Sanford Greene Revisits Benedict Roots in ETV’s “Still Here”
New Film Joins HBCU Week NOW’s Fall Collection Celebrating HBCU Excellence
COLUMBIA, S.C. – HBCU Week NOW and South Carolina ETV present Still Here, a compelling film that traces the remarkable journey of Sanford Greene from his small-town roots in Greeleyville, South Carolina, to becoming one of the comic industry’s most celebrated illustrators, and back to his alma mater, HBCU Benedict College, where he now inspires the next generation of artists. Benedict College is the only HBCU to offer comics arts instruction and has produced a graphic novel and comic book series.
A public media partnership, HBCU Week NOW showcases the under-told stories of sacrifice, courage, innovation, and hope that chronicle HBCU contributions to science, medicine, history, education, civil rights, the arts, music, sports, and more. Still Here is the latest film for HBCU Week NOW’s fall portfolio of content and is now streaming exclusively on the platform’s signature YouTube channel.
The film captures Greene’s “hero’s journey,” beginning with his childhood discovery of comics at a Kmart spinner rack and following his path through Benedict College, where he found both community and purpose. Greene has since made his mark illustrating iconic Marvel characters in Luke Cage and Black Panther comics, contributing artwork to the blockbuster film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Greene also shares the importance of creating his own stories, which resulted in co-creating the Eisner and Ringo award-winning Image Comics series Bitter Root. The comic is being adapted into a film for Legendary Entertainment, produced by Ryan Coogler and directed by Regina King.
Still Here showcases Greene’s commitment to giving back, returning to his roots at Benedict College to mentor future Benedict College changemakers. His presence embodies one of Benedict’s core values: providing access to excellent higher education while demonstrating what’s possible for aspiring artists. Benedict College is at the forefront of carving out new and innovative ways of achieving this, and with powerful and accomplished professors like Sanford Greene, future Tiger alums are sure to continue to be, as founder Bathsheba A. Benedict said, a “power for good in society.”
“Sanford is not just a smiling photo on the alumni page,” the film emphasizes. “He is here, with them”, offering students a living example of achievement and possibility.
Still Here is part of HBCU Week NOW’s fall film collection, which also includes Unity and Hope: The Pride of HBCU (WXXI), The Art of Dance: Complexions (Howard University/WHUT), Fashion Forward (PBS North Carolina), and Beyond the Movement (Spelman College/WABE Atlanta). All films are currently streaming on the HBCU Week NOW YouTube channel.
