CBC and UNCF Split on College Sports Bill — HBCUs in the Middle
The Congressional Black Caucus and the United Negro College Fund have landed on opposite sides of a college sports bill with major implications for HBCUs.
In brief
The Congressional Black Caucus and the United Negro College Fund — two of the most consequential institutions in Black America — have landed on opposite sides of a college sports bill now before Congress. The rift, reported by HBCU Gameday, signals a rare and significant policy disagreement between allies, with HBCU student-athletes and programs potentially caught in the balance.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Congressional Black Caucus and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) have taken opposing positions on a college sports bill in Congress.
The disagreement is notable because the CBC and UNCF are typically aligned on legislation affecting Black students and institutions.
The legislation has direct implications for HBCUs and the student-athletes who compete within their athletic programs.
HBCU Gameday — the leading media voice for HBCU athletics — broke and is tracking the story.
A Rare Split Between Two Pillars of Black Institutional Power
The Congressional Black Caucus has long served as the legislative spine of Black political power on Capitol Hill, advocating for communities from Southeast DC to the Mississippi Delta. The United Negro College Fund, founded in 1944, has spent more than eight decades funding Black students and sustaining the financial infrastructure of HBCU education. When these two institutions diverge, Washington notices.
The specific provisions driving the split — and each organization's stated rationale — were not detailed in the source material available to WDCM at the time of publication. What is clear is that the college sports bill in question has surfaced a genuine tension, not a minor procedural disagreement, between two organizations that share deep structural ties to the same communities and institutions.
Capitol Hill's relationship with HBCU policy is never simple. HBCUs enroll a disproportionate share of Black first-generation college students and produce a significant percentage of Black professionals in STEM, law, and medicine — facts that give HBCU-related legislation outsized moral and political weight on the Hill. The CBC, whose members represent districts that include several of the nation's most prominent HBCUs, and the UNCF, which provides scholarships and institutional grants to those same schools, are natural partners in that advocacy space.
A public split between them on a college sports bill gives undecided legislators — and lobbyists on both sides — room to maneuver. It also puts HBCU athletic directors, coaches, and student-athletes in an uncomfortable position: two of their most powerful institutional champions are pulling in different directions. Follow our DC Politics Guide 2026 for continued coverage of legislation affecting DC and the broader region.
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FAQ: CBC, UNCF, and the College Sports Bill
Q: What is the college sports bill that divided the CBC and UNCF? A: HBCU Gameday reported that the Congressional Black Caucus and the United Negro College Fund have taken opposite positions on a college sports bill before Congress. The specific provisions of the bill were not detailed in the available source material.
Q: Why is this split significant? A: The CBC and UNCF are two of the most powerful advocacy organizations for Black students and HBCU institutions. A public disagreement between them on legislation is rare and signals a substantive policy difference with real consequences for HBCU programs and student-athletes.
Q: How does this affect HBCUs? A: The legislation at issue involves college sports, an area with direct implications for HBCU athletic departments and the student-athletes they support. The specific impact depends on the bill's provisions, which WDCM will report as more details become available.
Q: Where can I follow this story? A: HBCU Gameday is the primary outlet tracking this development. Washington DC Magazine will continue covering the CBC's legislative work as part of our ongoing Congressional Black Caucus series.
The bottom line: The Congressional Black Caucus and the United Negro College Fund — standard-bearers of Black legislative and educational advocacy — find themselves on opposite sides of a college sports bill, a split that carries real stakes for HBCUs and their student-athletes. WDCM will update this story as the details of each organization's position become available. For ongoing coverage of the CBC and DC's political landscape, visit our Politics section and DC Power Players Index.
Reporting drawn from: HBCU Gameday. Washington DC Magazine provides original analysis, DC-specific context, and editorial perspective beyond the source material.This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by WDCM editorial staff. Washington DC Magazine is committed to accuracy, transparency, and editorial integrity. If you believe any information in this article requires correction, please contact editor@washingtondcmagazine.com.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
