Culture Creators: Arts and Entertainment
‘A Different World’ Stars Come Home to Howard Ahead of Netflix Sequel Premiere
Alumnae Debbie Allen and Kennedi Reece reflected on Howard, HBCU culture, and carrying the beloved series into a new generation.
Larry J. Sanders
Sep 25, 20264 minutes
photos by Kellen Thompson / Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts
Howard students had good reason to spend their Sunday evening inside the Ira Aldridge Theater.
Days before the debut of Netflix’s “A Different World” Howard University welcomed the “Road to Hillman” tour on Sept. 20 for an advance look at the continuation of the beloved series and a conversation connecting generations of Black television and HBCU storytelling.
Raquel Monroe, Ph.D., dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, moderated the evening alongside Howard alumnae Debbie Allen (BFA ’71, DHL ‘93), an executive producer, director, and returning cast member, and Kennedi Reece (BFA ’26), who stars as incoming Hillman College student Hazel Henry.
Throughout the event, clips from the new series provided the audience with glimpses of a Hillman that felt both familiar and contemporary: new students navigating dorm life, friendship, romance, academics, and the traditions that define the HBCU experience.
The original series, a spinoff of “The Cosby Show,” aired from 1987 to 1993, bringing the fictional Hillman College into homes nationwide while tackling subjects from race and politics to relationships, health, and social responsibility. For Allen, who helped transform the original into a landmark portrayal of Black college life, the return is an opportunity to continue unfinished business.
“The work that we did is relevant, remains relevant, and needs to be continued,” Allen said. “Right now, there couldn’t be a better time to hear from young Black America.”
