STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Charles Barkley Donates $1 Million To Spelman College

He was inspired to donate after seeing the impact the institution had on his business partner’s daughter.

Basketball legend Charles Barkley has donated $1 million to Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

According to AL.com, Barkley decided to donate to the women’s HBCU after seeing the positive impact the prestigious institution had on Jordyn Hudson, who is currently a student at Spelman and the daughter of his business partner, John Hudson. In the coming fall, Jordyn Hudson will be Spelman’s sophomore class president. She is also the producer of  the documentary Shape the Culture: Then & Now, which examines how activists of the 1960s are connected with today’s activists.

Barkley told the outlet, “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?’”

RELATED: Charles Barkley's Funniest Moments

Spelman’s president Helene Gayle said in a statement, “Charles Barkley’s $1 million gift to Spelman College comes at a significant time as we continue to close 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.”

The college is ranked as the second largest producer of African-American college graduates who attend medical school. Spelman graduates include actress Esther Rolle, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Alice Walker, opera singer Mattiwilda Dobbs and Marion Wright Edelman, the founder of the Children Defense Fund.

In 2016, Barkley also pledged $1 million to Clark Atlanta University and, in 2017, he donated $1 million to Morehouse College.

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.