The 'Major' series

Laila Rahman-latta

Digital Art Contributor

For me choosing to attend an HBCU (Historically Black College and University) was a no-brainer. My grandparents met at an HBCU football game, my parents met at an HBCU, and almost everyone in my family who has had higher education attended one of the 107 HBCUs in the country. So committing to one wasn’t that much of a big deal.  It wasn’t until I finished my first semester at North Carolina A&T State University that I realized that HBCUs  ARE big deal. They are the homes of culture, tradition, legacy, and altogether some of the biggest producers of the greatest Black minds, artists, scientists, and citizens. I realized that during my time at NCA&T I’m walking on sacred ground and that even if I’m not the next Martin Luther King or Ruth E. Carter, I am living history.  I would say that’s pretty major. Throughout the Major series, I will be exploring the HBCU experience through digital collage, digital illustration, and animation. 

“Drum”
One of the first things that come to mind when I think of HBCUs is the marching band. I grew up watching the Bayou Classic and waiting for halftime to come so I could see the Battle of the Bands, The Human Jukebox versus the World Famed Tiger Marching Band. At an HBCU the marching band is one of the main components of football season. You have the drumline, the horn section, the wind section, the dancers, and of course the band director. But my absolute favorite character in the band is the drum major. They are the spirit of the band, leading and keeping time, all the while adding their own flair. The show literally cannot start without them. Here I’ve depicted a drum major in action, sporting my very own Aggie colors.

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Laila Rahman-Latta (18) is a multimedia artist with a focus in the digital arts and animation. 
She currently attends North Carolina A&T State University as a Cheatham-White Scholar with a major in Graphic Communication Systems with a concentration in Media Design.

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