page_title: HBCU band
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: HBCU band / History / Origins
context_page_description: A Historically Black College and University marching band is the marching band sponsored by a historically black college or university. A distinctive "HBCU-style" of marching band originated in the American South in the 1940s through the blending of earlier traditions of military music and minstrel shows with a performance repertoire based on popular song.
  The spectator popularity of HBCU bands within the campus communities of their institutions has historically eclipsed that of traditional athletics. One 2009 survey of students and alumni of HBCUs found that more than 83-percent felt that most people attended HBCU football games only to see the marching band perform.
  Different studies have linked HBCU membership with both higher and lower rates of academic achievement versus the at-large student population. Among the predominantly male, African-American membership of the ensembles, they have been theorized to support positive identity formation. Instances of death and serious injury have occurred among HBCU band members due to patterns of endemic and often violent hazing.
context_section_description: Early American military music recruited large numbers of black musicians. A 1738 statute enacted by the Virginia House of Burgesses required military service for “free mulattos, blacks, and Native Americans". Due to government concerns of a domestic rebellion, they were prohibited from carrying arms and were, therefore, exclusively used as "drummers, fifers, trumpeters, or pioneers”. As many as 5,000 African-Americans provided military service during the American War of Independence, including notable musicians such as Barzillai Lew. The tendency to recruit African-Americans into military bands continued after independence; following the War of 1812, a large number of civilian, all-black brass bands formed among veteran military musicians across the United States, but particularly in New Orleans where they often adopted the theatrical styles of minstrel shows.
caption: HBCU band style was influenced by the minstrel shows of the 19th century.
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