Raleigh, North Carolina, Ithought, what it's not a big
deal. It's only about 13 miles.
And then I got 13 miles in andsaw a sign that said Annapolis
28 more miles. And then I knewwe we were we were in for it.
(06:48):
And in fact, I think we startedseeing some old Negro spirituals
at that particular time. But thereality was, you asked me what
changed my life, and it showedme that sometimes, you have to
understand this saying, whichis, you know, yesterday was
great. Tomorrow may be greater.
(07:09):
But today, is a gift, and that'swhy it's called the present. You
have to understand somethingabout operating in the now. And
so as a result of our labor, I'mpleased to share that, Morgan
received we were a catalyst.Let's be clear. We were simply a
catalyst to light fire behindsomething that already existed,
(07:30):
a movement that was ready to toburst.
And so the president at thattime, doctor Earl s Richardson,
who is a mentor of mine to thisday, really had already put
together a a campus improvementplan. And so we were the fuel to
to light the fire behind thestate. And in in in 25 years,
(07:51):
that plan resulted in about1,500,000,000 in on campus
renovations. If anybody has beenup to Morgan, you'll see that,
doctor Richardson's vision cameto pass. And then doctor Wilson,
who replaced, doctor Richardson,our current president, has his
own vision.
And and over the last 14 yearshas initiated some 1,100,000,000
(08:14):
in campus renovation. Soaltogether, we've had well over
$2,000,000,000 of campusrenovation since my time at
Morgan. And it just says that ifyou invest seeds of hope and
inspiration in today, investingyour time, talent and treasure,
that it will produce a futuretree of success for future
(08:35):
generations whom you do notknow.
Rob Lee (08:38):
Wow. That is that is the and I don't even know if
they even qualified as aintroductory question. That was
it I Love it like you youcrushed 2 of my maybe 3 of my
other questions So you knowyou're making my job easier, so
thank you for that and and thankyou for for taking us back down
sort of like, you know, sort ofthe inspirations that are there
and memory lane, if you will.You know, you mentioned some of
(09:01):
the different landmarks onMorgan's campus. I go back to
being a goofy 18 year old and,like, oh, man, 2003.
This is great. Right? And, andeven, you know, can extend a
little bit and relate in thisway in in doing this and doing,
like, audio and and doing radioand all of that stuff. It it
started with this sort of offchance thing at, WEAA through my
(09:25):
scholarship program at the graveschool. It's like, hey, go over
there and, you know, get on,Omar Mohammed's, show and just
just talk a bit.
That was me getting bit by thebug, you know?
Travis Mitchell (09:35):
And it's funny you mentioned Omar Mohammed.
Omar and I were roommates, afterwe graduated from college. We
were really close at Morgan, sohe's a good man and very proud
of him.
Rob Lee (09:47):
Great. I wanna move, a little bit into sort of, you
know, your your your currentwork and sort of this where
does, like, sort of thatintersection how did the the
story with, you know, MarylandPublic Television and you, like,
you know, your vision, yourvalues, how did those two
things, like, align? Theirvision, their mission, your
(10:08):
vision, your mission as as anindividual, how did they align
specifically in your role as,chief content officer?
Travis Mitchell (10:14):
Well, I I think let me let me prep you as well.
So, you know, in my time inmedia, I went from the campus
newspaper, The Spokesman, at avery young age, around 23, I was
managing editor of 4 nationalpublications, coming out of
Baltimore, called a companycalled Career Communications
(10:35):
Group. And they were nationaltrade publications that I was
the managing editor of. And Imorphed that into a time, where
I launched my own media firm forabout 7 years, called Between
the Lines Communications, andit's in in in that capacity that
I snagged a daily televisionshow that I produced out of
(10:56):
Washington DC that was national.Then I was recruited, to join an
effort by former heavyweightchampion, Yvanda Holyfield.
And at the time, Cecil Fielderof the Yankees and Marlon
Jackson of the Jackson family.And at that time, world famous,
and notable attorney, AfricanAmerican attorney, Willie e
Gary, to start a a channel thatwas a competitor to BET. It was
(11:20):
called the NBC Network, and thenlater it became the Black Family
Channel. And, I was the chiefoperating officer and executive
vice president and grew thatchannel to, we we also were a
precursor to what you seehappening now. We had exclusive
contracts with every HBCUconference.
(11:42):
So you you'd see we did over 300live football and basketball
games. We covered baseball,track and field, and so you name
it. I've been working ondeveloping content to support
HBCUs for a very long time.
Rob Lee (11:58):
Wonderful.
Travis Mitchell (11:58):
And, upon successfully scaling that
network and it being sold, wentback to North Carolina and ran a
nonprofit for a number of years.And then the governor of North
Carolina, there was an openingon, the board for UNC TV, now
public PBS North Carolina. Andthe governor had his team reach
(12:20):
out to me and ask if I wasinterested with my media
background. And so my publicmedia career began in earnest,
when I was placed on the boardof UNC TV somewhere around 2012.
So I was on the board oftrustees for this statewide
public media channel thatactually helped teach me to
read.
(12:40):
You see, when I was growing up,my mother had recently divorced,
and we were in Raleigh, NorthCarolina living with my
grandmother. And, my mother wentback to school to get not one,
but 2 master's degrees so thatshe could create a better life.
So I've been from the South, theone thing you know is we don't
call, soap opera soap operas. Wecall them stories. And so when
(13:02):
my grandmother, my signal to goto my room was when I heard the
theme music for the young andthe restless come on.
That was my theme music. Thatwas my signal to go to my room,
and we only have 4 channels. Weonly had ABC, CBS, and NBC, and
you had this little channelcalled PBS. And so when I when I
(13:23):
turned to PBS, in my room,that's where my world opened up.
I was able to explore theuniverse through Nova.
I was able to, identify with andand and learn from EasyReader. I
knew Morgan Freeman asEasyReader, not, driving miss
Daisy. You know, I was able toventure down Sesame Street on my
(13:46):
way to a electric company. So soPBS is where I learned how to
read. And, so to become the thelater, I was asked if I would
step off the board by our newgeneral manager and CEO and if I
would take the helm as a chiefcontent officer.
And, I have been running anonprofit at that time, and I
said this might be a good timefor me to get back in the media.
(14:08):
And so it was, destiny to haveme be the chief content officer
of the very, TV PBS station thattaught me how to read. And so
my, my longing to return to theMaryland area came from the fact
that my daughter, decided tofollow in my footsteps as a
freshman at Morgan. And I hadalways wanted to come back what
(14:32):
I consider my second home.
Rob Lee (14:34):
Yeah.
Travis Mitchell (14:35):
And, Maryland Public Television was looking
for senior vice president andchief content officer. And so I
applied and, came here, left UNCTV on February 25th 2020, got
here on February 26, 2020. Andthen the first order of business
was shutting down ourprogramming, and productions
(14:58):
because of COVID. And so I washere, but, really, it took about
a year and a half for me toreally begin to circulate again
in this Baltimore area era. Sothat's really why I came, and
and our mission here, is to,enrich lives and strengthen
communities through the power ofmedia.
(15:19):
And, because of my backgroundand many of the things I did at
in at UNC, TV, it was allcommunity focused programming
because I believe that the valueof public media lies in our
ability to tell authenticstories about the communities
that we serve. And the more wedo that, the more people
(15:40):
resonate with our contentbecause commercial content
doesn't necessarily care aboutyou on what's happening in your
community, but we do. And soit's it's ingrained in our DNA,
and that's why, I believe thiswas a a good fit for me at the
right place at the right time.
Rob Lee (16:00):
Thank you. Well, again, you know, knocking out these
questions. So I appreciate you,and I appreciate that that
insight there. Yeah. I thinkwhen we're in a sort of local,
like, content creation and andspeaking or being representative
of a a community, and it doesn'tseem to be reflective at times
of the community.
There there's some sort ofdisconnect. Are you really into
(16:21):
the community? And there isalmost, like, some sort of sense
of, how do we go about this? Howdo we go about making this
happen? How do we scale it?
How do we grow it? And listeningto you, there's obviously this
the strong track record andknowledge base and knowing,
like, yeah, this this fits. Thisfits. This makes sense. So if
(16:41):
you would, could you share, youknow, maybe 2 to 3 insights that
have kind of guided the way thatyou go about selecting sort of
content and and working in thatcapacity that's reflective of of
the community, that isreflective of, you know, sort of
like a a narrative?
Travis Mitchell (16:57):
So I I think for for public media, a local a
local media outlet. And in ourcase, we serve the entire state
of Maryland, Northern Virginia,DC, parts of West Virginia,
Pennsylvania. It's veryimportant that when people tune
in to watch you that they seethemselves. And so this also led
(17:20):
to me developing, a diverseslate of programming, post
George Floyd, and I'll talkabout that more in a moment. But
I think you have to be relevantby showcasing, the people that
are in your backyard, so tospeak.
I think you have to give themaccess to the airwaves so that
(17:40):
they can own the airwaves. Youknow, it's really important for
people to own the airwaves, andthat's the differentiation
differentiator between us andcommercial media is that people
can actually engage with thecontent on a regular basis. And
then I I think you you have toremember that your content has
(18:01):
to have 3 things. It's gotta beentertaining. It should inform,
and it should inspire.
Rob Lee (18:10):
Yeah.
Travis Mitchell (18:10):
So the best content, I think, does the three
things. They it's entertaining.It's informative. It teaches
somebody, and then it inspiresthem. You know, evoking emotion
out of people, whether it'slaughter or empathy, I think, is
the sign of incrediblycompelling content.
(18:32):
And it's not always how polishedthe content is. Mhmm. It is how
compelling it is. So I try tolook for content that moves
people, and we try to developcontent that fits within our
mission, which is to in strengthenrich lives and strengthen
communities through the power ofmedia. That power is the ability
(18:56):
for me media to resonate deeplywith people and move them, in
some instances, to action, movethem to understanding, moving
them to do something positive,with the people that are around
them.
And so I think those are thefilters that I have used to
decide what fits for the momentof any channel or any station
(19:20):
that I happen to be overseeing.
Rob Lee (19:22):
Wow. That is that's that's great. I'm I'm over here.
Like like I said, I'm fanboyingout because, like, this is the
thing that I've literally beenpreaching to folks when it comes
to this sort of, like, you know,industry building out a podcast
and all of that stuff. And, youknow, I I talk with folks, and
they'll say, oh, I don't thinkit's gonna be great.
I don't have the best mics andso on. I was like, do you have
an idea? Does it make sense? Canyou be entertaining? You know,
(19:46):
is it inspired?
Things of that nature. And I waslike, look at it as a draft.
You're gonna eventually find it.You'll eventually get the budget
to get that fancy new mic thatyou really can't. But, you know,
but you'll be able to get themsome of those upgrades, but
really, you know, it's the why.
It's like why are you doing it?Having that sort of, like, North
Star, if you will.
Travis Mitchell (20:04):
Yeah. I mean, if you're not using your cell
phone to record yourself, thenwhy spend money on a mic? You
you start with where you are.Mhmm. When I started with the
campus newspaper at Morgan, ithad not been published for 8
years.
That didn't stop me. I wentabout it. I was the editor in
chief, became the publisher. Wewent out and raised our own
(20:27):
money, but I thought mypublication was just as
important as the daily BaltimoreSun or the USA Today. In fact, I
I would call and set up meetingswith the publishers and editors
in chief because I saw myselfeye level to eye level with
them.
You're a publisher. I'm a pubpublisher. Don't discount me
because of my age or yourperceived, view of my lack of,
(20:49):
of experience. You know, thereality is this is the seat I'm
in now. I have some questions.
Let's talk peer to peer. Mhmm.And so, respectfully, but
confidently. And I think ifyou're gonna be in the creative
space, you have to go with whatdo you see inside, and just be
(21:11):
patient enough to give birth toit. When you when you when you
learn the skills that go alongwith content creation, you can
give birth to what you seeinternally.
But you also have to beconfident enough to know you may
not be the best, producer or thebest editor or the best host.
(21:33):
But if you have the vision, youare the content creator. So if
you just attract people to youthat can buy your vision, then
you're one step closer to beingable to to to give birth and
produce and bring to the worldthat concept or that content or
that idea whose time has come.
Rob Lee (21:51):
Yeah. I, I've been calling it rotting that wave.
Maybe it's in an Aquarius thing,but call it rotting that wave
of, like, look, I have a visionof what I wanna accomplish, and
sometimes it's a little broaderthan what it originally looked
like. Like, Oh, I didn't evenknow I had an interest in that.
Does it make sense?
This is a line. And but stilltrying to see it to its
(22:11):
fruition. And you have so manydifferent folks that might come
in and say, oh, well, maybe youshould do it this way or maybe
you should change it. And it's,like, not at no no, you know, no
disrespect, no qualms aboutlistening to another person and
their insight. People may knowmore than you, but it's, like, I
know my vision.
Yeah. So it's just like, it hasto fit. It has to fit within my
framework. So what what I wannado in these, like, next few
(22:36):
questions, which wouldultimately be the final few
questions, is I want to talkabout HBCU Week. Can we, can we
talk about that a bit?
Travis Mitchell (22:44):
Absolutely.
Rob Lee (22:45):
So tell us about HBCU Week. What's your
Travis Mitchell (22:48):
I think to get started, I I shared my
backstory. He asked me thequestion about a transformative
moment, and it was at Morgan. Igrew up on the campus of Shaw
University in Raleigh, NorthCarolina where my father was a
basketball coach. My my lateuncle was a was a chair of the
city school board of the countyschool board. My mother was a
graduate of that institution.
(23:10):
It is the oldest HBCU in thesouth that has given birth to
several other HBCUs in NorthCarolina. North Carolina A and T
State University being one ofthem was birthed on the campus
of Shaw University. When I waswalking that campus as a child,
it's what I now realize was notWakanda experience. It's the
(23:32):
place where I saw blackexcellence in action.
Unapologetic, strong blackleaders who demanded excellence
from their students.
And and that was an environmentthat I was raised in that
nurtured me. It is the placethat gave my parents an
opportunity to go to school whenmajority institutions, PWIs that
(23:56):
we call them now, would notaccept people of color. Right.
And so my parents went to Shaw.They chose Shaw, but Shaw also
chose them.
And they loved Shaw Universitywhere I now happen to serve on
the board of trustees. But whenI came to Maryland in the
(24:17):
aftermath of George Floyd, ourCEO, Larry Unger, said, let's
come up with a way to respondand not react to the crisis at
hand. And so we developed amultiyear 10 point plan called
(24:39):
standing against racism,fostering unity through
dialogue. And I said one of thebest ways for us to embrace the
African American community isthrough partnership with the 6
HBCUs located in the DMV. BowieState, Compton State, Morgan,
(24:59):
Howard, UDC, and then theUniversity of Maryland Eastern
Shore.
And I thought that if we couldbring to light films that
reflected my Wakanda experiencewalking on the campus of Shaw,
leading a protest at Morgan. Ifwe could capture what makes
HBCUs American treasures, theoriginal diversity, equity, and
(25:21):
inclusion experiments in Americawhere, philanthropists and and
and and and and, white peoplewho saw the need to remedy and
address the ills of slaveryalong with, free blacks and
along with, newly fled freedslaves would come together and
(25:43):
open up the doors to educate apopulation that was largely
illiterate and ignorant becauseof, the rules of slavery and the
oppression of the slave masters.Yet, in a few short years, gave
rise to a professional class ofnewly educated freemen. I
thought if we could explain thehistory of HBCUs, if we could
(26:07):
explain the contemporaryrelevance of HBCUs, for
instance, HBCUs produce thelion's share of STEM graduates,
annually in this nation. If wecould unpack the mystery of
HBCUs, we could create anopportunity to increase the
value proposition of HBCUs bystrengthening, awareness, brand
(26:29):
identity, and also, brandequity, so that the community
could understand that it isimperative that it supports the
local HBCUs.
And so if the African Americancommunity was going to heal, no
better way for it to heal thanto showcase something positive
(26:49):
in the midst of so much nationaldivision and chaos.
Rob Lee (26:53):
That's that's beautiful. It's it's important.
It's it's important to do that.I remember just, you know,
during that time and even alittle further back with, like,
Freddie Gray here in inBaltimore and sort of what that
experience is being being like.And, and and being doing this,
doing media, doing podcasts,like, you know, I've been doing
(27:15):
it as long as I have that, youknow, I couldn't exclude it from
conversation despite it being aa topic.
And I found that in doing thisparticular podcast, like, early
on when, you know, sort of theGeorge Floyd and all of the the
the protests and then the thesort of response to it, I got
(27:36):
some of the weirdest DMs fromfolks, you know, of me, oh, oh,
not like, oh, well, you didn'texperience that. I was like, oh,
you're gonna tell me what myexperience is as a black
Exactly. In this country. Right.It's like, don't get it
confused.
And Oh, yeah. Still this, and itstill comes through list this
lens. Yeah. Oh, and this is notwhat it is. But if you want me
to get real, I can get real andreally share something that's
(27:58):
representative of being in thiscity the entire time I've lived
here and having some of thethings that I've seen and even
more broadly because you youlook local, but also you look
more broadly.
You look for places that aresimilar, and you're like, I see
this everywhere.
Travis Mitchell (28:13):
That's right. That's right. I mean, it's you
know, so so we have a choice,And and and and people have to
understand it. We choose asblack men in America to, invest
in ourselves so that we can bepillars in our community, but it
does not mean, that we don't paya price. And so I think it's
(28:33):
important to be truthful aboutour truly unique American
experience, so that the largerpublic can understand, but also
for the larger public and futuregenerations to see our
resilience.
And I refuse, to be deniedattitude, just living and
walking and striving to progressevery day despite the obstacles
(28:54):
that we might face. And I refuseto let others hijack the
American dream. My foreparentsand my forefathers shed their
blood for America to be a freenation, and we have to be
determined to fight for thatliberty, to fight for equal
access. And that's what the HBCUexperience, I think, teaches us,
that we have a responsibility tofight for freedoms. We have a
(29:17):
responsibility to address themoment at hand.
Had it not been for the studentnonviolent coordinating
committee founded at the campusof Shaw University in 1960, It
was students who desegregatedlunch counters across the
country. It was students whomarched in Selma and face fire
hoses and dogs. It was studentswho led that charge. So like
(29:38):
Hbcu s present an opportunityfor the next generation of
leaders to be trained and tooperate in the now. So had it
not been for SNCC, there wouldhave been no civil rights act,
no voting rights act, therefore,no Obama.
So there are things that happenon the campuses of HBCUs that
prepare students to really trulyimpact their generations and
(30:00):
impact their world. So when youtune in to HBCU week this week,
September 4th, starting onMonday, September 4th, all the
way through, Sunday, September10th. You'll see a lineup that
celebrates the history, theculture, the legacy of HBCUs, 27
hours, most of which are inprime time. It's unprecedented.
(30:21):
It's never been done locally.
It's never been done nationally.27 hours of content with repeats
on Sunday, encore presentations.And Monday night, if I could put
in a plug for our alma mater, ifyou're a Morgan a Morganite, you
really wanna tune in becausewelcome to HBCU Week gives you a
(30:41):
preview at 7 on Monday, the 4th.This is Labor Day, Monday, at 4.
You get a 1 hour treat where youget a chance to learn,
everything that's coming up forHBCU.
Again, it was taped from thecampus of the Morgan State
University, the nationaltreasure. So there's an
extensive interview with ourpresident, doctor David Wilson,
(31:03):
along with highlighting, otherconversations with dynamic
student leaders on campus whilewe take you on a day by day,
sampling of what's to come up,for the rest of the week. So
Monday night on MPT is reallyMorgan night. You you start off
with welcome to, welcome to HBCUweek from the campus of Morgan
(31:24):
State, then you get right overinto Dreamer, which is about
Jasmine Barnes, a Morgan alum,who commissioned was
commissioned to do some somework with the Baltimore Choral
Arts Society, paying homage toHarriet Tubman and Frederick
Douglass, using Mozart pieces.And so she's a dynamic, artist,
and you'll get a chance to seeher work her work, follow excuse
(31:49):
me.
Follow-up by Sounds of the Gamefeaturing, an interview with
doctor Melvin Miles, his 49 yearcareer of, being at the helm of
the magnificent marchingmachine, and then we end up
with, Morgan Choir, a joyfulcelebration, which is pays
homage to doctor Nathan Carter,legendary choir director at
(32:10):
Morgan, and an update with hisstudents and protege. So Monday
night is by far packed withnothing but stories about the
national treasure and our richgraduates and people.
Rob Lee (32:24):
Wow. I mean, so so Labor Day, we have, you know,
the real plate since that's,like, the last time for
barbecue, really. And then wehave, like, the media plate with
all of this, like, diverse andgreat program you programming
you've been describing. I amlooking forward to it. I mean,
it's it's gonna be great, andthat's and the cool thing is you
because, you know, mediaprofessional, you know, you've
(32:45):
answered the last threequestions in that last pitch
there, so I appreciate that.
Travis Mitchell (32:49):
Well, we do, Rob, wanna tell people to go to
mpt.org backslashhbcu. That'smptdot org backslash HBCU to see
the lineup for yourselves.There's great trailers and
promotional videos up there.Check it out and tune in. Don't
forget to tune in.
Tell everybody. Tell your momand them. Tell your friends.
(33:11):
Tell everybody. Tune in, nextweek, Monday, September 4th,
through Sunday, September 10thfor HBCU week.
DVR it. Record it. Watch it overand over again. We need your
support.
Rob Lee (33:23):
Absolutely. So in these these final moments here, I
wanna I wanna hit these 2 rapidfire questions with you because
I think I think they're fun. Ithink they're fun.
Travis Mitchell (33:31):
Okay.
Rob Lee (33:32):
This is the first one. And, you know, I see you the
you've got your jacket on rightnow. You know, the exact type
have to wear a certain fit. Whatis your go to, like, accessory?
Are you a pocket square guy?
Are you a tie guy?
Travis Mitchell (33:43):
Pocket square.
Rob Lee (33:44):
Okay.
Travis Mitchell (33:45):
Whether I wear a tie or not, I I'm known. I
just didn't happen to wear ittoday, but that's become my
thing. My daughter kindaredesigned my look, and she
wanted me to be known for pocketsquares. So I kinda have a a
thing for pocket squares.
Rob Lee (33:57):
I'm working on that myself, actually, and I've been
working with a weird sort ofascot thing with things that it
shouldn't be with. It's like,I'm putting the ascot on. It's
like, so the big guy with theascot, that's he would have
talked to you. That's gonna bemy thing. This this is sort of
the last one.
You mentioned Wakanda earlier,right? And I and I have to
mention it. So Wakanda's alwaysbeen in in in in film, depicted
(34:19):
as a technological wonder withblack folk at the helm. What is
your favorite gadget? Do youhave a gadget you like?
Travis Mitchell (34:26):
Probably my flip phone that I just got. I
mean, it's a it's a Samsung flipphone. Yeah. It it it reminds me
of when I was a kid, the coollittle, tricorder that they had
and communicate on Star Trekwhere they would flip it open.
It's it's it's the old flipphone, times a 100.
Right? So, I love this thing.It's my favorite gadget. It's I
(34:50):
I run my life through thisphone, for work. I'm able to
move around and still getconnected to the office and do
what I need to do from remotelocation.
So that's my favorite gadget.
Rob Lee (35:01):
That's dope. That's dope. So, one last time for the
folks out there sitting in theback, where can they check out
the schedule? Where can theycheck out everything HBCU week
that's coming up? Give them thatwebsite one more time, please.
Travis Mitchell (35:14):
Mpt, m as in Mary, p as in Pat, t as in
Travis, mpt.org backslashhbcu.You can find out about our
programming, and you can alsofind about ways that you can
watch us. It's also livestreamed. So if you're in this
area and you go to our websiteand you can't get home, but you
wanna check it out, you can livestream it through your phone or
(35:35):
you can live stream it throughour website so that you can stay
on top of, the each day'sprogram.
Rob Lee (35:42):
There you have it, folks. I wanna again thank
Travis Mitchell for coming on,the great Travis Mitchell for
coming on to the podcast. AndI'm Rob Lee saying that there's
art, culture, and a big emphasison community in and around your
neck of the woods. You've justgotta look for it.
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