Owings Mills, MD, United States, Sept. 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Maryland Public Television (MPT) today announced the continued national celebration of HBCU Week, recognizing the history and legacy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities through its national programming initiative, HBCU Week NOW. A dynamic lineup of eight new short films will premiere on the project’s signature YouTube channel beginning in September.
The new short films produced by a partnership of PBS stations will join 10 others released over the past two years and will begin premiering in mid-September to coincide with the HBCU Week observance. These films will be produced by MPT, Howard University Television, PBS North Carolina, Louisiana Public Broadcasting, WABE (Atlanta), South Carolina ETV, Alabama Public Television, and WXXI (Rochester, N.Y.).
With a focus on the fine and performing arts, the new films will showcase Southern University’s jazz program, Spelman College’s Glee Club, Miles College’s award-winning Purple Marching Machine marching band, the fashion arts program at North Carolina A&T State University (NC A&T) and North Carolina Central University (NCCU), and the Department of Theatre Arts at Howard University.
In partnership with Black Public Media, MPT will also debut The HBCU Week NOW Student Film Festival in January 2026, featuring a selection of 10 original short-format projects. The films are selected from submissions by HBCU students, curated by Black Public Media and showcased on the HBCU Week NOW YouTube channel.
MPT is also presenting new programs for television broadcast by PBS stations nationwide. This effort is anchored by the primetime national broadcast of the documentary Becoming Thurgood: America’s Social Architect, about the life and work of former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. The one-hour film premieres on PBS on September 9 and continues to air across the country, and will be available to stream free of charge at hbcuweeknow.com, PBS.org, and via the PBS app. Additional information about the film, along with a suite of standards-aligned classroom learning materials, screening activities and resources, and other materials, will be available shortly on the film’s educational website.
“With HBCU Week NOW in its third year, we have significantly expanded our storytelling footprint while continuing to celebrate Historically Black Colleges and Universities as unique and cherished national resources,” said Travis E. Mitchell, MPT senior vice president and chief content officer and Morgan State University graduate. “We are grateful for the support and collaboration of dozens of HBCUs and their students, faculty, and leadership as we continue to grow this important project.”
Launched by MPT as a national project in 2023, HBCU Week NOW’s growth is supported by an investment from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for 2024 and 2025, along with funding from MPT’s Center for Maryland History Films and Morgan State University.
Led by MPT, the national project is an outgrowth of the statewide public TV network’s regional HBCU Week celebration. Now in its sixth consecutive year, MPT’s local celebration will provide some 30 hours of HBCU content to viewers in the mid-Atlantic region during the week of September 8-14. More information about MPT’s 2025 HBCU Week lineup is available at mpt.org/hbcu.
“As MPT continues to shine a national spotlight on the enduring contributions of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Morgan State University is proud to stand in support. HBCU Week not only honors our rich legacy but also amplifies the voices and talents of a new generation of students whose stories deserve to be seen, heard, and celebrated,” said David K. Wilson, president of Morgan State University. “This initiative underscores the transformative role HBCUs portray in shaping leaders, advancing knowledge, and expanding opportunity across our nation.”
Congress defines an HBCU as “any historically Black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans …” Today, some 100 HBCUs continue to deliver on the promise of their founding, with more than 285,000 students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds currently enrolled, along with at least 1million alumni from all walks of life. HBCUs are among America’s most crucial institutions for providing access to higher education for generations of Americans from diverse backgrounds, including some of today’s most notable individuals such as former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. David Satcher, Samuel L. Jackson, and many others.
“We offer our heartfelt thanks to everyone at CPB for its support of this groundbreaking project,” added Mitchell. “Among public media’s most important roles is to bring the rich tapestry that is the American story to households across the country.
September and October National Television Broadcasts:
Leading into the PBS premiere of Becoming Thurgood: America’s Social Architect, WORLD, public television’s leading national digital channel, will broadcast a lineup of HBCU-themed programs to complement the documentary. The block will air on WORLD beginning at 7 p.m. on September 8 and again at 12 and 8 a.m. on September 9. Programs that aired in the block are:
WORLD will also re-broadcast Becoming Thurgood on Friday, September 12, at 9 p.m. To check your local listings and discover other HBCU-related content on WORLD, visit worldchannel.org/schedule.