2. Shelton Jackson Lee was born March 20, 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia, to William. Shelton Jackson Lee was born March 20, 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia, to William. His mother, who died in 1977 of cancer, nicknamed him "Spike" as a toddler, evidently alluding to his toughness. His mother, who died in 1977 of cancer, nicknamed him "Spike" as a toddler, evidently alluding to his toughness.

3. 1:After graduating from John Dewey High School in Brooklyn, Lee majored in mass communications at his father's and grandfather's alma mater, Morehouse College in Atlanta. 1:After graduating from John Dewey High School in Brooklyn, Lee majored in mass communications at his father's and grandfather's alma mater, Morehouse College in Atlanta.

4. 2: Lee earned his master's in filmmaking from NYU in 1982, and as his final film project, he wrote, produced and directed Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads. 2: Lee earned his master's in filmmaking from NYU in 1982, and as his final film project, he wrote, produced and directed Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads.

5. 3: At the same time, he tried to raise funds to finance a film entitled Messenger, a drama about a young New York City bicycle messenger. 3: At the same time, he tried to raise funds to finance a film entitled Messenger, a drama about a young New York City bicycle messenger.

6. 4: For his first year project he submitted a ten-minute film, The Answer, which told of a young black screenwriter who remade D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation. A pointed critique of the racism in Griffith's silent film, the faculty was displeased with his work, saying that he had not yet mastered "film grammar 4: For his first year project he submitted a ten-minute film, The Answer, which told of a young black screenwriter who remade D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation. A pointed critique of the racism in Griffith's silent film, the faculty was displeased with his work, saying that he had not yet mastered "film grammar

7. 5: Upon graduation two major talent agencies signed Lee, but when nothing materialized, he was not surprised. In an interview in The New York Times, Lee said that it "cemented in my mind what I always thought all along: that I would have to go out and do it alone, not rely on anyone else. 5: Upon graduation two major talent agencies signed Lee, but when nothing materialized, he was not surprised. In an interview in The New York Times, Lee said that it "cemented in my mind what I always thought all along: that I would have to go out and do it alone, not rely on anyone else.

8. You need to have will to obtain the things to make everything to obtain. You need to have will to obtain the things to make everything to obtain.