SAG-AFTRA will host Friday’s kickoff of a new internship program designed to put more young African-Americans into Hollywood’s hiring pipeline. Co-sponsored by the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and the Entertainment Industry College Outreach Program, the initiative aims to showcase the talents of students at historically black colleges.

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Billed as “the first of its kind to take on Hollywood’s pipeline problem,” the program will provide students with an immersive, real-world work experience designed to supplement their studies and prepare them for careers in the entertainment, media and communications industries.

Among those expected to be on hand for the kickoff are Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, deputy under-secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and acting executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCU’s; SAG-AFTRA national executive director David White; Stacy Milner, founder of the Entertainment Industry College Outreach Program, and various federal officials, HBCU presidents, and community leaders.