Shelton Jackson “Spike” Lee, Oscar winning filmmaker was born in Atlanta, GA, on this date March 20, 1957.
His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983, and they include: She’s Gotta Have It, School Daze, Do the Right Thing, Mo’ Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Crooklyn, Clockers, Girl 6, Get on the Bus, He Got Game, Summer of Sam, Bamboozled, 25th Hour, She Hate Me, Inside Man, Miracle at St. Anna, Red Hook Summer, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, Old Boy, Chi-Raq, BlacKkKlansman, and Da 5 Bloods.
Lee’s outstanding feature documentary work includes the double Emmy® Award-winning If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise, a follow up to his HBO documentary film When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, 4 Little Girls, Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall, and the Peabody Award-winning A Huey P Newton Story.
He is also known for his legendary Air Jordan TV commercials and marketing campaigns with Michael Jordan for Nike. In 1997 he launched the advertising agency Spike DDB, a fully integrated agency with a focus on trendsetter, cross-cultural and millennial audiences.
In addition to his films, TV series and commercials, Spike Lee has Directed a number of music videos and shorts for artists such as Michael Jackson, Prince, Public Enemy, Branford Marsalis, Bruce Hornsby, Miles Davis and Anita Baker.
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks (November 30, 1912 – March 7, 2006) was an American photographer, musician, writer and film director, who became prominent in U.S. documentary photojournalism in the 1940s through 1970s—particularly in issues of civil rights, poverty and African-Americans—and in glamour photography.