Social Justice Changemaker Lecture: Creating Social Change Through Film and Music: Do the Right Thing!

As part of the centennial celebration, Spike Lee and Terence Blanchard will headline the new Social Justice Changemaker Lecture Series. Stories have the power to stimulate conversation, change opinion and inspire people to action. Spike Lee and Terence Blanchard will share how to introduce new audiences to social justice through film, music and art.

Spike Lee is an award-winning writer, director, actor, producer and author who revolutionized the role of Black talent in cinema. Widely regarded as a premiere filmmaker, Lee is a forerunner in the “do it yourself” school of independent film. Lee received an honorary degree from U-M in 2011.

Terence Blanchard is a jazz trumpeter, composer and music educator. He is a frequent collaborator with Spike Lee. He is nominated for a 2021 Academy Award for the score from “Da 5 Bloods.” Blanchard holds an endowed chair with the Detroit Symphony.

“You get to a certain age when you ask, ‘Who’s going to stand up and speak out for us?’ Then you look around and realize that the James Baldwins, Muhammad Alis and Dr. Kings are no longer here...and begin to understand that it falls on you. I’m not trying to say I’m here to try to correct the whole thing, I’m just trying to speak the truth,” says Blanchard.