Student journalists at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) recently got the chance to interview the cast of “Creed III” through the HBCU Creed III Campus Collective. 

The HBCU Creed III Campus Collective is an initiative aimed to increase HBCUs students’ exposure to media. They utilized students on campus for campus activations at 16 different schools and conducted the first-ever hybrid HBCU Press Conference with an emphasis on journalism. 

The initiative was inspired by director and star of the film, Michael B. Jordan’s deep commitment to HBCUs and cultivating black excellence.

For the campus activations, the Creed Collective got student ambassadors at 16 HBCU campuses to set up branded promotional tables with snacks and “Creed III” branded giveaways.  Students lined up for a chance to obtain additional giveaways and each student who participated entered into a raffle to receive a premium item.  

Participating HBCUs include: Bowie State University, Clark Atlanta University, Coppin State University, Dillard University, Florida A&M University, Howard University, Meharry Mechanical College, Morehouse College, North Carolina A&T, Prairie View A&M University, Spelman College, Tennessee State University, Texas Southern University, Tuskegee University,  and Xavier University of Louisiana.

HBCU students also had the opportunity to participate in a “Creed III” media junket with cast members, Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors, and Mila Davis-Kent. 

Jordan said it was important for him to give HBCU student journalists an opportunity to gain real-world experience. “I love the confidence they have, the questions that they’re asking, they’re tentatively listening, they care. So, it’s good for us to show up and give them the opportunity to do what they love doing,” he said. 

The press conference took place in Atlanta on Thursday, February 23, 2023, and was available to student participants virtually as well. 

During the press conference, students from different HBCUs were able to ask the stars of the film questions, to which they answered candidly as well as gave advice to the aspiring journalists and filmmakers. 

When asked if he’d ever thought he would direct and star in a movie of such caliber as “Creed,” Jordan humbly said that he never thought about it but always knew he wanted to be great at something. 

“I feel like, you know, no matter what field you’re in, no matter what you care about, if you obsess over and you’re passionate about it, and you’re relentless, I feel like you’ll have some success,” the movie star said. 

As a director, Jordan said it was important to assemble aspiring writers and producers from HBCUs to participate in a press conference because “we got to close the gap from somewhere.”

He declared that there is not enough diversity and Black representation on film sets. To remedy this, he feels that it is imperative for him to use his platform to lay the foundation for creative talent from HBCUs to get their foot in the door. 

When talking about his commitment to HBCUs, Jordan said that he’s “in it for the long haul.” 

“This is chess, this is the long game,” Jordan remarked. “We want people who look like us to have those same opportunities to be successful as well. So you got to look at all the pieces on the board, we got to stop looking at ourselves as victims and start taking what we deserve, and to instead start acting like we belong here. That’s something that I really firmly believe in.”

The highly anticipated “Creed III” film appears in theaters on March 3.