The second highest-rated show of the 1980s, “A Different World Tour” (ADW) cast visited Howard University last Tuesday on the second stop of their HBCU tour.
Cast members Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Dawn Lewis, Charnele Brown, Cree Summer, Darryl Bell and Glynn Turman were present during the panel discussion held in Howard University’s (HU) Cramton Auditorium. The tour is sponsored by Wells Fargo, Cisco, the Student Freedom Initiative and Minds Matter. The primary financial sponsor, Wells Fargo, hopes that by sponsoring the tour they can help the cast continue to promote HBCU culture and encourage financial security for students.
poster boards of the casts faces and the HU bison logo.
Wells Fargo has a history of supporting HBCUs. They have invested over $40 million into promoting HBCUs and have been named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) 2024 Corporate Partner of the Year.
Their goal is to continue promoting the importance and necessity of HBCUs across America and teach financial responsibility to students, staff and alumni alike.
The cast of ADW’s panel discussion was hosted by none other than Kim Coles who is famously known for her role as Synclaire James-Jones on the 1990’s show “Living Single.”
The cast’s discussion covered a plethora of questions and topics ranging from the purpose of the tour to issues they tackled on the show.
“A Different World” covered issues that had never been addressed before on any television show before it. Topics like the date rape episode in season two not only educated audiences but the cast as well.
Kadeem Hardison played the character “Dwayne Wayne” on the show.
“[The] conversation with Sinbad’s character ‘Walter’ about date rape, about when a girl says ‘no,’ and what does that mean…I’ve never had that conversation with my father,” Hardison said.
Another controversial issue cast members discussed was the War and Peace episode from season four.
“Blair Underwood’s character spoke with Colonel Taylor and he was about to go off to war. He was scared,” said Darryl Bell. “It’s rare that you hear men in uniform talk about being scared and what it took to be mentored by a colonel. To have the courage to put yourself on the front line.”
The importance of this episode was the fact that Blair Underwood’s character was able to be vulnerable and the implicit notion that his character was being deployed during the Persian Gulf War.
ADW cast members rejoiced as they were flushed with memories from their days on the show. They spoke of the opportunities the show offered them to direct, produce and write episodes.
Coles also questioned the cast about their personal relationships behind the scenes:
Hardison told the audience that Bell is godfather to his daughter. Jasmine Guy said Charnele Brown and she were thick and thieves. Bell and Glynn Turman were emotional and shed some tears when speaking about the mentor-mentee relationship they had.
The panel discussion was filled with surprises for the audience and the cast. Producer and actor Debbie Allen made a guest appearance via video call.
Fellow cast member and comedian Sinbad also made an appearance via video call. Although their time during the panel was short due to technical malfunctions, their words and presence resonated with the cast and audience.
At the end of the discussion panel, Wells Fargo and Cisco announced their four-year Hillman Scholarship fund.
The cast also raffled off a Hillman letterman jacket signed by all the cast members on stage. Kadeem Harris also gave away a pair of his flip-up sunglasses to the lucky audience member who answered this question correctly: “What is the name of Dwane Wayne’s mother?”
The “A Different World Tour” drew a large audience from Howard University. Students filled the auditorium with blown-up poster board heads of the cast and the HU logo.
As a farewell gift, after the panel, students were given an ADW tour t-shirt and Howard tote bag.