Spike Lee, in collaboration with The Gersh Agency, a Beverly Hills-based talent and literary agency, has announced the inaugural cohort of Spike Fellows, the Hollywood Reporter reports.

The fellowship program was created as a pipeline to the entertainment industry for young Black people interested in working off-screen. Lee’s agent, Bart Walker, who joined Gersh in 2022, worked with Jayson Council, Gersh’s head of culture, to develop the program. The five fellows were selected from the historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that form the Atlanta University Center Consortium, including Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, and Morehouse College, where Lee received his BA in 1979.

The fellows include Quentin Anderson (Morehouse), Tai Livingston (Spelman), Jalen Ellis (Morehouse), Shayna Cartledge (Clark), and Halle Jones (Clark). The fellows will spend this summer in a paid eight-week immersive learning experience at Gersh’s New York and Los Angeles offices. In September, each fellow will transition to a full-time job with the agency. In addition, each fellow will receive $25,000 for student debt relief.

As part of the program’s belief that "access plus exposure will create opportunities,” the agency will support on-campus programming through the school year, said Council. “When creating transformative legacy-oriented opportunities like the Spike Fellows, it’s critical to focus on non-transactional partnerships deeply rooted in respect and sustainable impact.”

“I’m thrilled that The Gersh Agency and I have hooked up to get five serious graduates…into the film business. YA-DIG? SHO-NUFF,” Lee said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter. “As my elders often told me, ‘Deeds not words’.”

(Photo credit: Wikimedia/Angela George)