Virtual marching band competition honors Aretha Franklin, awards University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff $5,000
Today would be the legendary Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin’s 79th birthday. National Geographic’s “GENIUS: ARETHA” and Watch The Bands, an online platform that focuses on preserving and promoting the marching band and dance culture of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), announced the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Marching Band as the winner of “All Hail The Queen: HBCU Band Tribute.” The competition showcased four different HBCU bands from Alabama A & M University, Alabama State University, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Kentucky State University, all of whom performed Franklin’s greatest hits. The bands were