NNPA Newswire Staff Report
Media mogul Charles D. King received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during this year’s Howard University Charter Day Convocation.
King, a Howard University School of Law alumnus who has risen to prominence in Hollywood, shared his journey from talent agency mailroom to entertainment company CEO, during this year’s Charter Day Convocation at the historically Black university.
“Upon graduation, I had a ten-year plan: One day be at the helm of an integrated media company that would lift our culture up and move it forward,” King said.
“When I graduated, I journeyed to Hollywood without a car, a job, and without a computer, and six figures in student loans.”
He landed in the mailroom of William Morris Endeavor talent agency.
In a short period, King rose to senior agent in the motion picture department.
He went on to become the first Africa American partner in the company’s hundred-plus year history and the first ever African American partner at a major Hollywood talent agency. MACRO, the company he founded in 2015, is today a leading media Hollywood firm representing the voice and perspectives of people of color.
“In four short years, we have nine academy award nominations,” King said.
“When we launched, we knew there was a market in Hollywood for a new paradigm of ownership and how we are portrayed on screens large and small. The fight continues to have our stories told authentically,” he said.
King credited his activist and educated family, including his father and uncle who were classmates and 1969 graduates of the Howard University College of Medicine.
During his Charter Day address, King urged students to follow their dreams and to remain true to their backgrounds.
“At the moment of opportunity, you better bust through the door. And when you succeed, make sure you pay it forward, and continue to add to the legacy of Howard University,” he said.
Howard University’s Charter Day Convocation commemorates the special charter enacted by the United States Congress and approved by President Andrew Johnson that established Howard University on March 2, 1867.
In convocation remarks, Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick acknowledged Howard University as “The Howard University” in reference to the actual language found in the historic federal charter document.
At the ceremony, Dr. Frederick and Stacey J. Mobley, chairman of the Board of Trustees, reiterated the planks of Howard University’s recently announced “Howard Forward” strategic plan: Enhance academic excellence, inspire new knowledge, Serve the community, improve efficiency and effectiveness, and Achieve financial stability.
“Howard University has a powerful legacy that is built upon rather than rested upon,” Dr. Frederick said.
“We have reached a pivotal point in the University’s history where we must invest in ourselves and plan for the future.”
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