Spike Lee Is Opening Doors For HBCU Film Students With New Fellowship Program

Lee and the Gersh Agency are planning to expand the program in the future for more involvement from other HBCU students.

Photo Courtesy of The Root / Twitter

Iconic filmmaker Spike Lee has created the Spike Lee Fellows Program to support HBCU film students, making way for them in the film industry, Ebony reported.

“It is with great honor, privilege, and excitement to announce the Spike Fellows in association with my partners, The Gersh Agency and the AUCC (Atlanta University Center Consortium),” 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 program is partnered with the Gersh Agency. For now, the program will only tend to film students attending HBCUs like Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University since they’re a part of the AUCC.

“I know firsthand the education one receives at a Historically Black College and University,” the Morehouse alum said. “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’s program officially began in January 2023 and is headed by Gersh Agency’s head of culture, Jayson Council.

“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,” Leslie Siebert, a Senior Managing Partner of Gersh, said. “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.”

The Spike Lee Fellows Program includes student debt relief, graduate internships and full-time employment opportunities.

Currently, the program’s participation and resources are limited. But there are plans to expand to include more students from other HBCUs and resources.