When movie director Spike Lee told Warner Brothers Studies that he wanted the Malcolm X movie to be 3 hours in length, the studio refused to continue funding the film. In a recent interview Spike stated, "In order to produce the film I studied Malcolm X. His message was about self-reliance. I reached out to successful Black Americans and asked them to contribute to the completion of the film. They all did!" The contributors were:
Prince ( Grammy winning singer, musician)
Janet Jackson ( Grammy winning singer, actor)
Tracy Chapman ( Grammy winning singer, musician)
Oprah Winfrey (media mogul, former talk show host, actress)
Magic Johnson (Sports Franchise owner, Hall of Fame basketball player)
Michael Jordan (Entrepreneur, Nascar owner, Hall of Fame Basketball player)
In a presentation entitled, The Future of Addictions Treatment in America, historian William White, MA stated, "In the future we will need to pursue non-traditional sources of funding. We have yet to reach out to prominent individuals in long term recovery for support.
In this current political and economic climate, African American substance use disorder treatment programs are increasingly closing. We need to reach out to prominent African Americans in long term recovery for possible support. You may be wondering where to start? Click here for a list of prominent African Americans in long term recovery.