Thanks to the generosity of several movers and shakers in the entertainment industry, seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders in New York City will be able to see the movie Selma for free.
According to Variety, people including BET Networks Chairman Debra Lee, American Express Chairman Ken Chenault, power broker Vernon Jordan and former Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons teamed up to offer free tickets to the students. A fund was created to allow 27,000 students to see the movie from Jan. 8 through Jan. 19 at select theaters in New York City.
The film, which is also being shown for free in Selma, Ala., is directed by Ava DuVernay and centers on voting-rights marches in 1965.
“Martin Luther King, Jr.’s momentous journey in Alabama is an important piece of American history,” said Bill Lewis, co-chairman of investment banking at Lazard and one of the fund’s contributors, in a statement. “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.”
The following people are contributing to the fund:
Amsale Aberra and Neil Brown, owners of the Amsale Group
Gerald Adolph, senior partner at Booz & Co., and Gwen Adolph
Ursula Burns, chairman and CEO of Xerox, and Lloyd Bean
Valentino D. Carlotti, partner at Goldman Sachs Group
Ken Chenault, chairman and CEO of American Express, and Kathryn Chenault
Tony Coles, former CEO of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, and Robyn Coles
Edith Cooper, executive vice president and global head of human-capital management at Goldman Sachs Group, and Roger Taylor
Roger W. Ferguson Jr., president and CEO of TIAA-CREF, and Annette L. Nazareth
Bruce Gordon, chairman of ADT and former CEO of the NAACP, and Tawana Tibbs
Charles J. Hamilton Jr., senior counsel at Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf LLP, and Pamela G. Carlton, president of 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 at Lazard, and Carol Sutton Lewis
Ed Lewis, founder of Essence magazine, and Carolyn Lewis
Tracy Maitland, CEO and founder of Advent Capital Management, and Kimberly Hatchett
Ray McGuire, head of global banking at Citigroup, and Crystal McCrary
Scott Mills, executive vice president of human resources and administration at Viacom, and Iva Mills
Adebayo Ogunlesi, CEO of Global Infrastructure Partners and lead director at Goldman Sachs, and Dr. Amelia Quist-Ogunlesi
Richard Parsons, senior adviser at Providence Equity Partners, and Laura Parsons
Charles Phillips, CEO of Infor and director at Viacom, and Karen Phillips
Jonelle Procope, president of the Apollo Theater, and Fred Terrell, vice chairman of investment banking at Credit Suisse
Tamara Harris Robinson, CEO of Haramat Advisory Services
Marva Smalls, executive vice president of global inclusion strategy at Viacom
Frank Thomas, the Study Group
John Utendahl, vice chairman of Deustche Bank Americas
Reginald Van Lee, executive vice president at Booz Allen
Ted Wells, partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and Nina Wells
The participating New York City theaters are the following:
UA Kaufman Astoria Cinemas 14, Astoria, Queens
AMC Bay Plaza Cinema 13, the Bronx
Concourse Plaza Multiplex 10, the Bronx
Alpine Cinemas 8, Brooklyn
Bam Harvey Theater, Brooklyn
Cobble Hill Cinemas 5, Brooklyn
Linden Boulevard Multiplex Cinemas 14, Brooklyn
The Pavilion Theater, Brooklyn
UA Court Street 12, Brooklyn
UA Sheepshead Bay Stadium 14, Brooklyn
Williamsburg Cinemas 7, Brooklyn
Movieworld Cinemas 7, Douglaston, Queens
AMC Fresh Meadows 7, Fresh Meadows, Queens
UA Midway Stadium 9, Forest Hills, Queens
Regal Atlas Park Stadium 8, Glendale, Queens
Jamaica Multiplex Cinemas 15, Jamaica, Queens
AMC Loews 34th Street 14, Manhattan
AMC Loews Kips Bay 15, Manhattan
AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13, Manhattan
AMC Empire 25, Manhattan
AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9, Manhattan
Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas 9, Manhattan
City Cinemas East 86th Street Cinema, Manhattan
Regal Battery Park Stadium 11, Manhattan
Regal Union Square Stadium 14, Manhattan
UA Staten Island Stadium 16, Staten Island
College Point Multiplex Cinemas 12, Whitestone, Queens