Spike Lee
Speaking Truth to Social Injustice

AMS 2009 Annual Conference
Saturday, February 28, 10:30 AM – NOON
New Orleans, LA

How can one individual child or adult fight injustice? How can a community— local, national, global—and more particularly, the Montessori community, do the same? Maria Montessori believed that teaching children to respect one another from the beginning of their lives would eventually foster world peace. What happens when people grow up and don’t understand or respect each other?

Spike Lee has insight into that question. He addresses the topic in his films, particularly in 1989’s Do the Right Thing, his complex and unsettling exploration of the volatility of race relations on one urban street corner, and from a different perspective in When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, his critically heralded 2006 documentary about the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the people of New Orleans.

Widely regarded as one of today’s premier American filmmakers, Lee is a forerunner in the do-it-yourself school of independent film. Just prior to Levees, Spike completed his 19th feature film, Inside Man, starring Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, and Clive Owen. As a writer-director, actor, producer, author, and educator, Spike Lee has revolutionized the role of black talent in cinema. He established his unique perspective in 1986 with his debut film, the independently produced comedy, She’s Gotta Have It. The film earned him the Prix de la Jeunesse Award at the Cannes Film Festival and put him at the forefront of the Black New Wave in American cinema. Recent critical and box office successes have included 25th Hour, the Original Kings of Comedy, Bamboozled, and Summer of Sam. Lee’s films Girl 6, Get on the Bus, Do the Right Thing, She Hate Me, and Clockers display his ability to showcase outspoken and provocative sociopolitical critiques that challenge cultural assumptions, not only about race but also about class and gender identity.

Spike’s voluminous work spans many genres, including commercials, music videos, and sports programming. His first documentary, 4 Little Girls, about the 1963 Birmingham, AL, church bombing that killed four young African American girls, was nominated for both an Emmy and an Academy Award. He received the Emmy for his HBO: Real Sports profile of Georgetown University basketball coach John Thompson.

Additionally, Spike has authored six books on the making of his films. His newest book is Best Seat in the House: A Basketball Memoir, written with Ralph Wiley.

Born in Atlanta, GA, and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Spike Lee returned to the South to attend Morehouse College. After graduation, he came back north to continue his education at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he received his MFA in film production. He then established his production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, where, except for during college, he has resided since childhood.

Photo: David Lee

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