On Wednesday, Jan. 7, Paramount Pictures announced that it will be partnering with African American business leaders in New York City to offer free admission to seventh through ninth grade students to the Golden Globe-nominated film Selma in the Big Apple.
“Paramount is honored to partner with New York City’s deeply esteemed businessmen and women to give students in New York the opportunity to experience Ava DuVernay’s beautiful and moving masterpiece,” said Brad Grey, chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures.
Inspired by the film’s message of resilience and hope and its historical significance, more than two dozen Black leaders in the New York area have come together to create a fund that’ll allow more than 27,000 middle school students to view the highly anticipated film for free at participating theaters.
Those contributing to the fund include:
Amsale Aberra and Neil Brown, owners of The Amsale Group
Gerald Adolph, senior partner, Booz & Company; and Gwen Adolph
Ursula Burns, chairman and CEO, Xerox; and Lloyd Bean
Valentino D. Carlotti, partner, Goldman Sachs Group
Ken Chenault, chairman and CEO, American Express; and Kathryn Chenault
Tony Coles, former CEO, Onyx Pharmaceuticals; and Robyn Coles
Edith Cooper, executive vice president, global head of human capital management, Goldman Sachs Group; and Roger Taylor
Roger W. Ferguson Jr., president and CEO, TIAA-CREF; and Annette L. Nazareth
Bruce Gordon, chairman, ADT, former CEO NAACP; and Tawana Tibbs
Charles J. Hamilton, Jr., senior counsel, Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf LLP; and Pamela G. Carlton, president, Springboard
Vernon Jordan, senior managing director at Lazard; and Ann Dibble Jordan
Debra Lee, chairman and CEO of BET Networks
Bill Lewis, co-chairman of Investment Banking, Lazard and Carol Sutton Lewis
Ed Lewis, founder of Essence Magazine and Carolyn Lewis
Tracy Maitland, CEO and founder, Advent Capital Management and Kimberly Hatchett
Ray McGuire, head of global banking, Citigroup; and Crystal McCrary
Scott Mills, executive vice president, human resources and administration, Viacom and Iva Mills
Adebayo Ogunlesi, CEO, Global Infrastructure Partners, lead director, Goldman Sachs and Dr. Amelia Quist-Ogunlesi
Richard Parsons, senior advisor, Providence Equity Partners; and Laura Parsons
Charles Phillips, CEO, Viacom director; and Karen Phillips
Jonelle Procope, president, Apollo Theater; and Fred Terrell, vice chairman of investment banking, Credit Suisse
Tamara Harris Robinson, CEO, Haramat Advisory Services
Marva Smalls, executive vice president, global inclusion strategy, Viacom
Frank Thomas, The Study Group
John Utendahl, vice chairman, Deustche Bank Americas
Reginald Van Lee, executive vice president, Booz Allen
Ted Wells, partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; and Nina Wells
“Martin Luther King Jr.’s momentous journey in Alabama is an important piece of American history,” says Bill Lewis, co-chairman of investment banking for Lazard. “We are passionate about bringing this story to New York City’s students and we encourage business leaders in other cities to organize similar programs so that more students around the country have the chance to see this powerful film about an epic chapter in American history.”
In order to attend, students must provide a student ID or report card at any of the New York City locations for free admittance. The effort will begin at 7 p.m. on Jan. 8 and run through Jan. 19 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) or while tickets last.
To reserve 25 or more student tickets during this program, please visit www.SelmaMovie.com/nyc while tickets last.
For a list of participating theaters, hit the flip.
