Читать книгу Freedom Facts and Firsts - Jessie Carney Smith - Страница 21

Prominent American filmmaker Spike Lee is also widely recognized for his activism, work as an actor in commercials and his own films, and frequent media exposure as a devoted fan of the New York Knickerbockers. His success in the film industry created numerous opportunities for other African Americans behind and in front of the camera; he has inspired an entire generation of young filmmakers and media artists. Shelton Jackson “Spike” Lee was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the eldest of five children. His father was jazz bassist and composer William “Bill” Lee, and his mother, Jacqueline Shelton Lee, was an art teacher who nicknamed him “Spike” as a toddler. In 1959 the family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he grew up and graduated from John Dewey High School. Spike followed his grandfather and father in attending Morehouse College. He graduated in 1979, before entering film school at New York University. His film successes include She’s Gotta Have It (1986), School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo’ Better Blues (1990), and Jungle Fever (1991), but Lee is most noted for his epic film biography, Malcolm X (1992). He married attorney Tonya Lewis in 1993, and became the father of two children. Lee explored multiple phases of African American life in his commercial film productions, as well as documentaries on civil/human rights events, including the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, the Million Man March in 1995, and 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.

Spike Lee (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill).

Fletcher F. Moon