Black America's top philanthropists

Jet, Dec 29, 1997

Black Americans are no strangers to giving. They are always willing to help someone else. And Black America's top philanthropists have made significant gifts that in many cases are unprecedented.

Bill and Camille Cosby are known for their generosity to educational institutions. Their unprecedented gifts include a $1.3 million gift to Fisk University in 1987 and a $20 million donation to Spelman College in 1988 for a new academic center. That gift remains the largest ever to a Black school.

At the time of the monumental gift, Cosby said, "Mrs. Cosby and I decided to stop Black Americans and international Black folk from across the ponds from thinking small...I think we all understand that these schools need money, but I think we've accepted that some White people are going to either keep them alive or let them go."

In November of this year, the queen of talk Oprah Winfrey once again opened up her heart to Morehouse College. She I gave a second $1 million to the school for scholarships, which follows $1 million she donated eight years ago. To date, Winfrey has sent 36 men to Morehouse, thanks to her generous scholarship fund.

Winfrey has also given to her neighbors in Chicago where her Harpo Productions Inc. is based and the Oprah Winfrey Show is taped. In 1993 she gave $1 million to a Chicago high school. That same year she donated her entire acting fee of $500,000 from ABC for "There Are No Children Here" to a scholarship fund for children at Henry Homer Boys and Girls Club.

Basketball star Michael Jordan, who is known to contribute to various groups and institutions, made an unprecedented gift of $1 million to his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Jordan's donation will help establish an institute for families at the university's School of Social Work, which will be dedicated to studying how poverty, child abuse, teenage pregnancy and care for the elderly impact families. The gift is the largest donation ever made by a former Tar Heel athlete to the school.

Celebrities are not the only Black Americans who make significant contributions to help others.

Oseola McCarty, who toiled as a washerwoman in her working days, gave her life savings of $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi in 1995 to establish a scholarship for needy students.

McCarty said she wanted "to give some child the opportunity I didn't have. I hope this money can help children for years to come, make their dreams come true."

To show his love for his alma mater, Shaw University in Raleigh, NC, famed trial lawyer Willie Gary pledged $10 million in 1992. It is the largest gift ever bestowed upon Shaw. Gary, the son of a migrant worker, referred to his gift as "a small down payment on the very big debt I owe Shaw."

In 1995 businessman Franklin Anderson and his wife, lawyer Susan R. Powell, contributed $667,000 to help establish the first endowed chair in constitutional law to honor the late famed NAACP barrister Charles Hamilton Houston at North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC. At that time Anderson said, "We hope to inspire gifts that are lasting and have a significant impact."

Matel Dawson Jr.'s favorite pastime is giving away money. In a five-year period, the Ford Motor Co. worker had donated more than $700,000 to various causes and churches.

Beneficiaries of Dawson's giving spirit include the United Negro College Fund, Wayne State University and the NAACP. A $100,000 contribution to Louisiana State University helped establish a scholarship in memory of his parents.

Crispus Attucks Wright, a retired Los Angeles civil attorney, made the largest gift by a Black to the University of Southern California (USC) when he gave $2 million to its law school this year. Wright, a USC alumnus, used his donation to establish the Wright Scholarship Endowment. It will provide financial support for academically-qualified and financially-deserving Black students and students of other ethnicities who have an interest in practicing law in under-represented communities.

Athletes are also generous givers.

To honor the memory of his mother, Atlanta Hawks star guard Steve Smith this year donated $2.5 million, half of his NBA salary, to establish the Clara Bell Student Athlete Center at his alma mater, Michigan State University.

Also in 1997, San Antonio Spurs star center David Robinson and his wife, Valerie, through the David Robinson Foundation, donated $5 million toward the establishment of The Carver Complex in San Antonio. His gift is believed to be the largest one-time donation by an NBA player. "We are committed to giving children the opportunity for a rigorous and caring education," Robinson said. "This is an exceptional opportunity."