Tyler Perry is set to keynote a daylong career event aimed at students and young adults to presented by NATPE, the NAACP and National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
“Living the Dream: A Career in Content” will be held Jan. 21 at Miami’s Fontainebleau Hotel, one day before the start of NATPE’s annual programming conference at the hotel. NATPE will invite students from Miami-area colleges and high schools to attend.
The focus will be on education and networking opportunities for young adults interested in careers in entertainment. The last portion of the day will feature three pre-selected students pitching a panel of industry development executives on stories that involve themes of diversity and inclusion. The students will be selected from talent development programs run by the Hollywood branch of the NAACP and the NHFA’s PitchDC and PitchNY initiatives.
“Joining forces with NATPE on Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday is right in line with the efforts we put forth to bring diversity to the forefront of everyone’s minds, especially in the world of entertainment,” said Derrick Johnson, president-CEO of the NAACP. “We are honored to bring students together to hear from one of the greatest creative and business minds of our generation in Tyler Perry, and are excited to reveal the rest of the programming, which will feature top talent and executives from television, as we draw closer to the event.”
Also set to participate in the event is “One Day at a Time” showrunner Gloria Calderon Kellett, actor Esai Morales and “Queen of the South” showrunner Benjamin Lobato.
“This will be a very special day. A day to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and to inspire and empower young people as they begin a career in entertainment and media,” said NATPE president-CEO JP Bommel.