Meet the USC Student Making Major(ette) History

Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel and Sue Bird want you all to know about Princess Isis Lang.

The Cardinal Divas perform during the USC-Arizona State game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Oct. 2022.Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

Princess Isis Lang is making major(ette) history. The USC student has created the first majorette dance team, the Cardinal Divas of SC, at the school and is sharing her story in a short film for TOGETHXR, the media and commerce company founded by Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel and Sue Bird. “I told myself before even applying to colleges, wherever I end up going, I’m going to be Black anywhere, so I’m going to take my culture with me,” Lang says on camera. “I’m going to stay Black in every single space that I enter.”

Growing up in Maywood, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, Lang was always enthralled by the majorettes at HBCUs like Jackson State University and Southern University. As a middle schooler, she was asked to dance with the high school’s majorette squad. But when she arrived at USC, Lang had to reconcile with the fact that there were no majorette-style dance teams on campus. During her sophomore year, she started the process of starting her own recognized dance team. The Divas made their debut during the Trojans’ Sept. 17 game against Fresno State.

“Being able to look at these Black women doing these great things at other universities, it’s just so amazing to see,” the 20-year-old musical theater major. “I want the team to be a spirit team at USC and be able to build and further this here and show the world that there is much more to dance than what gets shown.”

Lang also wants other Black students to know that they too can create majorette teams or anything they feel is not representative of themselves at their own colleges. “We have a right to be Black in any space we enter, and we also have a right to showcase Black art in any aspect, on any level,” she continues. “People are always going to have something to say. I’m never going to allow anybody to take away my joy or gratitude for being who I am and for being able to bring this to the school.”

Watch the short film here.