Commentary

COMMENTARY: Robert F. Smith’s Morehouse and the call for self-sufficiency

SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES — Dozens of white parents were recently accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to get their children into Ivy League universities. Such luxury is not available to African Americans, even if they were so inclined. Elijah Dormeus’ father died when he was 7 and he and his eight siblings were raised by a single mother in Harlem, N.Y., USA TODAY reported. His student loan debt to attend Morehouse College totaled $100,000. Brandon Manor also owed $100,000 and John Cooper, $98,000. But their loans will be paid off because another rich person saw a different way to use his wealth.

Published

7 years ago

June 12, 2019

Mohamed Hamaludin

By Mohamed Hamaludin

Dozens of white parents were recently accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to get their children into Ivy League universities. Such luxury is not available to African Americans, even if they were so inclined. Elijah Dormeus’ father died when he was 7 and he and his eight siblings were raised by a single mother in Harlem, N.Y., USA TODAY reported. His student loan debt to attend Morehouse College totaled $100,000. Brandon Manor also owed $100,000 and John Cooper, $98,000. But their loans will be paid off because another rich person saw a different way to use his wealth.

Robert F. Smith, 56, whose fortune, at $5 billion, makes him the richest African American — and one of only two African American billionaires – the other being retired basketball player Michael Jordan – was delivering Morehouse’s commence address on May 19 when he suddenly announced that he will pay off the debt of the entire class, which could be up to $40 million.

The Detroit Free Press reported that, in 2017, the average student debt at Morehouse, the Atlanta-based men’s college, where tuition, room and board cost about $48,000, is $31,833 and eight in 10 students have loans. The New York Times reported that, overall, African American graduates owe about $7,400 more than whites. Citing a report from the Brookings Institution, the paper said that, four years after graduation, African Americans still owe an average of $53,000 or twice as much as whites.

Forbes magazine put the number of billionaires in the U.S. at 585 with a total net worth of $2.4 trillion. Andres Viglucci reported in The Miami Herald that “30 fulltime resident billionaires — one of the highest concentrations in the world” live in Miami-Dade and “occupy the top of the pyramid atop deep and widespread poverty, a small and shrinking middle class and a large workforce dependent on poorly paid service jobs.” Viglucci was citing a report, “Toward a More Inclusive Region,” co-authored by urbanist Richard Florida and New York University professor Steven Pedigo for the Miami Urban Future Initiative think tank at Florida International University. The researchers found that the rich-poor gap is worse only in New York City and on par with Panama and Colombia.

Those wealthy people do nothing to help the communities that offer them an oppor tunity to shelter their assets due to Florida’s generous property safeguard laws.

But then Smith seems to have been made from a different mold. He grew up in a predominantly African American community in Colorado, his parents high school principals with doctorates. Wikipedia says that as an infant his mother took him to the March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. The New York Times reported that when he was a child she was sending monthly checks of $25 to the United Negro College Fund.

Smith studied chemical engineering at Cornell University and business administration at Columbia University. After a variety of jobs in finance and technology, he founded Vista Equity Partners in 2000, specializing in buying and selling software companies and managing assets totaling $46 billion. His growing wealth did not pull him from his community but, rather, sharpened his interest in the economic condition and educational opportunities of African Americans.

But his Morehouse gesture is not without critics. “The penny-pinching parents wonder where’s their reward for driving their cars until the vehicles have to be towed off the road,” Michelle Singletary commented in The Washington Post. “What do they get for forgoing expensive vacations so that they could put money in a … college savings plan, thereby eliminating or greatly reducing the need for them or their children to take out student loans?”

Anand Giridharadas, author of “Winners Take All,” told The New York Times that donations such as Smith’s “can make people believe that billionaires are taking care of our problems and distract us from ways in which others in finance are working to cause problems like student debts or the subprime crisis on a epically greater scale than this gift.”

Both may have a point and perhaps Smith should instead have followed the lead of Oprah Winfrey and help those who cannot afford loans or are in danger of dropping out of college. Winfrey donated $1 million to Morehouse 30 years ago to establish a scholarship fund in her name; it has since grown to $12 million.

Still, because of Smith, Elijah Dormeus can now focus on helping his younger brother, Jeremiah, pay for college. Brandon Manor can widen his medical school search and John Cooper can pursue his plan to attend law school.

And Smith had a challenge for the students: “Let’s make sure every class has the same opportunity going forward, because we are enough to take care of our own community. We are enough to ensure we have all of the opportunities of the American dream and we will show it to each other through our actions and through our words and through our deeds.”

Dormeus, for one, plans to do just that. He is hoping to create a foundation to help people pay off their debts and get into college, USA TODAY reported.

This article originally appeared in the South Florida Times

Mohamed Hamaludin

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Advice

Support Your Child’s Mental Health: Medi-Cal Covers Therapy, Medication, and More

Published

2 days ago

December 14, 2025

Oakland Post

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When children struggle emotionally, it can affect every part of their lives — at home, in school, with friends, and even their physical health. In many Black families, we’re taught to be strong and push through. But our kids don’t have to struggle alone. Medi-Cal provides mental health care for children and youth, with no referral or diagnosis required.

Through California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), the state is transforming how care is delivered. Services are now easier to access and better connected across mental health, physical health, and family support systems. CalAIM brings care into schools, homes, and communities, removing barriers and helping children get support early, before challenges escalate.

Help is Available, and it’s Covered

Under Medi-Cal, every child and teen under age 19 has the right to mental health care. This includes screenings, therapy, medication support, crisis stabilization, and help coordinating services. Parents, caregivers, and children age 12 or older can request a screening at any time, with no diagnosis or referral required.

Medi-Cal’s Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Program

For children and youth with more serious mental health needs, including those in foster care or involved in the justice system, Medi-Cal offers expanded support, including:

Family-centered and community-based therapy to address trauma, behavior challenges, or system involvement.
Wraparound care teams that help keep children safely at home or with relatives.
Activity funds that support healing through sports, art, music, and therapeutic camps.
Initial joint behavioral health visits, where a mental health provider and child welfare worker meet with the family early in a case.
Child welfare liaisons in Medi-Cal health plans who help caregivers and social workers get services for children faster

Keeping Kids Safe from Opioids and Harmful Drugs

DHCS is also working to keep young people safe as California faces rising risks from opioids and counterfeit pills. Programs like Elevate Youth California and Friday Night Live give teens mentorship, leadership opportunities, and positive outlets that strengthen mental well-being.

Through the California Youth Opioid Response, families can learn how to avoid dangerous substances and get treatment when needed. Song for Charlie provides parents and teens with facts and tools to talk honestly about mental health and counterfeit pills.

DHCS also supports groups like Young People in Recovery, which helps youth build skills for long-term healing, and the Youth Peer Mentor Program, which trains teens with lived experience to support others. These efforts are part of California’s strategy to protect young people, prevent overdoses, and help them make healthier choices.

Support for Parents and Caregivers

Children thrive when their caregivers are supported. Through CalAIM’s vision of whole-person care, Medi-Cal now covers dyadic services, visits where a child and caregiver meet together with a provider to strengthen bonding, manage stress, and address behavior challenges.

These visits may include screening the caregiver for depression or anxiety and connecting them to food, housing, or other health-related social needs, aligning with CalAIM’s Community Supports framework. Notably, only the child must be enrolled in Medi-Cal to receive dyadic care.

Family therapy is also covered and can take place in clinics, schools, homes, or via telehealth, reflecting CalAIM’s commitment to flexible, community-based care delivery.

Additionally, BrightLife Kids offers free tools, resources, and virtual coaching for caregivers and children ages 0–12. Families can sign up online or through the BrightLife Kids app. No insurance, diagnosis, or referral is required.

For teens and young adults ages 13–25, California offers Soluna, a free mental health app where young people can chat with coaches, learn coping skills, journal, or join supportive community circles. Soluna is free, confidential, available in app stores, and does not require insurance.

CalHOPE also provides free emotional support to all Californians through a 24/7 support line at (833) 317-HOPE (4673), online chat, and culturally responsive resources.

Support at School — Where Kids Already Are

Schools are often the first place where emotional stress is noticed. Through the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), public schools, community colleges, and universities can offer therapy, counseling, crisis support, and referrals at no cost to families.

Services are available during school breaks and delivered on campus, by phone or video, or at community sites. There are no copayments, deductibles, or bills.

Medi-Cal Still Covers Everyday Care

Medi-Cal continues to cover everyday mental health care, including therapy for stress, anxiety, depression, or trauma; medication support; crisis stabilization; hospital care when needed; and referrals to community programs through county mental health plans and Medi-Cal health plans.

How to Get Help

Talk to your child’s teacher, school counselor, or doctor.
In Alameda County call 510-272-3663 or the toll-free number 1-800-698-1118 and in San Francisco call 855-355-5757 to contact your county mental health plan to request an assessment or services.
If your child is not enrolled in Medi-Cal, you can apply at com or my.medi-cal.ca.gov.
In a mental health emergency, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Every child deserves to grow up healthy and supported. Medi-Cal is working to transform care so it’s accessible, equitable, and responsive to the needs of every family.

Oakland Post

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Activism

2025 in Review: Seven Questions for Black Women’s Think Tank Founder Kellie Todd Griffin

As the president and CEO of the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute, Griffin is on a mission to shift the narrative and outcomes for Black women and girls. She founded the nation’s first Black Women’s Think Tank, securing $5 million in state funding to fuel policy change.

Published

2 days ago

December 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Kellie Todd Griffin. CBM file photo.

By Edward Henderson
California Black Media

With more than 25 years of experience spanning public affairs, community engagement, strategy, marketing, and communications, Kellie Todd Griffin is recognized across California as a leader who mobilizes people and policy around issues that matter.

Griffin spoke with California Black Media (CBM) about her successes and setbacks in 2025 and her hopes for 2026.

Looking back at 2025, what stands out to you as your most important achievement and why? 

Our greatest achievement in this year is we got an opportunity to honor the work of 35 Black women throughout California who are trailblazing the way for the next generation of leaders.

How did your leadership, efforts and investments as president and CEO California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute contribute to improving the lives of Black Californians? 

We’re training the next leaders. We have been able to train 35 women over a two-year period, and we’re about to start a new cohort of another 30 women. We also have trained over 500 middle and high school girls in leadership, advocacy, and financial literacy.

What frustrated you the most over the last year?

Getting the question, “why.” Why advocate for Black women? Why invest in Black people, Black communities? It’s always constantly having to explain that, although we are aware that there are other populations that are in great need, the quality-of-life indices for Black Californians continue to decrease. Our life expectancies are decreasing. Our unhoused population is increasing. Our health outcomes remain the worst.

We’re not asking anyone to choose one group to prioritize. We are saying, though, in addition to your investments into our immigrant brothers and sisters – or our religious brothers and sisters – we are also asking you to uplift the needs of Black Californians. That way, all of us can move forward together.

What inspired you the most over the last year?

I’ve always been amazed by the joy of Black women in the midst of crisis.

That is really our secret sauce. We don’t let the current state of any issue take our joy from us. It may break us a little bit. We may get tired a little bit. But we find ways to express that – through the arts, through music, through poetry.

What is one lesson you learned in 2025 that will inform your decision-making next year?

Reset. It’s so important not to be sitting still. We have a new administration. We’re seeing data showing that Black women have the largest unemployment rate. We’ve lost so many jobs. We can have rest – we can be restful – but we have to continue the resistance.

In one word, what is the biggest challenge Black Californians faced in 2025?

Motivation.

I choose motivation because of the tiredness. What is going to motivate us to be involved in 2026?

What is the goal you want to achieve most in 2026?

I want to get Black Californians in spaces and places of power and influence – as well as opportunities to thrive economically, socially, and physically.

Oakland Post

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Activism

BRIDGE Housing President and CEO Ken Lombard Scores Top Honors for Affordable Housing Leadership

The Development Company of the Year honor represents a milestone for BRIDGE Housing, which received the Gold award—its top designation—in a category that included both affordable and market-rate developers. The recognition caps what has been one of the strongest growth periods in the organization’s 42-year history.

Published

2 days ago

December 14, 2025

Oakland Post

BRIDGE Housing President and CEO Ken Lombard. Courtesy of BRIDGE Housing.

By the Oakland Post Staff

San Francisco-based BRIDGE Housing and its president and CEO, Ken Lombard, have been named among the nation’s housing industry standouts, earning two of the top prizes at the 2025 Multi-Housing News Excellence Awards.

BRIDGE Housing was named Development Company of the Year, while Lombard received Executive of the Year, recognition that places the nonprofit affordable housing provider alongside leading national developers of both affordable and market-rate housing.

The awards were announced in New York for the accomplishments achieved during 2024.

Multi-Housing News is one of the industry’s most respected publications. Award winners are selected by a panel of housing professionals, including multifamily developers, architects, and owners.

“BRIDGE Housing is deeply honored to be recognized by Multi-Housing News and our industry peers,” Lombard said. “These awards are a testament to the high-impact, mission-driven work by BRIDGE’s exceptional team to deliver quality affordable housing and support services that empower residents to improve their lives.”

In 2024, BRIDGE significantly expanded its footprint across California, Oregon, and Washington. That momentum continued into 2025, with portfolio growth of 9%, including the addition of nine new communities and 1,187 new or acquired affordable housing units. The nonprofit also added three new projects to its development pipeline as it nears a portfolio of 16,000 units.

The growth reflects a broader strategy aimed at accelerating both acquisitions and ground-up development, supported by partnerships with major financial institutions and innovative capital markets strategies. BRIDGE has also emphasized high-quality design and deep community engagement as central elements of its approach.

BRIDGE became the first affordable housing developer to issue tax-exempt construction bonds for one of the largest affordable housing projects in Portland, Ore., leveraging its strong credit rating.

Earlier this year, the nonprofit launched the BRIDGE Housing Impact Fund, with a goal of investing $1 billion to preserve and create affordable housing. It also closed on $175 million in taxable general-obligation bonds after increasing the offering in response to strong investor demand.

The company’s performance also underscores the role of Lombard, who has led BRIDGE since 2021 and was honored individually for his leadership.

Under Lombard’s tenure, BRIDGE has built a new leadership team with experience drawn from both the nonprofit and private sectors, with a particular focus on what the organization describes as efforts to “break the status quo,” especially in affordable housing finance. Those initiatives have helped reduce capital and construction costs, strengthen relationships with institutional investors, and expand resident support services.

Today, BRIDGE Housing serves more than 33,000 residents across 139 communities on the West Coast.

“Ken has dedicated his career to innovative real estate solutions that improve the quality of life in underserved neighborhoods,” said Kenneth Novack, chair of BRIDGE Housing’s board of directors. “His visionary leadership and the work of our incredible team have positioned BRIDGE for long-term growth that will extend our impact throughout the West Coast.”

Founded in 1983, BRIDGE Housing has helped create more than 23,000 affordable homes with a total development cost of $6 billion.