African American bands were started way before the founding of HBCUs. With the passing of the Second Morrill Land Grant Act bands were formed with the idea of raising money for the colleges. The first known HBCU college marching band was Tuskegee University. In the beginning these marching band stuck to traditional routines and music up until 1946 where Dr. William Foster incorporated dance moves and upbeat music into the routine and from then on the livelihood of HBCU marching bands were changed. HBCUs like Alabama State University, Florida A&M, A&T are known for their amazing band program. Many HBCUs and urban style bands use show-style marching, which is known for the choreography, music selection, dancers, majorettes and flag girls, formations and of course high stepping. High stepping is where you march with your legs at a 90 degree angle with your toe pointed to the ground. The difference between most HBCU bands and PWI marching bands are that most PWI bands are more conservative.