NBA legend Charles Barkley gives a generous donation of $1 million to Spelman College.
Barkley’s decision came after he witness the kind of impact it had on his business partner John Hudson’s daughter Jordyn, who is currently a student there.
He said in an interview, “John has been a great mentor, a great friend, and a great business partner. I was ready to do another HBCU and with his daughter doing great things at Spelman, so I told him, ‘Why not there?’”
Helene Gayle, Spelman’s president released a statement and said, “Charles Barkley’s $1 million gift to Spelman College comes at a significant time as we continue to closer education and wealth inequality for Black families and maintain affordable education opportunities for women of African descent as one of the country’s leading engines of social mobility and the nation’s leading HBCU, this generous gift will help build upon Spelman’s legacy of developing the next generation of leaders.”
Spelman College is the second-largest facility to produce African American college graduates. Barkley also donated $1 million to Clark Atlanta University as well as to Morehouse College respectively in 2016 and 2017.