The CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin said that they will donate $120 million to historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) towards student scholarships.
The amount will be distributed equally between three institutions: the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College and Morehouse College, both based out of Atlanta.
The institutions have confirmed that this is the largest individual gift that they have received in support of student scholarships at HBCUs. The amount can be used to support around 200 students each over the next 10 years.
“We’ve supported these three extraordinary institutions for the last few years because we believe that investing in the education of Black youth is one of the best ways to invest in America’s future,” Hastings and Quillin said in a statement. “Both of us had the privilege of a great education and we want to help more students – in particular students of color – get the same start in life.”
Hastings has had a long history of supporting causes related to education. For instance, in 2016, he launched an education fund with a corpus of $100 million to help towards college scholarship for Black and Latino students.
He also urged other entrepreneurs to contribute generously to address system racial inequality.
“We all tend to give to the institutions that we know and love,” he told CNBC. “If you’re going to give a gift to your alma mater, go ahead and do that, but also give one to the HBCUs.”
Unfortunately, historically black colleges and universities tend to have lesser economic security and funding than their non-HBCU counterparts. According to CNBC, the median endowment for HBCUs is about $15.7 million. This amount is, shockingly, less than half of the funds that the non-HBCUs receive.
This donation by Hastings and Quillin another effort by Netflix to reduce social injustice and support the black community in the United States. Last month, after the death of George Floyd in police custody, Netflix put up a strong message on social media, condemning the violence and lending full support to the African American community.
“To be silent is to be complicit,” it said.
To be silent is to be complicit.
Black lives matter.We have a platform, and we have a duty to our Black members, employees, creators and talent to speak up.
— Netflix (@netflix) May 30, 2020
Kudos to Hastings and Quillin for this donation! We hope many other entrepreneurs and philanthropists join hands in reducing systemic racial inequality across the world.
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