MacKenzie Scott's Billions to HBCUs Will Benefit All Americans

For example, Scott is giving Xavier University of Louisiana, a school that sends more Black graduates to medical school than any other university in the U.S., $20 million; Long Beach City College, a California school where more than 85% of students are people of color, $30 million; and Odessa College, a Texas school where 74% of students are nonwhite, $7 million. All three colleges said Scott’s donations were the largest they had ever received.

As a counseling psychology professor who conducts research regarding the education of Black students, I am encouraged to see Scott, a novelist who was formerly married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, depart from how billionaires tend to approach their higher education giving. Most make donations to prestigious universities that already have large endowments – money raised from alumni and other donors that they invest in stocks, bonds and other assets. This wealth can cover the cost of scholarships, salaries, construction and any other expenses.

Christian Louboutin, Irdis & Sabrina Elba's Monumental 'Walk a Mile in My Shoes' Campaign

Fashion designer Christian Louboutin collaborates with close friends Irdis Elba and his wife Sabrina Elba on a superb campaign to support Black activism and philanthropy. The English actor, writer, producer, rapper, songwriter and DJ is best known for his 2018 role in ‘Black Panther’. Elba played the ruler of Wakanda, a fictional African nation with the most advanced technology. French photographer and director Julien Vallon [IG] captures the campaign.

Sabrina Elba spoke with Glamour UK about the brilliantly-conceived ‘Walk a Mile in My Shoes’ campaign from Africa, where she is doing philanthropic work with IFAD — the International Fund of Agricultural Development and the UN.

In the month of May 2021, I found myself in a discussion on The Conversation about the impacts of racism on human health. A Trump-supporting white male piped up about American Blacks constantly playing the victims and my response was “Until you’ve walked a mile in the shoes of a Black person in America, do not be accusing them of playing ‘the victim’ card.”

I didn’t add “those words reveal your own ignorant racism”, but that thought was going through my mind.