On February 12, 1988, Spike Lee released a film that allowed students and alumni alike to engage in the HBCU experience. 2018 marks the 30th anniversary since the film came out and Spike Lee has embarked on a mini-tour to celebrate the film that revolutionized the Black college experience. On his most recent stop, Spike Lee came back to his old stopping grounds, Atlanta, Georgia. A place where he was not only born, but also attended college. In true form of a city that has a majority Black population, Black people showed up and showed out.
The atmosphere was like no other. Just about every Divine 9 organization was in the building as well as some of the most prominent HBCUs, including Atlanta's very own, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and even alum from Morris Brown College. Omega Psi Phi and Alpha Kappa Alpha definitely showed out the most. You heard the barks and the skee-we's all throughout the theater.
Once Spike hopped on stage after being introduced by the Mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Bottoms, he encouraged the audience to talk back to the screen and recite any and every line we knew. He also encouraged the audience to get up and do "Da Butt" once it was time for the pivotal dance scene.
The ladies fawned over Vaughn and the fellas lost their mind once they saw Jane. For an audience of mostly older adults who were obviously relieving their older days, seeing themselves and their young-adult crushes on screen definitely reignited some endorphins that they have not secreted since 1988.
From the audience reciting the movie line by to line, to greek members laughing at scenes that reminded them of being on line, from doing Da Butt and even meeting Spike Lee himself, it is safe to say that School Daze's 30th anniversary was celebrated the correct way in the city that it was produced.
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