BATON ROUGE — A stomp and shake team at Southern University that started in 2019 with a single social media video has grown into an established collegiate organization known as Code Blue.

Stomp and shake is a style of cheerleading that dates back to the 1970s, built around movement, rhythm and energy.

"We're giving you all. We're stomping. We're shaking. We're showing you exactly what it looks like to be proud, to be somebody that is bold, to be creative," founder Justin Plummer said. "Stomp and shake is just in your face."

Plummer says the idea for Code Blue came after she posted a clip of herself cheering in high school.

"I decided to post a video of me cheering in high school and a lot of people was like, 'Oh my God, you need to like start a stomp and shake team,'" Plummer said. "In high school, we had this cheer called Code Blue, and that's where the name Code Blue came from."

The first camp was held at Southern's rec center and drew about 40 people. Many of those who showed up went on to become the organization's founding members.

From the start, the goal was about more than performing.

"We wanted to make sure that we gave people a chance to still cheer on a collegiate level, even though they did not have the experience in tumbling and stunting and things like that," Plummer said. "So I just wanted to give students a chance at Southern University to continue to do what they love to do."

Code Blue now performs across Southern's campus. A charter member who helped build the organization from the ground up has since taken over as head coach, carrying the team into its next chapter.

From its first camp of about 40 students to the team wearing Code Blue across their chests today, each generation is adding another step to a story still being written.