Bloomberg Gifts $100 Million to Historically Black Medical Schools

‘To save Black lives, we need Black doctors’

Billionaire and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg pledged $100 million in scholarships to four histortically Black colleges and universities—Charles R. Drew University of Science and Medicine, Howard University College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, and Morehouse School of Medicine — in an effort to eliminate student debt, which is often a barrier of entry for students hoping to attend medical school, and, eventually, improve the health and well-being of Black Americans by boosting the number of Black doctors.

“The data is clear: Black patients overall have better outcomes when they get treatment from Black doctors,” Bloomberg told the New York Times. “By increasing the number of Black doctors, we hope the gift will help to save more Black lives and reduce the health problems that limit economic opportunity in Black communities.”

The gift is the first from Bloomberg Philanthropies Greenwood Initiative, which is named after the historic colony in Tulsa, Oklahoma, home of what was known as Black Wall Street before the Tulsa Massacre that leveled the once-prosperous African American community.

Bloomberg to Give $100 Million to Historically Black Medical Schools