“There are many good places to donate, but the [historically Black colleges and universities] are 150 years old, incredibly resilient, producing an amazing number of Black graduates,” Hastings told CNBC.
The donation is the latest of moves from Netflix to support the Black Lives Matter movement and calls for racial justice after a string of police brutality against black bodies that went viral on social media and the disproportionate affect of Covid-19 on communities of color.
This week, Netflix also said that it would donate $5 million to organizations dedicated to helping create opportunities for black creators, such as the Ghetto Film School, Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp and Black Public Media. Last week, Netflix introduced a Black Lives Matter content collection, showcasing films and TV series such Dear White People and The 13th.
“Tackling racism and injustice in meaningful ways means creating long-term opportunities for the Black community,” said Hastings said in a statement. “The main role we play is through our funding of and member viewing of important content like When They See Us.”
Hastings’ net worth is around $4.8 billion, thanks to his 1.3% stake in Netflix and the company’s high performing stock. He regularly donates to the education system, giving millions n funding to charter schools and starting a $100 million philanthropic fund for kids’ education in 2016.
According to Spelman College President Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, nearly half of her students, as well as 60% of Morehouse’s students, come from low-income families that would qualify for the Federal Pell Grant.
“Here you have in this country, you have the colleges with the least resources taking on the responsibility of educating at a high level the students who need resources the most,” she said an interview with CNBC.
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