Our Crowdfunding Groups
Our crowdfunding campaign has ended, but you can still support the Zuri Adele Fellowship by clicking here.
Representation - as Zuri Adele Fellowship recipient and Bruin alum Taylor Curry describes it, “Having the courage and the privilege to be in a position to tell stories that haven’t been told before about people that maybe have not glanced up at the silver screen and seen themselves.” This is what it means to support the Zuri Adele Fellowship for HBCU Alumni.
Founded in 2016, the fellowship was established by TFT alumna Zuri Adele to promote diverse storytelling and performance among MFA students at TFT.
Pursuing an MFA is a great investment of time and finances for student artists. In order to continue to pursue their passion and hone their craft, many make great sacrifices. At UCLA TFT, The Zuri Adele Fellowship for HBCU Alumni is charting a path to bring together artists from a diverse array of backgrounds to learn, live and work at our academic institution, by alleviating the cost of receiving a prestigious MFA education.
An HBCU graduate student brings a unique perspective to their Bruin experience that is reflective of the diverse community which they join here in Los Angeles.
The Historically Black College and University experience expands education beyond the teaching of westernized textbooks, approaching each subject from the African Diasporic perspective. This coalition of 107 accredited post-secondary institutions produces hundreds of thousands of graduates each year, united in their mission to provide a forum in exchanging ideas, philosophies and techniques, and promote the advancement of scholars of African descent across the world. The strong sense of self, combined with the communities that are developed in the process are vital to strengthening the collaboration of artistic cohorts in UCLA TFT’s world-class Master of Fine Arts program.
Zuri Adele ’15 earned a BA in Drama from Spelman College and trained at the British American Drama Academy. She went on to complete her MFA in Acting at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT). She has taught at UCLA TFT and at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. Adele's professional credits include performing with Siti Company in Los Angeles productions of Lost in the Stars (2017) and the theater is a blank page (2018). Adele is currently a series regular on Freeform’s Good Trouble. Her winning portrayal of Black Lives Matter activist Malika has been hailed as an inspiring representation of women of color on TV. Zuri’s personal philanthropy and activism mirrors her Good Trouble character.
The Zuri Adele Fellowship for HBCU Alumni provides an annual award to a graduate of an HBCU pursuing their Masters in Fine Arts degree in any of UCLA TFT's programs.
Striving toward equity within a diverse array of aspiring performance artists is especially necessary at UCLA TFT. Your generosity elevates talented HBCU alumni and allows them to pursue careers in entertainment and diversify the industry, both on and off-screen. With your help, we can make top-tier graduate fine arts education more accessible to HBCU alumni beginning with UCLA TFT.
Show your Bruin pride and support for HBCU alumni to help students pursue their dream career in the entertainment and performing arts industries. Through your generosity, we would like to expand Zuri’s efforts and mission and take this award to new heights for generations to come!
We hope to endow this fund so that it may provide funding in perpetuity for the next diverse voices; visit uclafoundation.org/disclosures for endowment management information.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE UCLA FOUNDATION'S DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS FOR DONORS
Should this fund reach the campus minimum required for the establishment of an endowment or quasi-endowment, The UCLA Foundation reserves the right to convert this fund to an endowment or quasi-endowment. Please click here to learn more about how The UCLA Foundation invests and manages its endowments.
Your donation allows our graduate artists to focus on their creative process and materializing their vision.
Celebrate 58 years since the establishment of The Higher Education Act of 1965 that recognized HBCUs as a coalition of accredited post-secondary institutions united by a mission to provide a uniquely superior education primarily to students of African descent. HBCUs continue to be a source of great pride for the Black community and the entire nation.
There are 107 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States. For decades, these institutions have been dedicated to expanding education beyond the teaching of westernized textbooks, approaching each subject from the African Diasporic perspective.
By allowing students to work less hours in a work-study job, you are giving the gift of valuable time that will be devoted to furthering their creative process and materializing their vision.
You are making higher education even more accessible to HBCU alumni with a gift at the $1,000 level.
Honor the meaningful legacy of The Higher Education Act of 1965 that recognized HBCUs as a coalition of accredited post-secondary institutions united by a mission to provide a uniquely superior education to students of African descent. HBCUs continue to be a source of great pride for the Black community and the entire nation.