Spike Lee poses for photographers on July 16, 2021. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP, File) / Film Design. (Courtesy of Clark Atlanta University)
Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee has never been shy about expressing how much his HBCU education impacted his life’s trajectory. Now he’s paying it forward by offering a fellowship to students now walking the same grounds he did when he attended Morehouse College.
The “Do The Right Thing” film icon announced the Spike Fellows Program in January. According to a press release from the Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUCC), Lee has partnered with the Gersh Agency to support undergraduate students interested in film at its member institutions Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College and Spelman College.
“It is with great honor, privilege, and excitement to announce the Spike Fellows in association with my partners The Gersh Agency and the AUCC. From the jump, from the get-go, I knew when (not if) I opened a crack in the door, I was bringing as many Black and Brown folks with me in front and behind the camera,” Lee said in a statement.
“I know firsthand the education one receives at a Historically Black College and University. I am who I am because of my grandmother (Zimmie Jackson) and my mother (Jacquelyn Shelton Lee) who both graduated from Spelman College,” Lee added.
“I am who I am because of my grandfather (Richard Jackson Shelton) and my father (William Lee) who both graduated from Morehouse. It’s on the campuses of Spelman and Morehouse where they met, fell in love, and got married. As my elders often told me, ‘Deeds not words,’” Lee concluded.
Lee received a Bachelor of Arts in mass communications from Morehouse in 1979. He also took classes at Clark and Spelman before becoming one of the most renowned filmmakers of our time who has spent his career highlighting the Black experience in America.
The inaugural cohort of fellows will include five graduating students from the member institutions. Gersh will provide fellows with academic debt relief, industry mentorship, post-graduate internships, and full-time employment.
“We are honored that Spike has chosen us to be his inaugural partner, and we are proud to welcome the five inaugural Spike Fellows into our organization,” said Gersh Senior Managing Partner Leslie Siebert. “As industry leaders, we’ve always taken seriously the responsibility to build a more diverse, dynamic ecosystem in which people of all ethnicities, backgrounds and experiences can thrive.”
Dr. Michael Hodge is the Executive Director of the AUCC. He expressed his appreciation for the Spike Lee Fellows program.
“This fellowship will provide invaluable experience and mentorship for our students desiring impact in the entertainment industry, both in front and behind the camera,” Hodge said. “We are pleased and grateful to AUCC alum, Spike Lee and the Gersh Agency for providing these outstanding opportunities for aspiring entertainment leaders.”
Lee and Gersch plan to increase the number of fellows in the coming years.
ORIGINAL PHOTOS:
Spike Lee poses for photographers upon arrival at the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS benefit the during the 74th Cannes international film festival, Cap d’Antibes, southern France, Friday, July 16, 2021. Lee turns 65 on March 20. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP, File)
Film Design. (Courtesy of Clark Atlanta University)
