Dream award for Samuel L Jackson

Samuel L Jackson will be honoured by the I Have A Dream Foundation for his commitment to education, both on film and in real life.

Director George Lucas will present Jackson with the Dream Keeper Award at the foundation’s eighth annual Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.

Lucas directed Jackson in Star Wars episodes I, II and III. The 57-year-old actor has also starred in Shaft, Unbreakable and Pulp Fiction.

In the 2005 movie Coach Carter, Jackson played a basketball coach who benched his undefeated team when they did not make the grade academically.

The actor is scheduled to speak to Pasadena students next month, encouraging them to stay in school.

The Los Angeles chapter of the I Have a Dream Foundation, which is issuing the award, was established in 1987.

On of the 69 such projects operating in the US, it provides mentoring, tutoring and cultural programmes for students in urban areas with high dropout rates.