George Lucas Gifts $10M To African American Film Students At USC

Source: Mark Davis / Getty

Fans of the Star Wars franchise are currently furious that the upcoming film has an African American actor in a leading role. Actor John Boyega will play one of the Storm Troopers, Finn. Lupita Nyong’o will also star in the film as Maz Kanata.

In all but perfect timing, the creator of the franchise, George Lucas and his wife, investment banker, Mellody Hobson will be gifting $10 million to African American and Hispanic students of the University of Southern California (USC).

According to Shadow & Act, this is the largest donation for student support in the history of the university.

“Hispanic and African-American storytellers are underrepresented in the entertainment industry. It is Mellody’s and my privilege to provide this assistance to qualified students who want to contribute their unique experience and talent to telling their stories” said Lucas.

The endowment will be split equally between male and female students who will be known as “George Lucas Scholars” or “Mellody Hobson Scholars”. Recipients of the scholarship will begin in fall 2016.

We love this idea and we look forward to seeing the next generation of artists that are recipients of Lucas and Hobson’s awesome gift!

Notable alums of the USC film school include: John Singleton (Boyz In The Hood, Shaft), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), and Shonda Rhimes (Scandal, How To Get Away With Murder).

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