Spike Lee, in partnership with The Gersh Agency, created the Spike Fellows Program.
The Spike Fellows Program is based on the principle that access plus exposure will create opportunities. And the fellowship is in support of Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUCC) HBCU students: Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Clark Atlanta University.
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“It is with great honor, privilege, and excitement to announce the Spike Fellows in association with my partners The Gersh Agency and the AUCC,” Lee said in a statement. “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.”
The inaugural Spike Fellows Program will provide five graduating AUCC students with academic debt relief and mentorship. As well as post-grad internships and full-time employment, all provided by Gersh. The students will be selected by a panel including Lee, the AUCC community and Gersh management.
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Lee who is a proud Morehouse alum spoke on the quality of the education HBCU’s give.
“I am who I am because of my grandmother (Zimmie Jackson) and my mother (Jacquelyn Shelton Lee) who both graduated from Spelman College. I am who I am because of my grandfather (Richard Jackson Shelton) and my father (William Lee) who both graduated from Morehouse,” Lee reflected. “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 and the agency have made a multi-year commitment for this program. Gersh’s Head of Culture Jayson Council will lead the program with its first cycle kicks off this month.