Bloomberg Pledges $100 Million To Black Medical Schools

Michael Bloomberg has pledged $100 million in scholarships to four Black medical schools.

Bloomberg donates to Black medical schools

He will make this pledge over the next four years through his charitable organization Bloomberg Philanthropies

The donation is part of Bloomberg’s Greenwood Initiative, which was created earlier this year to help address economic justice issues that have affected Black Americans since the abolition of slavery.

Schools that will receive money

The funds will be distributed to:

Howard University‘s College of Medicine in Washington

The Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta

Meharry Medical College in Nashville

Yhe Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles

The schools said they will use the donations to create scholarships of up to $100,000 for students currently enrolled and receiving financial aid.

Students who graduated in the spring are not eligible to receive funds.

Bloomberg gift to Black medical schools helps significantly

James Hildreth, resident and chief executive of Meharry Medical College, told CNN Bloomberg’s gift will significantly change the lifetime earning potential for its Black recipients, whose post-med-school career options are often dictated by the need to pay back hundreds of thousands in student loan debt.

Med school stats

While the average White medical student comes from a household that earns $175,000 or more, Hildreth said the average Black medical student comes from a family with household incomes of $75,000 or less.

“There’s a huge difference in the amount of support the families can provide,” he added.