“Our Blues Make Us Gold” Nominated for Regional Emmy

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Dec. 12, 2025) – “Our Blues Make Us Gold,” the hit documentary film about the history and rise of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, has been nominated for a regional Emmy award in a ceremony to be held Feb. 14, 2026, in Nashville.

The Emmy Awards have been presented annually for the past 70 years by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, both at the national and regional level. “Our Blues Make Us Gold”’s nomination is in the Nashville/Midsouth Region, which includes North Carolina, Tennessee and parts of Alabama.

“This film is a story of perseverance and triumph, of challenges and achievement, told through the words of Aggies who trace their success back to the education they received and experiences they had at North Carolina A&T,” said Brandon Gerard, who co-directed the film with his production partner and wife, Ashley Shanté, through their production company, From A2B Studios.

“Our Blues Make Us Gold” is one of five nominees in the highly competitive Documentary – Historical category. Other nominees are “How to Sue the Klan,” co-produced by leading civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump; “The Dollywood Dream,” about Dolly Parton’s famous Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, theme park; “Permanent Good: A Duke Documentary,” which chronicles the history of Duke University in honor of its 100th anniversary; and “Baker for America,” about the life and legacy of the late Sen. Howard H. Baker Jr., who also served as President Reagan’s chief of staff.

“Our Blues Make Us Gold”’s high-profile nomination is the latest milestone for a film that has enjoyed exceptional national success over the past three years. In production since 2019, the film earned a $100,000 completion grant in 2022 from the Black Experience on Xfinity that supported enhancement and finalization of the project.

In 2024, Comcast Xfinity chose the completed film for an eight-month run on its streaming platforms – Xfinity, X1, Flex and the Black Experience. In summer 2025, the film went on a multi-city theatrical tour, screening in Charlotte, Durham, and Greensboro, North Carolina, and Atlanta, to enthusiastic audiences.

In June, the documentary was tapped by Prime Video for streaming on its massive global platform, where it continues to be available free for Amazon Prime subscribers and for rent by the general public. And in August, it screened at the star-studded Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival in Massachusetts.

Shanté and Gerard said one of the most memorable sentiments they heard from Aggies as they produced the film was the level of care and nurturing that accompanies the university’s academic rigor – from faculty, from staff and from alumni. That sets A&T’s student experience apart from the thousands of other universities across America.

“It was being told in a Hollywood writers’ room six years ago that historically Black college and university narratives were not important. Six years later, we are nominated by one of the highest honors in the TV/film industry,” said Shanté. “We are very thankful for this nomination. This is a reminder that every story is worth telling.”