DOWN WITH THEM EXCLUSIVELY. HEY, BLAYNE, GOOD MORNING! >> Reporter: WELL, GUYS, GOOD MORNING TO YOU FROM THE BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS OF SPELMAN COLLEGE HERE IN ATLANTA. BUT IF YOU WERE A FAN OF THE COLLEGE "A DIFFERENT WORLD," CRAIG, I KNOW THAT YOU WERE, YOU'LL DEFINITELY RECOGNIZE THIS BUILDING BEHIND ME. THIS WAS USED AS THE ESTABLISHING SHOT FOR MANY OF THE SCENES THROUGHOUT THE SERIES. AND IT'S ALSO THE VERY FIRST STOP AS THE TOUR KICKS OFF THEIR HBCU TOUR ACROSS THE COUNTRY TODAY. NOW, THEY'RE GOING AROUND, TALKING ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE INSTITUTIONS AND ALSO TAKING THE SHOW'S ENDURING LEGACY TO THE NEXT GENERATION. EVEN FROM THE VERY FIRST NOTE, WHO KNEW THE SHOW WAS SOMETHING SPECIAL? ♪♪ THESE ARE THE FACES OF "A DIFFERENT WORLD." ♪♪ . SET AT THE FICTITIOUS HILLMAN COLLEGE, FOR SIX SEASONS, THE SITCOM SHOWCASED THE VIBRANT LIFE AT HBCUs, HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. >> WHAT DO PEOPLE TELL YOU IS THEIR MOST MEMORABLE EPISODE? >> THE WEDDING EPISODE. >> THE WEDDING EPISODE. >> HANDS DOWN. >> BABY, PLEASE! PLEASE! >> I DO! >> BUT THE SHOW'S LEGACY GOES WELL BEYOND THE SCREEN. >> WE TOOK CHANCES TO TELL STORIES THAT WEREN'T REALLY BEING TOLD. >> ADDRESSING DATE RAPE AND AIDS AND WAR AND GUN VIOLENCE AND HOMELESSNESS. BUT ALSO, WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT AND MAKE YOU LAUGH AT THE SAME TIME. >> Reporter: AND THEN, THERE WERE THE CHARACTERS THEMSELVES. >> YOU TALK TO ANYBODY, AND THEY SAY THEY WANTED DUANE'S GLASSES, RIGHT? THEY WANTED THAT LOOK. YOU HAVE THE KIM, THE ASPIRING DOCTOR, TIM, WHO'S OUTSPOKEN AND STRONG. >> I THINK THAT WAS ONE OF THE REAL SACRED KEYS ABOUT "DIFFERENT WORLD," WE REPRESENTED ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT FACETS OF YOUNG BLACK LIFE THAT WE HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE. >> Reporter: AND THE SHOW'S INFLUENCE IS UNDENIABLE. FROM 1976 TO 1994, HBCU ENROLLMENT INCREASED BY MORE THAN 25%, BUT THE BIGGEST LEAP CAME BETWEEN 1986 AND 1994, ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME YEARS "A DIFFERENT WORLD" WAS ON THE AIR. NOW, MORE THAN 35 YEARS AFTER THEIR DEBUT, THE CAST IS BACK TOGETHER, TOURING HBCU CAMPUSES AROUND THE COUNTRY. WHEN THESE STUDENTS WALK AWAY AFTER MEETING YOU, WHAT DO YOU HOPE THEY TAKE WITH THEM? >> I WANT THEM TO FEEL SEEN, I WANT THEM TO RECOGNIZE THAT THEY ARE THEIR BEST INVESTMENT. >> OH, AND THEY ARE LOVED! >> THE INFLUENCE OF KIDS WANTING TO GO TO SCHOOL, PERIOD, I THINK, IS VERY POWERFUL, BECAUSE THEY COULD SEE THEMSELVES THERE. >> RIGHT. >> YOU KNOW? >> AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, THAT MESSAGE HAS ALREADY REACHED THE NEXT GENERATION. >> TO MAKE IT CLEAR, NONE OF YOU WERE BORN WHEN THIS SHOW ACTUALLY AIRED, RIGHT? NOBODY WAS BORN! BUT STILL, IT MEANS A GREAT DEAL TO YOU. >> MY MOM IS AN ALUM FROM NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY SO "A DIFFERENT WORLD" PLANTED THAT SEED IN HER AND THAT'S BEING PLANTED IN ME. >> EVERY DAY, SOMEONE WILL SAY, I WENT TO AN HBCU BECAUSE I WATCHED "A DIFFERENT WORLD." I'M A DOCTOR, AN ENGINEER BECAUSE I WATCHED "A DIFFERENT WORLD." IT'S ONE OF THE MOST REWARDING PART OF THE WORK WE'VE DONE. >> I WAS AT THE WHITE HOUSE. ONE OF THE YOUNG GUARDS, WHO WAS IN THE ARMY, A MAJOR, A YOUNG BLACK MAJOR, PULLED ME ASIDE AND SAID, I'M THIS BECAUSE OF EVER ROTC AND KERNEL TAYLOR IN "A DIFFERENT WORLD." >> HOW MANY OF YOU ACTUALLY ATTENDED AN HBCU, AND YET IT'S PART OF ALL OF YOU. >> WE WENT TO HILLMAN. >> MOST PEOPLE WILL SAY, IF YOU CHANGE ONE PERSON'S LIFE, THAT'S A BLESSING. WE'VE ALL HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE'S LIVES. >> Reporter: AND GUYS, THEY IMPACTED SO MANY LIVES AND SO MANY MORE TO COME. THE TOUR KICKS OFF TODAY AT THE AUC, SPELLMAN, CLARK, AND MOORHOUSE. THE NEXT STOP WILL BE HOWARD IN WASHINGTON, D.C. SO FAR, TEN STOPS WITH MANY MORE ON THE WAY AND THEY JUST ADDED ANOTHER ONE. GUYS IN FACT, THEY'VE JUST BEEN INVITED TO THE WHITE HOUSE TO CELEBRATE HBCU
