 HBCU Digest, welcome back distinguished interviews with extraordinary leaders and stakeholders from the HBCU community. Today is a very, very special opportunity for me. I don't get in my line of work in covering black colleges, many opportunities to talk to the brothers and sisters who run band programs. And so to be able to get this brother on today is a treat. Dr. Roderick Little, he is the director of bands at Jackson State University. Some of y'all may know him as director of Sonic Boom in the South. In the headlines this week for a very special gift made by a good friend of his coming up former NBA superstar, Monte Ellis, to directly support the boom. And so Dr. Little first, again, it's an honor to have you on, man. It's definitely an honor with being here and I definitely appreciate the invite. So talk a little bit about this. So when you read through the story, this is super important in a lot of ways. One is the brand recognition of Monte Ellis, one of the greatest basketball players ever come out of Mississippi. NBA superstar in his own right. And obviously giving back to a school that he had obviously admired and is a part of his blood as a Mississippi native, but he didn't attend. That's built off a relationship with you. Talk a little bit about how your relationship with him helped him to engage support of the boom. Well, you know, it's funny. You just kind of never know where life is gonna take you. So Monte and I, we grew up in the same neighborhood. We attended a Rowan Middle School and he actually started off in the band program for a little while and I was heavy in band. And he tried it out, but once he picked up the basketball, I think we all know what he was like by being an athlete. So he picked up the basketball and I remain in the band program, but we continuously saw each other in the neighborhood because right across the street from our middle school was a basketball court. So I just kind of always remember him after I got out of band rehearsal, back on the basketball court practicing and just kind of honing his skills rather after I just got done honing my skills as a musician coming out of band practice. So I just kind of always remember that and seeing him in the neighborhood and us kind of speaking to each other. And even though we were kind of going different paths, we always had that connection knowing that we were bestowed some special gifts within us. And we just kind of always kind of looked at each other and understood that our gifts were going to transcend our environment for both of us to give back to the students that we were at that particular time and kind of fast forward to present day. Our AD, AD Ashley Robertson at Jackson State University, he and I were having a conversation and he said, man, you'll never guess who I talked to today. He said he knew you and he wanted to make that connection again with you. And I said, man, who are you talking about? Who did you talk to the other day? He said, Montay Ellis. I said, yeah, man, Montay Ellis and I, we go way back. We grew up in the same neighborhood. As a matter of fact, we went to the same high school and their high school. And he said, yeah, man, he said he wanted to give a donation to the sunny room of the South. And it kind of struck me odd because he's an athlete in my mind by him talking to the AD. The first thing that I thought about was him giving a donation to the athletic department, which would be good within itself. But then when he mentioned the band program, of course, I remember the ties that we had and the relationship that we had going up. And Montay actually started out in band at one point. And so I gave Montay a call and we caught up. We talked about a couple of things. He said, yeah, man, I just want you to know that every time I work out or anytime that I'm coaching my team, he has a youth team here in the city. And anytime I'm coaching my team, man, I like to listen to the sunny boom of the South. The music, it gets me energizing. And I've always been connected to the band. And so with that, I just want to give back to the program because I believe in what you're doing. I believe in the sunny boom of the South and I just want to give back. And so that was definitely something that was huge to me. Because as I mentioned about him being an athlete, I thought that he was going to be given to the athletic department. But then he spoke to the sentiments of giving to the band. So that again, just let me know how much the program means to everybody. You know, not just music, but everybody within our community and how many people that we reach. So that's kind of how that started as it relates to the conversations between he and I to be up to the sunny boom of the South. And it's a relationship, obviously that goes back many years for the two of you personally, but now it's the start of a relationship between he and the institution, where it starts with $60,000 in support of the boom. But this is somebody who can be a partner for Jackson State and that's major. Talk a little bit about what band culture is in COVID-19. So we know that a lot of institutions are still marching. They're still doing shows in terms of like videos. We just saw Bethune Cookman last night profiled in a voting special on CBS. That was big. We've seen A&T do the same thing. We've seen the boom do it. What is it like now? And how do you manage your students? How do you manage your programming and your training with social distancing and health front of mind? Yeah, so as I, you know, we're COVID-19, which is something that can definitely be viewed as negative. And it is something that's a detriment across the nation, obviously. But, you know, in our society and in our culture, we find out how to make things that were meant for negative and change it. So that's exactly what we've done in our band program. I am elated to say that we have done so many things in our band program since July all the way up until this point. I mean, we have, you know, with the exception of the philanthropic efforts of Monte Ellis, I mean, we have restructured our program in so many ways and catapulted our program on a national scale. And so with that being said, we have changed the negativity of COVID and changed it into something that's positive for the benefit of our program and all HBCUs. And as we see now across the nation, there has been a heightened awareness about not just HBCUs, but just African American culture in general. And so with that being said, a light has been, a light has been shined on the HBCUs and what they mean to our culture in general. I feel like that we are just starting to really get our just do out in the masses, you know, back in the early 90s and the 80s and things like that. We had TV shows like the Cosby's and The Different World and things like that was actually showcasing the importance of HBCUs, but that has meant forgotten over the years. And so now I think this is another one of those movements to bring that awareness back to what HBCUs have to offer to the nation. And so I'm very excited to be a part of this, as you mentioned, but Thun Cookman was just featured last night on CBS. And as you mentioned, some other HBCUs have been featured as well. Fam, he was been featured in North Carolina A&T. And so we are just getting the notoriety that we have been deserving of for so long. And so to me, this is really the beginning of shedding light on HBCUs, HBCU band programs, and more namely the wonderful talent of our students. Man, our students are the best kept secret with what they do as musicians. And so long, they have been kind of ostracized and frowned upon because of the type of style that we choose to do as musicians and the type of style that we choose to indoctrinate as a HBCU band program. So I'm very excited to be a part of this movement. And again, I can't think of it, or I cannot categorize it anything other than a movement because this is exactly, that is exactly what it is at this particular moment to bring awareness to what we do as HBCUs. It's always pressure every Saturday in the sweat. Every halftime, every fifth quarter, there's pressure for you and every other band in the swag. That's our premier band conference, right? Right. But talk a little bit about the pressure in your life. You're Jackson born and raised, you went to Jackson State, you're running the boom. I don't think people understand from your story how competitive and how good you had to be to be from the city, get recruited by the city, get a scholarship from the city, be excelling the band, come on and work your way up and become the director of the band. Do people get a sense of how difficult that is because you grew up in the backyard of a competitive band program? Absolutely not. It is definitely one of the most difficult things that I've had to embark on in my entire life. But that's kind of like the mark of just growing as an individual. You have to go through trials, you have to go through tribulations. And I honestly feel like that I have been placed in this position, not by accident. I really feel as though I have been placed in this position by a higher power. And I'm not sure if you guys can talk about religion here on the show, but I really believe in God and what he has placed within me to give back to others. And so this has not happened by coincidence. I really feel that it hasn't because a lot of reform without directors they have had ties with the same communities, with the same high schools that I've had ties with, with the same area that I grew up in. And the high school that I graduated from has a deep affinity connection with the Jack and St. University band program. I mean, the first director that actually started the music programs, not just the marching band, but also the string ensembles and help catapulted the department of music was actually a gentleman by the name of Colonel Kermit Holly Senior, who actually was the band director of the high school at that time. And so he used students from Lanier to help start the department of music at Jack and St. University. And so that's not by coincidence. And for me to be connected to that is something that I really don't take lightly. But to your point, it's something that a lot of people really don't understand. I mean, they see band programs and band directors as sort of a kind of face of entertainment. But we're so much more than that. The most important thing that I would like for people to realize is that we pour back into students. Yeah, we're gonna be an entertainment entity for people to see. We're gonna put on a show. We're gonna rock the house every single time. We're gonna bring the energy. But it's very important that people realize that we are educators first. We're music educators first. And we pour back into students first. And the biggest thing that's really a challenge for me, especially now amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is just making sure that all of our students are okay, man, because they're dealing with so much. And they leave their environments to come to a college campus to change their surroundings. And so they really don't have that anymore. They really can't be social in that way. And when you take out the equation of what band is for them, which is life, it brings about a certain amount of different stressors that they are not used to handling on a daily basis because they're used to coming into the band environment during the fall semester and practicing and letting that take their problems away. And so really one thing that has really been tough for me is just trying to figure out ways to make sure that our students are doing fine amid the COVID-19 pandemic and making sure that they are being beneficial and successful academically. And of course, mentally and emotionally as well. So that's what I focus on. Of course, I have my own personal challenges as being the director of such as a Sting Band program, but my heart just always goes out to my students and just consistently thinking about how they're doing and how they're making it through a time such as this one. I'm so glad that you brought up that point because we, and rightly so, our sector gives a lot of credit to the scientists, the judges, the lawyers, the business and entrepreneur people that we create, but we rarely give a lot of credence to how many music educators, how many arts professionals that HBC has put out and how many of those students that started out in a band go on to create careers and make other little high school bands. And when you look around the country and see all these little middle school and high school bands that look like, look like, you know, J.S.U. Sonic Boom, you wonder how that happened because somebody from the boom went there and taught that little band how to do it. And not just that, but how many people come out and use their experience as musicians to propel them to something else. So I got a friend, brother, who's a researcher at Johns Hopkins, played trumpet in a boom. So you never look at that trajectory and musicianship as part of your professional and personal development. Absolutely. And that's one of the best kept secrets as well. As I mentioned to you, our students are the best kept secret, right? And as you just mentioned, you said that you have a colleague that, you know, actually marched in the boom and now he is doing some work with John Hopkins. And so that doesn't happen or that is not, or that light is not, or that particular thing is not talked about a lot amongst HBCU band culture. And unfortunately, you know, some things that may be negative that are pulled out of the HBCU band culture, but we really need to make sure that we highlight all of the wonderful things that our alums and our students are doing out in the community to create positive change. So it's very important, you know, that you brought that up. And I'm an avid believer that teachers should be recognized and, you know, paid for their work just as much as a lawyer or a doctor. Because when I go into offices or, you know, doctor offices and get checkups and things like that, a lot of times doctors are musicians, you know, or lawyers are musicians. And we know that everybody's connected to music in some type of way. But, you know, again, going back to my original point about how this is a movement for HBCUs, I'm really hopeful that people are now starting to see our worth. And, you know, and really realize how much we pour into our students to go out and be these catalysts for change in the societies in which we exist. And so I'm really hoping that, again, this whole movement can spark a different interest and spark a different change, you know, amongst how people see and view the value that we bring to the whole world in general. And I'll get you out of this on this, no brother. You know, you are ahead of a true business enterprise and the boom, there's licensing, there's contracts, there are employees that have ties to that, but they don't get a lot of the benefits of being a quote unquote business entity. How can people be like Monte Ellis and be cognizant of just how much support and just how much resources or how many resources it takes to run this program and how can we give back to the marching band? How can we specifically give to Jackson State Sonic Woman is out? And I'm glad that you brought that up because, you know, when we look at, you know, the world of television, there has been more HBCU band programs that have had reality TV shows at shows, you know, on Netflix with VCU and even Gremlin had a reality TV show. You know, you had some people with Southern back when they did on BET Alabama State. And so with that being said, people have put on blinders as relates to what the HBCU band programs bring to the nation that they put on blinders as relates to using us for the entertainment value. However, they don't wanna support us the way that they should financially to help cultivate that culture. So my thing is, is that if you're gonna use us on all of your platforms as it relates to the entertainment that we can bring to your crowd, it's time that you support our efforts, right? Because a lot of these HBCU band halls are small. A lot of these HBCU band programs, we don't have the instruments that, you know, a lot of the PWIs have. And so we need those resources because our students are number one deserving of those resources. And number two, we provide the entertainment value that all of these major corporations are pulling from to help entertain their crowds. So with that being said, I'm speaking to all of the major corporations that uses the mystique of our wonderful band programs to build your audience is now time to open up those coffers and give back to these HBCU band programs. Because again, our students are worth it and they do an amazing job. And it's time again to bring awareness to what these programs mean, not only the HBCUs but the nation as well. But because you know, as a lot of people always say halftime is game time. And that's not to take anything away from athletics or football because we're getting ready to take the world by storm with football with Coach Prime. But again, it's the same type of relevance and it's the same type of love and deep affinity that our fans have for the band program like they have for athletics. So again, to all the major corporations, when you see things that HBCUs are doing, please email, you know, not just the sonic boom of the sample, all HBCU band program to say, hey, how can I donate to provide some instruments for your program, uniforms for your program, facilities for your program. And most importantly, scholarships for your program, we can make sure that our students are successful and go and provoke change in the environments in which they exist. Real quick, man, you got a formation cooked up for Dion? Look, man. You got a point and 21 on the field. Coach Prime and I, you know, speaking to the AD, he and I are supposed to be meeting sometime in the near future. And so, you know, one of the biggest things that AD, Ashley and I wanted to do, we wanted to make sure that we strengthened the relationship between the band program and athletics. And so we're definitely going to be doing some inciting veins and conjunction with Coach Prime. The overall, make sure that we are supporting our students in elevating our university at large. So that's important. So that's our goal. That's our charge. It's not about, you know, individual cloud or anything that we can do individually for ourselves. This is all about the students. And this is all about showing the glory and the relevance of Jack and State University, the sunny boom of the South and also our athletic department as well. So be on the lookout when Coach Prime is to fill with that football team and, you know, in all this glory, the sunny boom of the South is going to be there to support us as well. So make sure that you stay in your seats during halftime to take a look at what that's going to look like. Dr. Roger Little, the pride of Jackson, Mississippi, we appreciate you, brother. No, I appreciate you for having me on.