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Traditionally, majorettes have been dancing alongside marching bands at historically Black colleges since the late 1960s. On Saturday, USC debuted a now viral team of its own.
The 8-second clip on Twitter that made news everywhere showed a group of smiling young Black women in USC gear. They danced in sync with each other while the audience cheered and the marching band played in the background.
Even with all the attention, the road to making the team a reality wasn’t an easy one.
Team co-captain and vice president, Jada Walker, said this has been solely funded by them.
Jada Walker: “We had to buy our own bra tops, we had to buy our own briefs. We had to buy our own tights. We had to figure out what shoes we were going to wear. We had to figure out the way we were going to do our hair. I did the makeup for everybody. For Princess and I, we’ve been doing this just as the Cardinal Divas, we haven’t had any outside help from anybody who has like a leadership role. So I just hope that like now that they see that we are getting all this, I guess fame and all this recognition, that they put back into us and give us the things that we need.”
When choosing the team members, Walker says her and co-captain Princess stressed making sure everything was up to par.
Jada Walker: “We looked at all the video auditions and we were like, ‘Okay, I’m like, y’all, when we choose this team. We got to choose it, right.’ Because you already know we got to come correct especially as a PWI trying to do something that’s done at HBCU, you got to make sure we come correct. We got the baddest on the floor! So we did and now we here and it’s going crazy and I’m excited.”
The team also made waves on TikTok in videos taken by Brianna Brothers.
Brianna Brothers: “The videos that were posted on to my onto my Instagram, and then I also posted to my TikTok that one’s at almost 100,000 views, I think. ‘Oh, and like almost 30,000 likes.’”
As for what’s next, Walker and the team have a big vision for the Cardinal Divas of SC and it’s clear they’re here to stay.
For Annenberg Media, I am Millicent Boakye.