--- title: Talladega College Band to March in Trump's Inaugural Parade description: The band at Talladega College, a small historically black school in Alabama, will march in the Inaugural Parade. canonical: https://time.com/4623868/talladega-college-inaugural-parade/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-05T17:35:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:45:14.299Z article:section: Politics og:title: The Talladega College Band Will Play in the Inaugural Parade og:description: The historically black college announced the controversial decision Wednesday. og:url: https://time.com/4623868/talladega-college-inaugural-parade/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3702bd558dc54b0a/6988b47bcd1bba15d6703822/inauguration-2017.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: talladega college marching band inaugural parade og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Talladega College Band Will Play in the Inaugural Parade twitter:description: The historically black college announced the controversial decision Wednesday. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3702bd558dc54b0a/6988b47bcd1bba15d6703822/inauguration-2017.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Historically Black Talladega College Band Will Perform in Trump's Inaugural Parade > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jan 5, 2017 5:35 PM UTC  Folding chairs await setup as preparations continue for the Presidential Inauguration for incoming US President Donald Trump at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Jan. 5, 2017. Folding chairs await setup as preparations continue for the Presidential Inauguration for incoming US President Donald Trump at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Jan. 5, 2017.Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jan 5, 2017 5:35 PM UTC The band at Talladega College, a small historically black school in Alabama, [will march in Donald Trump’s inaugural Parade](http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/05/politics/talladega-college-band-inauguration/index.html?sr=twpol010517talladega-college-band-inauguration0401PMStoryLink&linkId=33051700), the school’s president announced today. The announcement follows nation-wide controversy, with alumni sending dueling petitions to the president about whether or not the band [should perform](http://time.com/4609263/celebrities-on-donald-trump-inauguration-performance/) at Trump’s [inauguration](http://time.com/4621084/clintons-trump-inauguration/). Talladega President Billy C. Hawkins said in a Thursday statement that after the Talladega Marching Tornadoes initially accepted the invitation to perform, which set off the controversy, his final decision is that the band should take part in the inauguration, _CNN_ reports. “We respect and appreciate how our students and alumni feel about our participation in this parade,” said Hawkins. “As many of those who chose to participate in the parade have said, we feel the inauguration of a new president is not a political event but a civil ceremony celebrating the transfer of power.” An alumna of the school started a petition for the band to withdraw from the inaugural parade after parade organizers chose the band from a pool of applicants and notified the school on Dec. 21\. People in the school community and on social media opposed the college’s participation because it could be perceived as celebrating Trump’s election win or sanctioning the parts of his rhetoric, proposed policy and supporters’ behavior that many have decried as racist. Supporters also submitted a petition, as many view the parade as an excellent opportunity for the students and an honor for the school. Hawkins wrote in his statement that, “lessons students can learn from this experience cannot be taught in a classroom.” \[[_CNN_](http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/05/politics/talladega-college-band-inauguration/index.html?sr=twpol010517talladega-college-band-inauguration0401PMStoryLink&linkId=33051700)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4623868/talladega-college-inaugural-parade/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4623868/talladega-college-inaugural-parade/"},"headline":"Historically Black Talladega College Band Will Perform in Trump's Inaugural Parade","datePublished":"2017-01-05T17:35:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:45:14.299Z","description":"The school's President announced the decision Wednesday","url":"https://time.com/4623868/talladega-college-inaugural-parade/","keywords":["2016 Election","White House","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3702bd558dc54b0a/6988b47bcd1bba15d6703822/inauguration-2017.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3702bd558dc54b0a/6988b47bcd1bba15d6703822/inauguration-2017.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"talladega college marching band inaugural parade","caption":"US-POLITICS-INAUGUARTION-PREPS","creditText":"Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4623868/talladega-college-inaugural-parade/","name":"Historically Black Talladega College Band Will Perform in Trump's Inaugural Parade"}}]}] ```