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Robert F. Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Frank Baker and William Pickard Top List of Black Donors to HBCUs 
Dr. Ben ChavisOpinion

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

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers AssociationMarch 17, 2022

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.  

NFL’s 2021 Opportunity to Diversify Team Ownership
Dr. Ben ChavisFootballNationalSports

NFL’s 2021 Opportunity to Diversify Team Ownership

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers AssociationFebruary 4, 2021

As we approach the 55th NFL Superbowl next Sunday in Tampa, Florida amidst the continued national spread of COVID-19, I believe that the time has come for the close-knit group of team owners in the National Football League (NFL) to take the necessary steps to open the door to African American business leaders who hope to join that exclusive club of owners. 

Billionaire Stuns 2019 Morehouse Grads, to Pay Off Student Debt
EducationNationalNews

Billionaire Stuns 2019 Morehouse Grads, to Pay Off Student Debt

May 22, 2019

 The billionaire technology investor who promised to pay off hundreds of Morehouse College graduates’ student loans has ties to Chicago — including patenting a coffee brewing method for a company then called Kraft General Foods. (Steve Schaefer / AP) A billionaire technology investor stunned the entire graduating class at Morehouse College when he announced at their commencement Sunday that he would pay off their student loans estimated at up to $40 million. Robert F. Smith, this year’s commencement speaker, made the announcement while addressing nearly 400 graduating seniors of the all-male historically black college in Atlanta. Smith, who is black,

UNCF Celebrates 75 Years of Investing in Better Futures at National DC Gala
EducationNationalNews

UNCF Celebrates 75 Years of Investing in Better Futures at National DC Gala

Sentinel News ServiceMarch 15, 2019

During an historic night—in more ways than one—UNCF (United Negro College Fund) celebrated its 75th anniversary at its national UNCF “A Mind is…” Gala in Washington, DC, March 7. The event helped the storied organization reach new fundraising heights, raising more than it ever has during a single event—$3.4 million—for UNCF’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The event, whose title echoes the group’s iconic motto, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,”® celebrated the founding of the organization by Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) president Dr. Frederick Douglass Patterson with backing from corporate leaders led by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and Coca Cola President Robert W. Woodruff.