Actor Michael B. Jordan seized the spirit of homecoming to promote his new boxing film and change the lives of a few young people attending historically Black colleges. The actor, who immortalized the name Creed for a new generation, came to the Atlanta University Center to do a private sneak peek of the movie trailer and give out checks to needed students.
On Thursday, Oct. 18, Jordan, who spent the years he might have been in college as an actor on shows like “The Wire,” “All My Children” and “The Sopranos,” came to the AUC for the premiere of the “Creed III” promotional commercial for the MoSpArkHousers.
On Campus
The movie star showed up on the campus during the week of Spelhouse’s homecoming with food trucks from Slutty Vegan, whose founder and CEO Pinky Cole attended Clark Atlanta University. Students scurried over to the big yellow, black and red accented truck to get food and a ticket to see the screening.
The young people then lined up outside of the AMC movie theater to get great seats to see the trailer of the movie that debuts on Friday, March 3, 2023.
Jordan said to the students, “This is the first-ever trailer to ‘Creed III,’ you guys are the first ever to see this in the world.”
Screams filled the theater; as Jordan was announced and came to the front, a video shared on the “Creed III” Instagram page showed.
“I know how tough it is to be a young creative, so I’m going to pull a couple of names and I’m going to give $3,000 to your education,” he said.
One smiley-faced Spelmanite said, “This pays all of my student debt.”
After he gave out the checks, he also shared with the audience that at the time of the springtime release, they all will be getting tickets to see the film.
Premiering the trailer at the AUC was intentional, according to comments made by the actor at a press conference.
“A lot of things that are going on in this movie I feel like would help them have some clarity and relate to sometimes tough decisions that you have to go through as you become an adult,” said Jordan.
“Just understanding what the HBCU culture does to incubate Black excellence,” he said. “And how it’s nurtured, grown and developed, it’s a pivotal time for these students of who they were going into college, who they’re becoming and who they will be when they leave and go off into the world.”
The AUC is actually the epitome of this. Founded in 1929, its official name is the Atlanta University Center Consortium, Inc., and it is the world’s largest consortium of African- American private institutions of higher education.
According to the AUC’s official website, the following schools are members: “Atlanta University, founded in 1865, and Clark College founded in 1869, merged to form Clark Atlanta University in 1988, a leading private, historically black doctoral research university. Morehouse College, established in 1867, is the nation’s largest private liberal arts college for men. Formed in 1881, Spelman College is a highly selective liberal arts college for women.”
“The Consortium’s newest member institution, Morehouse School of Medicine was formed in 1974 and is one of the nation’s most widely recognized community-based medical schools,” the history continues to explain. “Because of the close proximity of the institutions, the boards of trustees and presidents of the colleges began to assess ways in which they could utilize their services and resources more effectively and efficiently. Thus, the Atlanta University Center Consortium was formed to coordinate and manage the cooperative efforts of various programs and services offered by the colleges.”
“While no longer members of the Consortium, Morris Brown College founded in 1881, and the Interdenominational Theological Center founded in 1958, are largely significant to the Consortium’s rich legacy,” it reads. Its important to note that Morris Brown College did receive change its most recent accreditation.
Not Jordan’s only connection to HBCUs
In 2021, he was a founding member of the Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic — a college basketball showcase; he also partnered with MaC Venture Capital and Serena Ventures to present $1,000,000 to an HBCU startup founder.
His most intimate connection is through his brother Khalid, who was recruited to play football at Howard University, starting in the Fall of 2010.
