40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks

40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
	40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks building
Company type	Production company
Industry	Film, television
Founded	1979
Founders	Spike Lee, Monty Ross
Headquarters	South Elliott Place, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Motion pictures, television programs, commercials
Services	Film production, television production
Website	40acres.com

40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks is the production company of Spike Lee,^[1]^[2] founded in 1979.^[3] The company name is a reference to the phrase most often used to refer to the early Reconstruction period policy and episode of events, in which certain recently emancipated black families on the Georgia coast were given lots of land no larger than 40 acres (160,000 m²) and in some cases surplus army mules. The order, issued in 1865 by General Sherman as "Special Field Order 15", was later revoked by Andrew Johnson, and the land was taken away from the freed slaves and returned to previous owners.^[4]

^ Schartoff, Adam (August 10, 2012). "Get Out: Red Hook Summer Opens Today". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
^ Williams, Zelena (February 28, 2014). "Spike Lee Rants About Gentrification In Brooklyn". Uptown Magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-03-01. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
^ Greif, Coby (3 February 2021). "10 Actors Who Own Their Own Production Company & Its Best Project". Screenrant. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
^ Staples, Brent (July 21, 1997). "Forty Acres and a Mule". The New York Times.