The Walt Disney Company has officially partnered with Howard University to help create opportunities in the media and entertainment industry for underrepresented communities. The initiative, formally known as the Disney Storytellers fund, was announced on Sunday during the Essence Festival of Culture.
Howard University is based in Washington D.C. and is among the oldest historically Black universities in the United States. The program will take place over the course of multiple years and will have focuses in animation, digital design, gaming, journalism, live action, performing arts, product design, visual design, virtual reality, and much more.
Additionally, the Walt Disney Company is promised the university a new space to host speakers, internships, and other collaborative opportunities.
Disney corporate has said they are “working to amplify underrepresented voices and untold stories” and are “excited” to assist the next wave of Black creators in making their ideas into a reality. Similarly, the Dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard stated that the fund is an incredible support system for the students of the college who express themselves across the array of disciplines offered.
No news has been announced as to when the program’s curriculum will go into action at the university.