It is not an understatement to think of “A Different World” as the single most important cultural achievement for historically black colleges and universities in American history, and one of the top five pop cultural achievements for African-Americans. Its impact on exposing the value and social construct of the HBCU is but a subtext to a larger scope of showing personable young African-Americans from diverse backgrounds as intelligent, humorous and introspective in their educational pursuits.
More than 20 years later, its episodic themes continue to resonate with black college students and graduates of all ages, creating a nostalgia among both groups for the HBCU culture that holds tight, instills wisdom and good times, and releases graduates ready to conquer the world.
Bill Cosby’s “A Different World” was the phantom right cross to complement Spike Lee’s uppercutting “School Daze;” a warmer, friendlier, weekly edition of black college life to offset Lee’s gritty depiction of HBCU life. Today, “A Different World” still brings a powerful artistry to the benefits of the HBCUs; the socially conscious, family-centered faculty, intimate community setting, conservative-yet-well meaning administration, and all of the campus trappings.
The show helped usher in a golden age of HBCU culture to mainstream Black America, an age where sweatshirts and step shows and meals at “The Pit” became part of Black America’s mainstream pop cultural conscience. It’s influence created an explosion in applications, enrollment and graduation rates at black colleges, and continues to be catalyst for the loftiest expectations and aims for HBCU student and institution alike. Read Full at YourBlackWorld
