AUC Graduate Spike Lee continues to honor vow of, “bringing as many Black and Brown folks with me in front and behind the camera.”
Atlanta – Filmmaker Spike Lee and the Gersh Agency have announced the 3rd year of the Spike Fellows Program,Season 3, a fellowship to support undergraduate students at the Atlanta University Center Consortium, of Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College, with an interest in the film industry. The program is based on the principle that access plus exposure creates opportunities.
A proud “Morehouse Man” (Class of ’79), Lee received his B.A. in Mass Communication and took classes at Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) as well as at 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,” said Lee of the inaugural program in 2021.
“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. 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 also added.
The class of Spike Fellows will continue to consist of five graduating seniors or juniors from the AUCC who will receive $25,000 in academic debt relief, industry mentorship, post-graduate internships, and full-time employment, all provided by Gersh.
“This fellowship will provide invaluable experience and mentorship for our students desiring impact in the entertainment industry, both in front and behind the camera, said Dr. Michael Hodge, Executive Director of the AUCC. “We are pleased and grateful to AUCC alum, Spike Lee and the Gersh Agency for providing these outstanding opportunities for aspiring entertainment leaders.”
The fellowship program begins in 2025 with five fellows selected by a panel including Spike Lee the AUCC campus community, and Gersh management. Applications have a deadline of January 1, 2025, with an online application open now at: www.spikefellows.com
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About the AUCC
The Atlanta University Center Consortium, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation under the laws of the State of Georgia, formed in 1929 to operate on behalf of its member institutions–Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Spelman College—is the world’s oldest and largest association of historically Black colleges and universities. The Consortium is a vibrant intellectual community with a long tradition of scholarship, service, and community engagement.
Contact:
Teresa D. Southern
Manager of Communications, Events & Marketing
Atlanta University Center Consortium
Tsouthern@aucenter.edu
478-320-7753
