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OP-ED: Robert F. Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Frank Baker and William Pickard Top List of Black Donors to HBCUs 

NNPA NEWSWIRE — A recent Washington Post story found that Black Americans donate a higher share of their wealth than their white counterparts – to the tune of around $11 billion each year. Given their cultural and educational importance to the Black community, HBCUs are the repository of much of these donations with a number of household names – and some you may not know – making big-dollar contributions to these institutions.  
The post OP-ED: Robert F. Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Frank Baker and William Pickard Top List of Black Donors to HBCUs  first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

Billionaire philanthropist and novelist MacKenzie Scott’s $560 million donation last year to 23 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) made headlines across the country at a time when racial equity has become front-page news. However, for decades Black leaders in business, entertainment, education, and other fields have been the main sources of philanthropic donations to HBCUs.

A recent Washington Post story found that Black Americans donate a higher share of their wealth than their white counterparts – to the tune of around $11 billion each year. Given their cultural and educational importance to the Black community, HBCUs are the repository of much of these donations with a number of household names – and some you may not know – making big-dollar contributions to these institutions.

Here are some of the most prominent Black philanthropists to donate to HBCUS:

Robert F. Smith – Chairman & CEO, Vista Equity Partners 

Smith, the billionaire investor behind the software private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, drew widespread praise in May 2019 when he announced that he and his family would pay off the entire student loan debt of the 2019 Morehouse College graduating class of 396 students. Along with paying off the student debt, Smith’s $35 million donation also helped establish the Student Success Program to reduce or eliminate debt for all Morehouse grads. The private equity guru also gave the school an additional $1.5 million to create the Robert Frederick Smith Scholars Program and build a park on campus.

As board chair of the Student Freedom Initiative – a plan to provide STEM students at HBCUs with a family-centric, income-contingent payment alternative to high-cost, fixed-payment debt – Smith pledged $50 million. Smith’s donation jumpstarted the initiative, which hopes to raise $500 million for the effort and began operations in the fall of 2021 at eleven HBCUs.

“Each year, thousands of Black graduates from HBCUs across America enter the workforce with a crushing debt burden that stunts future decisions and prevents opportunities and choices,” Smith said. “The initiative is purposefully built to redress historic economic and social inequities and to offer a sustainable, scalable platform to invest in the education of future Black leaders.”

Oprah Winfrey, Television Personality, Philanthropist, Author, Entrepreneur & Actress

Most people may know the philanthropic acts of Oprah – who, like Beyoncé, Prince, and Zendaya needs no further introduction – through the infamous “You get a Car!” episode of her talk show, but she is also quietly, one of the biggest donors to HBCUs in the country.

In 2019, Oprah donated $13 million to Morehouse College to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program at the HBCU. Overall, Oprah has donated at least $25 million to the Atlanta school. “I felt that the very first time I came here,” Oprah said. “The money was an offering to support that in these young men. I understand that African American men are an endangered species. They are so misunderstood. They are so marginalized.”

Besides her gift to Morehouse, Oprah also donated $1.5 million to the United Negro College Fund to help pay for scholarships for Black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private HBCUs.

Frank Baker – Founder and Managing Partner of Siris Capital

Baker, the founder of private equity firm Siris, along with his wife, interior designer Laura Day Baker, donated $1 million in May 2020 to establish a scholarship fund at Atlanta’s Spelman College, the oldest private historically Black liberal arts college for women.

Initially, the scholarship paid off the existing spring tuition balances of nearly 50 members of Spelman’s 2020 graduating class and the remaining funds are meant to ensure that future high achieving graduating seniors have the financial resources to graduate.

“We are all aware of the headwinds that people of color — especially women — face in our country, the challenges of which are made even more apparent by the economic and health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the couple said in a press release. “We believe it is critical that talented women finish college and confidently enter – free of undue financial stress – the initial stage of their professional careers.

William F. Pickard – Businessman, Co-owner of Real Times Media 

Detroit businessman and philanthropist Pickard has a long history of donating to HBCUs across the country. Most recently Pickard and his cousin, Cincinnati businessman Judson W. Pickard Jr., donated $2 million to Morehouse College to create the Pickard Scholars Program. This program will recruit and support Black students from metro Detroit, Flint, greater Cincinnati, and LaGrange, Georgia to attend the Atlanta HBCU.

“People have uplifted and helped me grow and I believe in blessing others,” Pickard, whose children attended Morehouse, told the Atlanta Tribune. “Our gifts are given to where we are from and those who have invested in us and who we are.”

The Pickard Family Foundation also donated $100,000 to the National Black MBA Association to create the William F. Pickard Business Scholarship Fund. The fund is open to qualified business student members at several HBCUs who need help financing their education.

Michael Jordan – Former NBA Superstar 

Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time and is almost single-handedly responsible for transforming the game into the global phenomenon it is today. So, if anybody knows how to make an impact on HBCUs, it would be His Airness.

The six-time NBA champion and five-time league MVP, along with Nike’s Jordan Brand, donated $1 million last year to Morehouse College to boost the school’s journalism and sports-related studies program. The donation is meant to bolster a program launched thanks to the donation of another icon, director Spike Lee.

“Education is crucial for understanding the Black experience today,” Jordan said in a press release. “We want to help people understand the truth of our past and help tell the stories that will shape our future.”

The donation to Morehouse is part of a pledge made by Jordan and his brand in 2020 to donate $100 million over the next ten years to combat racism across the country.

The following video link highlights the transformative financial contributions to HBCUs by these African American philanthropists: https://vimeo.com/687271086/670be7a4b6

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr is President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and is the Executive Producer/Host of The Chavis Chronicles (TCC) television show broadcast weekly on PBS TV stations throughout the United States.

The post OP-ED: Robert F. Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Frank Baker and William Pickard Top List of Black Donors to HBCUs  first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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IN MEMORIAM: Beloved ‘Good Times’ Star and Emmy-Nominated Actor, John Amos, Dies at 84

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Amos’ acting career spanned over five decades, with his most iconic role being that of James Evans Sr., the no-nonsense, hard-working father on the groundbreaking CBS sitcom “Good Times” (1974–1979). The show, which was the first sitcom to center on an African American family, became a cultural touchstone, and Amos’ portrayal of James Evans Sr. made him a symbol of strength and dignity for countless viewers.

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March 10, 2011 - Actor/Producer John Amos in a publicity photo for, “Their Voices, Their Stories: African American Veterans Who Served on Iwo Jima.” Catherine Farmer, National Archives.
March 10, 2011 - Actor/Producer John Amos in a publicity photo for, “Their Voices, Their Stories: African American Veterans Who Served on Iwo Jima.” Catherine Farmer, National Archives.

By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

John Amos, the Emmy-nominated actor and pioneering television star who brought to life some of the most beloved characters in entertainment history, has died. He was 84. His son, K.C. Amos, confirmed in a statement that Amos passed away more than a month ago, on Aug. 21, in Los Angeles of natural causes. The younger Amos didn’t say why he kept his father’s death under wraps for more than a month.

“It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned,” K.C. said. “He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold… and he was loved the world over. Many fans consider him their TV father. He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor.”

Amos’ acting career spanned over five decades, with his most iconic role being that of James Evans Sr., the no-nonsense, hard-working father on the groundbreaking CBS sitcom “Good Times” (1974–1979). The show, which was the first sitcom to center on an African American family, became a cultural touchstone, and Amos’ portrayal of James Evans Sr. made him a symbol of strength and dignity for countless viewers.

However, his time on the series was cut short after three seasons due to creative differences with the show’s producers. Amos famously clashed with the show’s direction, objecting to what he saw as the stereotypical portrayal of his on-screen son, J.J., played by Jimmie Walker.

“We had a number of differences,” Amos recalled in later interviews, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “I felt too much emphasis was being put on J.J. in his chicken hat, saying ‘Dy-no-mite!’ every third page.” Amos’ insistence on portraying a more balanced, positive image of the Black family on television led to his departure from the show in 1976, when his character was written out in a dramatic two-part episode.

Born John Allen Amos Jr. on Dec. 27, 1939, in Newark, New Jersey, Amos began his professional life with dreams of playing football. He played the sport at Colorado State University and had brief stints with teams like the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs. But after a series of injuries and cutbacks, Amos transitioned to entertainment, beginning his career as a writer and performer.

Amos got his first major acting break as Gordy Howard, the good-natured weatherman on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” appearing on the iconic series from 1970 to 1973. He would go on to write and perform sketches on “The Leslie Uggams Show” and later landed roles in various television series and films.

In 1977, Amos received an Emmy nomination for his powerful portrayal of the adult Kunta Kinte in the landmark ABC miniseries “Roots,” a role that solidified his status as one of television’s most respected actors. Amos’ performance in “Roots”, one of the most watched and culturally significant TV events of all time, remains one of his most enduring achievements.

In addition to his success on television, Amos made his mark in films. He appeared in Melvin Van Peebles’ groundbreaking blaxploitation film “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” (1971) and “The World’s Greatest Athlete” (1973). He was widely recognized for his role in “Coming to America” (1988), where he played Cleo McDowell, the owner of McDowell’s, a fast-food restaurant parody of McDonald’s. Amos reprised the role over three decades later in “Coming to America 2” (2021).

His filmography also includes the Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby classic “Let’s Do It Again” (1975), “The Beastmaster” (1982), “Die Hard 2” (1990), “Ricochet” (1991), “Mac” (1992), “For Better or Worse” (1995), “The Players Club” (1998), “Night Trap” (1993), and “Because of Charley” (2021).

Amos was also a familiar face on television throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, with recurring roles in shows like “The West Wing” as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” as Will Smith’s stepfather. He appeared in “The District,” “Men in Trees,” “All About the Andersons” (as Anthony Anderson’s father), and the Netflix series “The Ranch.”

Beyond acting, Amos had a passion for writing and performing in theater. In the 1990s, when he found it challenging to secure roles in Hollywood, he wrote and starred in the one-person play “Halley’s Comet,” about an 87-year-old man waiting in the woods for the comet’s arrival. He toured with the production for over 20 years, performing in cities across the United States and abroad.

In addition to his onscreen and stage accomplishments, Amos co-produced the documentary “America’s Dad,” which explored his life and career. He was also involved in Broadway, appearing in Carl Reiner’s “Tough to Get Help” production in 1972.

John Amos’ life and career were not without personal challenges. In recent years, he was embroiled in a public legal battle between his children, K.C. and Shannon, over accusations of elder abuse.

This unfortunate chapter cast a shadow over his later years. However, his legacy as a beloved television father and one of Hollywood’s pioneering Black actors remains untarnished.

Both K.C. and Shannon, children from his first marriage to artist Noel “Noni” Mickelson and his ex-wife, actress Lillian Lehman, survive Amos.

Photo of the Evans family from the television program “Good Times.” From left: Ralph Carter (Michael), BernNadette Stanis (Thelma), Jimmie Walker (J.J.), Esther Rolle (Florida), John Amos (James).

Photo of the Evans family from the television program “Good Times.” From left: Ralph Carter (Michael), BernNadette Stanis (Thelma), Jimmie Walker (J.J.), Esther Rolle (Florida), John Amos (James).

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Reading and Moving: Great Ways to Help Children Grow

NNPA NEWSWIRE — In these formative years, your little one will learn to walk, learn how to grab and hold items, begin building their muscle strength, and more. Here are some ways to facilitate positive motor development at home:

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Council for Professional Recognition

Before a child even steps into a classroom or childcare center, their first life lessons occur within the walls of their home. During their formative years, from birth to age five, children undergo significant cognitive, motor, and behavioral development. As their primary guides and first teachers, parents, and guardians play a pivotal role in fostering these crucial aspects of growth.

The Council for Professional Recognition, a nonprofit, is dedicated to supporting parents and families in navigating questions about childcare and education training. In keeping with its goal of meeting the growing need for qualified early childcare and education staff, the Council administers the Child Development Associate (CDA). The CDA program is designed to assess and credential early childhood education professionals. This work gives the Council great insights into child development.

Cognitive Development: Building the Foundation of Learning

Cognitive development lays the groundwork for a child’s ability to learn, think, reason, and solve problems.

  • Read Together: One of the most powerful tools for cognitive development is reading. It introduces children to language, expands their vocabulary, and sparks imagination. Make reading a daily ritual by choosing age-appropriate books that capture their interest.
  • Play Together: Play is a child’s entry to the physical, social, and affective worlds. It’s a critical and necessary tool in the positive cognitive development of young children and is directly linked to long-term academic success.
  • Dance and Sing Together: These types of activities help young children develop spatial awareness and lead to improved communication skills. As a bonus, it’s also helpful for improving gross motor skills.
  • Invite your Child to Help you in the Kitchen: It’s a fun activity to do together and helps establish a basic understanding of math and lifelong healthy eating practices.
  • Encourage Questions: As children find their voice, they also find their curiosity for the world around them; persuade them to ask questions and then patiently provide answers.

Motor Development: Mastering Movement Skills

Motor development involves the refinement of both gross and fine motor skills, which are essential for physical coordination and independence. In these formative years, your little one will learn to walk, learn how to grab and hold items, begin building their muscle strength, and more. Here are some ways to facilitate positive motor development at home:

  • Tummy Time: Starting from infancy, incorporate daily tummy time sessions to strengthen neck and upper body muscles, promoting eventual crawling and walking. You can elevate the tummy time experience by:
    • Giving children lots of open-ended toys to explore like nesting bowls, a pail and shovel, building blocks, wooden animals, and people figures.
    • Hanging artwork on the wall that appeals to infants, including bold colors, clear designs, and art from various cultures.
    • Providing mobiles that children can move safely and observe shapes and colors.
  • Outdoor Play: Provide opportunities for outdoor play, whether it’s at a park, playground, or in a backyard. Activities such as running, jumping, climbing, and swinging enhance gross motor skills while allowing children to connect with nature. Also, try gardening together! Not only does gardening promote motor skill development, but it offers many other benefits for young children including stress management, cognitive and emotional development, sensory development, and increased interest in math, sciences, and healthy eating.
  • Fine Motor Activities: Fine motor skills relate to movement of the hands and upper body, as well as vision. Activities that encourage hand-eye coordination and fine motor skill development include:
    • Drawing and coloring
    • Doing puzzles, with size and piece amounts dependent on the age of the child
    • Dropping items or threading age-appropriate beads on strings
    • Stacking toys
    • Shaking maracas
    • Using age-appropriate, blunt scissors
    • Playing with puppets or playdough

This is the type of knowledge that early childhood educators who’ve earned a Child Development Associate credential exhibit as they foster the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive growth of young children.

Supporting Early Childhood Educators

Recently, a decision in Delaware has helped early childhood professionals further their efforts to apply this type of knowledge. Delaware State University, Delaware Technical Community College, and Wilmington University have signed agreements to award 12 credits for current and incoming students who hold the Child Development Associate credential.

Delaware Governor John Carney said, “I applaud the Department of Education and our higher education partners for this agreement, which will support our early childhood educators. Research shows how important early childhood education is to a child’s future success. This new agreement will help individuals earn their degrees and more quickly get into classrooms to do the important work of teaching our youngest learners in Delaware.”

Council for Professional Recognition CEO Calvin E. Moore, Jr., said his organization is honored to be a part of this partnership.

“Delaware and the work of these institutions is a model that other states should look to. This initiative strengthens the early childhood education workforce by accelerating the graduation of more credentialed educators, addressing the critical need for qualified educators in early childhood education. We have already seen the impact the work of the Early Childhood Innovation Center has brought to the children of Delaware.”

 

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Student Loan Debt Drops $10 Billion Due to Biden Administration Forgiveness

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The Center for American Progress estimates the interest waiver provisions would deliver relief to roughly 6 million Black borrowers, or 23 percent of the estimated number of borrowers receiving relief, as well as 4 million Hispanic or Latino borrowers (16 percent) and 13.5 million white borrowers (53 percent).

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New Education Department Rules hold hope for 30 million more borrowers

By Charlene Crowell, The Center for Responsible Lending

As consumers struggle to cope with mounting debt, a new economic report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York includes an unprecedented glimmer of hope. Although debt for mortgages, credit cards, auto loans and more increased by billions of dollars in the second quarter of 2024, student loan debt decreased by $10 billion.

According to the New York Fed, borrowers ages 40-49 and ages 18-29 benefitted the most from the reduction in student loan debt.

In a separate and recent independent finding, 57 percent of Black Americans hold more than $25,000 in student loan debt compared to 47 percent of Americans overall, according to The Motley Fool’s analysis of student debt by geography, age and race. Black women have an average of $41,466 in undergraduate student loan debt one year after graduation, more than any other group and $10,000 more than men.

This same analysis found that Washington, DC residents carried the highest average federal student loan debt balance, with $54,146 outstanding per borrower. Americans holding high levels of student debt lived in many of the nation’s most populous states – including California, Texas, and Florida.

The Fed’s recent finding may be connected to actions taken by the Biden administration to rein in unsustainable debt held by people who sought higher education as a way to secure a better quality of life. This decline is even more noteworthy in light of a series of legal roadblocks to loan forgiveness. In response to these legal challenges, the Education Department on August 1 began emailing all borrowers of an approaching August 30 deadline to contact their loan servicer to decline future financial relief. Borrowers preferring to be considered for future relief proposed by pending departmental regulations should not respond.

If approved as drafted, the new rules would benefit over 30 million borrowers, including those who have already been approved for debt cancellation over the past three years.

“These latest steps will mark the next milestone in our efforts to help millions of borrowers who’ve been buried under a mountain of student loan interest, or who took on debt to pay for college programs that left them worse off financially, those who have been paying their loans for twenty or more years, and many others,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

The draft rules would benefit borrowers with either partial or full forgiveness in the following categories:

  • Borrowers who owe more now than they did at the start of repayment. This category is expected to largely benefit nearly 23 million borrowers, the majority of whom are Pell Grant recipients.
  • Borrowers who have been in repayment for decades. Borrowers of both undergraduate and graduate loans who began repayment on or before July 1, 2000 would qualify for relief in this category.
  • Borrowers who are otherwise eligible for loan forgiveness but have not yet applied. If a borrower hasn’t successfully enrolled in an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan but would be eligible for immediate forgiveness, they would be eligible for relief. Borrowers who would be eligible for closed school discharge or other types of forgiveness opportunities but haven’t successfully applied would also be eligible for this relief.
  • Borrowers who enrolled in low-financial value programs. If a borrower attended an institution that failed to provide sufficient financial value, or that failed one of the Department’s accountability standards for institutions, those borrowers would also be eligible for debt relief.

Most importantly, if the rules become approved as drafted, no related application or actions would be required from eligible borrowers — so long as they did not opt out of the relief by the August 30 deadline.

“The regulations would deliver on unfulfilled promises made by the federal government to student loan borrowers over decades and offer remedies for a dysfunctional system that has often created a financial burden, rather than economic mobility, for student borrowers pursuing a better future,” stated the Center for American Progress in an August 7 web article. “Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris administration also introduced income limits and caps on relief to ensure the borrowers who can afford to pay the full amount of their debts do so.”

“The Center for American Progress estimates the interest waiver provisions would deliver relief to roughly 6 million Black borrowers, or 23 percent of the estimated number of borrowers receiving relief, as well as 4 million Hispanic or Latino borrowers (16 percent) and 13.5 million white borrowers (53 percent).”

These pending regulations would further expand the $168.5 billion in financial relief that the Biden Administration has already provided to borrowers:

  • $69.2 billion for 946,000 borrowers through fixes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
  • $51 billion for more than 1 million borrowers through administrative adjustments to IDR payment counts. These adjustments have brought borrowers closer to forgiveness and addressed longstanding concerns with the misuse of forbearance by loan servicers.
  • $28.7 billion for more than 1.6 million borrowers who were cheated by their schools, saw their institutions precipitously close, or are covered by related court settlements.
  • $14.1 billion for more than 548,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability.
  • $5.5 billion for 414,000 borrowers through the SAVE Plan.

More information for borrowers about this debt relief is available at StudentAid.gov/debt-relief.

Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.  

Charlene Crowell NNPA Newswire Columnist

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