By Host Tom Ashbrook:

Shelton Jackson Lee — or “Spike” Lee as you know him — grew up, tough and slight, in the Brooklyn household of a jazz musician father and a mother who died early. He came out of NYU film school with a now-famous attitude, a camera in his hand, and a dream of becoming the black messiah of American cinema.

Twenty years on, Spike Lee has staked a big claim. In films like “She’s Gotta Have It,” “Do the Right Thing,” “Jungle Fever,” and “Malcolm X” the wary kid from Brooklyn has played a big hand in shaping America’s conversation on race, and black Americans’ role in Hollywood. And he’s still shooting.

Hear a conversation with filmmaker Spike Lee about his life, work, and color in America.

Guests:

Spike Lee, film producer, director, and entrepreneur. Founder and President of 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, Inc. He is the subject of the new book “Spike Lee: That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It.”;
Kaleem Aftab, author of “Spike Lee: That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It.”