Updated: 3:39 PM CST Feb 21, 2022
JACKSON, Miss. —
The head of a multi-million-dollar company was in Jackson to make a big donation to Tougaloo College.
“This $10 million donation is really just a small bit of what’s needed to provide kids the opportunities that Tougaloo can offer,” said Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.Advertisement
Hastings said he and his wife became familiar with Tougaloo because of the college’s partnership with Brown University in Rhode Island. The $10 million donations will go to help with scholarships for students in the program with the Ivy League school.
“I think it’s really an opportunity for anyone benefitted with big capital, as Patty and I have, to then invest in the next generation,” Hastings said.
A generation that can be even greater with donations like this.
“HBCUs have been so successful in producing Black lawyers, Black doctors, engineers, dentists – all the professional classes. And it’s a less well-known story in white America,” Hastings said.
While on campus, Hastings took the time to meet with students and faculty and said he looks forward to continuing this partnership. Hastings told 16 WAPT News that he would also be discussing economic development in the area.