Behind the scenes as Morgan State’s Magnificent Marching Machine prepares for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade

It’s a Tuesday evening in November. The sun set over an hour ago. Despite the wind’s bite and the dropping temperature, members of the Morgan State University marching band dash to the sidelines at Hughes Memorial Stadium to shed jackets and sweatshirts.

Assistant band director Karl Stewart barks at them through a loudspeaker to hurry up: They’re running through a new formation for an arrangement of The Jacksons’ “Torture,” and there’s little time to spare.