HBCU Titans with Kenn Rashad

On this episode of HBCU Titans, Kenn Rashad sits down with Southern University graduate Christina Hill, director of "Thibodeauxville: The Story of the Thibodaux Massacre: Race, Riot, and Resilience," a feature documentary narrated and executive produced by Wendell Pierce.

In 1887, striking Black sugarcane workers in Thibodaux, Louisiana, were attacked by white vigilantes in one of the deadliest and most silenced labor uprisings in American history. For more than a century, it went largely unspoken, even in the town where it happened. Hill went home to tell the story.

Hill shares how a story she first heard as "more fiction than fact" in high school became a film, how a Facebook message to Wendell Pierce turned into a five-year journey, how an all-women producing team connected through Alpha Kappa Alpha helped bring the project to life, and what she hopes young Black viewers take away from it.

THIBODEAUXVILLE PREMIERE The film makes its world premiere at the New Orleans Film Festival, October 22-27 in person, with virtual access through November 1. Film website: www.thibodeauxvillefilm.com

In this episode of HBCU Titans, Kenn Rashad sits down with international yoga instructor, author, speaker, and wellness entrepreneur Faith Hunter, a Grambling State University graduate and Founder of the Spiritually Fly brand. Faith shares the deeply personal story of losing her brother, how that grief led her to yoga and meditation, and how she transformed that pain into a global wellness empire that has touched hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide.

In this episode of HBCU Titans, Kenn Rashad sits down with Derek Webber, a Hampton University graduate and CEO of Webber Marketing, to discuss the journey behind building the National Battle of the Bands and expanding it into a national platform.

In this episode of HBCU Titans with Kenn Rashad, we sit down with Dr. Loretta Cheeks, a Southern University graduate who has spent decades working at the intersection of technology, artificial intelligence, and innovation. Long before AI became one of the most talked-about topics in the world, she was already studying, building, and thinking about how advanced technology could be used to solve real problems. Dr. Cheeks shares her journey from Southern University in Baton Rouge to earning a PhD in artificial intelligence and explains why she believes AI represents one of the greatest opportunities of our time, especially for entrepreneurs, innovators, and the next generation of leaders emerging from HBCUs.

Behind billions of dollars in construction contracts across America is a system most people don’t understand, but there's one HBCU graduate who knows exactly how it works. In this episode of HBCU Titans, Kenn Rashad talks with Peter Gibbs, President and CEO of Foundation Surety & Insurance Solutions and a proud Central State University graduate. After spending more than 30 years in the federal government, including leading the SBA’s surety bond program, Peter has built a national firm helping contractors and small businesses overcome one of the biggest barriers in the game: getting bonded. Surety bonds may not be sexy, but they can determine who gets the deal, who gets denied, and who gets the opportunity to scale.

Behind one of the most recognizable legal phrases in Texas, “I Just Got Hit,” is an HBCU graduate who quietly built a nine-figure legal operation rooted in strategy, systems, and service. In this episode of HBCU Titans, Kenn Rashad talks with David Godsey, founder of The Godsey Law Firm and a proud graduate of Huston-Tillotson University. What started as a simple, memorable phrase became a trusted legal brand across Texas, but the real story goes far beyond marketing.

Carlisha Robinson is a Grambling State graduate and one of the sharpest product leaders in tech. After decades of driving innovation in corporate America, she took a leap and launched CBR Ventures, a firm helping founders and organizations build smarter, scale faster, and create products that actually serve people. In this episode of HBCU Titans, Kenn Rashad talks with Carlisha about her journey from Grambling to the tech world, the realities of being a Black woman in leadership, why she walked away from the C-suite, and what it takes to build something of your own. If you're navigating corporate life or building a business, this one will hit home.

Traci O’Neal Ellis, a proud FAMU graduate and estate-planning attorney, has spent more than 30 years helping families protect what they’ve built.

In this premiere episode of HBCU Titans, Kenn Rashad sits down with Traci to talk about estate planning and why every family — not just the wealthy — needs a plan for the future.

Together they unpack:
• Why more than 70% of Black families have no estate plan — and what that really costs
• The difference between life insurance and true legacy planning
• How to keep your loved ones out of probate court
• What “writing a love letter to your family” really means