A pioneering partnership between UC Santa Barbara, a Hispanic-Serving Institution, and Tuskegee University, a renowned HBCU, aims to build a creative pipeline for a new generation of storytellers.
On a bright June morning in Santa Barbara, a new class of students from Tuskegee University, a renowned Historically Black College and University (HBCU), gathered at UC Santa Barbara, a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), for the start of an immersive six-week screenwriting intensive.
Now in its second year, the Booker T. Washington Scholars Program is a creative experience rooted in history, heritage and hope. Far beyond a single summer course, this pioneering initiative is part of a long-term vision to build a film and media arts program at Tuskegee University, expand access to the entertainment industry and catalyze a creative economy in a community long seen as a symbol of excellence. While the program welcomes students from Tuskegee University, participation is not determined on the basis of race, sex or any other protected characteristic.
The program started with a proposal.
Adriane Hopper Williams, an Emmy and Gracie award-winning film and television executive and Tuskegee native, envisioned an opportunity for her community to engage with the entertainment industry in a meaningful way. In 2024, she and her husband Derrick Williams founded The Legacy Lives: Tuskegee, a nonprofit dedicated to this effort, alongside their production services company DNA Media Group. They worked with Daina Ramey Berry, the Michael Douglas Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts at UC Santa Barbara, to launch a pilot program offering Tuskegee students a first-hand introduction to screenwriting and media production alongside their peers at UCSB. The program is supported by the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts and the College of Creative Studies (CCS) at UCSB.
Hopper Williams, born at Tuskegee’s historic John A. Andrew Hospital and the daughter of two transformative community leaders, sees this work as personal and legacy-driven. She serves as the connector between the two campuses.
“My parents helped shape Tuskegee as a place of progress in the ‘70s,” said Hopper Williams. “My mother spearheaded the opening of an elementary school on land that once held a slave plantation. My father led Alabama’s first hospital for Black residents. Their legacy shaped my purpose, and that purpose is now being carried forward through this program.”
The Booker T. Washington Scholars Program is now a dynamic, deep and ongoing partnership between UCSB and Tuskegee University, with The Legacy Lives and DNA Media Group remaining as the program’s foundational force. The collaboration has evolved beyond a traditional academic exchange to become a cultural dialogue.
“Programs like this are about more than just writing — they’re about building bridges between institutions, between communities and between generations,” said Ramey Berry, who joined forces with Hopper Williams to establish the program. “We’re proud to support these scholars as they develop their voices and engage meaningfully alongside UCSB students, sharing stories that the world needs to hear.”
As Tim Sherwood, dean of CCS, emphasized, “The Booker T. Washington Scholars Program is about more than the craft of storytelling; it is about empowering students to shape the future of media through their creative work. The College of Creative Studies is delighted to help support and strengthen this growing partnership between UCSB and Tuskegee University.”
Crafting stories, building futures
Students in the program take FAMST 188A: Basic Screenwriting, taught by Wendy Eley Jackson, a lecturer in the Department of Film and Media Studies and a member of the writing and literature faculty at CCS. Born in Alabama to a father who was one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, Eley Jackson has deep ties to the Tuskegee community.
An award-winning writer, producer and filmmaker, Eley Jackson’s notable credits include “Napa Ever After,” a standout 2023 title from Hallmark Channel Mahogany’s lineup. She has also produced several award-winning documentaries, including “Facing The Falls,” “MAYNARD”, and “Welcome To Pine Lake.” Her career is centered on championing unique voices and using storytelling to foster empathy and uplift new ideas from different communities.
In 2022, Eley Jackson expanded her mission by founding the Montecito Student Film Festival, a global platform designed to give student filmmakers exposure and access to industry professionals. Now in its third year, the festival has received more than 1,000 submissions and has become a valuable pipeline for emerging talent, offering workshops, panels and networking opportunities. She hopes to see submissions from Tuskegee students in the future.
This year’s cohort comprises students from across the nation, united by a shared passion for crafting stories that reflect their communities and experiences.
The class fosters a space for students to engage critically with storytelling and explore screenwriting as both craft and cultural critique. Students apply frameworks such as the Hero’s Journey while completing rigorous coursework, collaborating with UCSB peers on midterm projects and gaining a deeper understanding of the technical and creative process of screenwriting.
“Storytelling carries a transformative power: it connects us across difference, ignites empathy, and opens hearts to new possibility,” Eley Jackson said. “When a young voice shares a story from their lived experience, it has the capacity to reshape how we see ourselves and our world.”
Whether working in film, television or in the classroom, Eley Jackson sees storytelling as a tool for empowerment, equity and change.
“At first, I was just writing to write. But now, I know my character. I know my story — and I can’t wait to share it,” one of the Tuskegee scholars reflected on the course.
Scholars spoke about the personal connections and shared understanding that the course enabled. “Hearing different perspectives during table reads really opened my eyes. You get to see everybody’s stories.”
Speaking about Eley Jackson’s personalized teaching approach, another scholar said, “She reminds me of teachers at Tuskegee. She actually wants to get to know us. Not every professor at a big school does that.”
“This program is rigorous, and these students have shown up every day with respect, creativity, and heart. I’m so proud of what they’ve accomplished,” Eley Jackson said.
Behind the scenes and the numbers
Special guest speakers not only inspired students by sharing their journeys in rising through the entertainment industry, they also emphasized the importance of navigating the landscape with both artistic passion and business acumen.
A major highlight of the summer was a special masterclass with comedian, actress and writer Tiffany Haddish, who spoke candidly with the cohort. “Never give up on your ideas,” she told the students, citing the 15 years it took creator Hwang Dong-hyuk to get the popular Netflix series “Squid Game,” produced.
Haddish emphasized the importance of creative ownership and understanding contracts. “You should look at the smallest words — like ‘in perpetuity’ — because that means forever.”
Her reflections on storytelling were equally powerful. “TV tells, movies move,” she explained about how the two mediums can impact audiences. She encouraged students to start with grounded reality and then “get wild” with their ideas, always asking the “5 Ws” — who, what, when, where, why — to build compelling characters. “No villain thinks they're a villain. Everybody thinks they're the hero,” she explained.
Reinforcing the program’s mission of uplift, Haddish added, “Everything I do is to amplify somebody else.”
Adding to the inspiration, Jamila Hunter, president of TV for MACRO and a veteran executive with experience at Freeform/Disney and ABC, joined the final class session via Zoom.
Hunter, a graduate of Spelman College, an HBCU, responded to a question from a Tuskegee scholar about how attending an HBCU helped shape her values and leadership in the industry. “I learned the importance of community and responsibility. Those lessons were only deepened at my HBCU. That foundation continues to guide how I approach my work and how I support others today,” she said.
She also spoke about the importance of persistence and early opportunities like NBC’s Page Program, which helped launch her own career in media and entertainment.
As an executive at MACRO, a multimedia company known for backing bold, visionary work, Hunter emphasized her commitment to original storytelling. “MACRO was built to service a marketplace that mainstream wasn't servicing,” she explained. “We tell stories that are not the dominant story in our society, but always with the artist and their vision at the center.”
“I really connected with her answer,” said the Tuskegee scholar who asked Hunter about her experience at an HBCU. “Being at Tuskegee has made me more confident, more assertive — it’s helped me speak up in class and in life.”
“There’s no class like this at Tuskegee — just having this opportunity is huge,” said another scholar, a music major who recently graduated from Tuskegee. “Meeting Tiffany Haddish was surreal. It made everything feel real, like this is where we could go.”
A scholar who plans to attend law school after completing her studies at Tuskegee University reflected on how the course has expanded her creative confidence. “Writing this script showed me how far I can stretch creatively. Even as I prepare for law school, I’m thinking: how can I keep this creative part alive?”
“This program made me see films differently,” another scholar added.
“I didn’t think I’d like writing at first, but I loved revising and shaping my story. It changed the way I see myself.”
A collective effort and clear vision
Recruitment is grassroots, too. Hopper Williams and her team visit Tuskegee’s campus to meet students face-to-face and build trust. While this outreach helps build awareness of the opportunity, the program is open to all eligible students, and participants are selected through a process that does not consider race, sex or other protected characteristics.
The program’s broader goal is to cultivate a new generation of storytellers who can shape media with authenticity, empathy and cultural insight. By providing students with tools to develop their voices, and a platform to share them, the initiative seeks to shift the narrative landscape in meaningful ways.
“Interrogating the frameworks that govern media production and access is essential to building a more representative and responsive creative landscape — one where authorship reflects a wider range of cultural and personal experiences,” said Jennifer Holt, professor and chair of UCSB’s Department of Film and Media Studies.
“This program is a prime example of how institutional collaboration can expand access to media education and reshape who gets to tell stories, and how."
Hopper Williams also highlighted the critical importance of this program and others like it.
“We’re not just telling stories, we’re expanding access, developing pathways, and reclaiming our power to shape the media from the inside,” she said.
Booker T. Washington Scholars with UCSB leaders and organizers of the program at an end-of-quarter celebration.
The Next Phase: Building an industry
At the heart of this program is The Legacy Lives’ long-term commitment to building Tuskegee University’s film and media arts offerings from a concentration into a full degree program and academic department — a vision rooted in cultural agency, self-representation and community legacy.
While the classroom experience is transformative, the broader goal is systemic: to see a pipeline for careers in media for students and creatives in the South.
“The developing Film and Media Arts Program at Tuskegee University, spearheaded by Mrs. Adriane Hopper Williams, is purposed to equip Tuskegee students to tell their own stories in their own way,” said Wayne Barr, chair of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Tuskegee University. “We are grateful for the partnership with the University of California at Santa Barbara, which allows our students to experience an aspect of this industry that will feed their creativity and inspire others on campus to consider this career path.”
The collaboration between UCSB and Tuskegee supports both institutions’ goals of cultivating inclusive excellence in their learning environments, while directly advancing Tuskegee’s plans for curricular expansion and industry engagement in film and media arts.
“This isn’t just a program, it’s a movement,” said Hopper Williams. “Our goal: to build a creative economy in Tuskegee that belongs to us. We’re in phase one of something much bigger — developing talent, creating jobs and eventually bringing film infrastructure to the region. We don’t need to wait for the industry to come to us. We’re building it ourselves.”
The Legacy Lives is also in conversation with industry partners and potential sponsors to support future phases of development. These include plans for infrastructure investment in Tuskegee, such as film studios and year-round professional programming.
Organizers of the Booker T. Washington Scholars Program hope to continue deepening the exchange between UCSB and Tuskegee, possibly creating more opportunities for UCSB students to visit Tuskegee.
The final class session for the Tuskegee scholars brought the students’ months of hard work to life through intimate table reads of their original scripts — the culminating project of the intensive course. Eley Jackson offered feedback on everything from formatting and structure to the narrative arc of each story.
Laughter, tension and heartfelt moments filled the room, reflecting the array of voices and stories cultivated throughout the course as students from Tuskegee and UCSB learned and shared their creative ideas and energy side-by-side.
Each story stood on its own and elicited rounds of applause from the class and Eley Jackson herself. The course was not merely an academic exercise — it was a celebration of the students’ voices, their growth and the legacy that the Booker T. Washington Scholars Program strives to build.