Overview
- He told PEOPLE his legacy is twofold — his body of films and his work as a teacher — during the Critics' Choice Association’s 8th Celebration of Black Cinema & Television.
- He received the Career Achievement Award at the event for a four-decade career the organization said left an indelible mark on popular culture.
- He noted he has taught for 31 years at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and recently secured tenure, quipping that the university cannot fire him.
- The Critics' Choice statement praised his exploration of race and politics in films such as She’s Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X and Da 5 Bloods.
- Recent recognition also includes Harvard’s W. E. B. Du Bois Medal, and he has previously said his children remain central to his personal legacy.