Four historically Black medical schools are receiving a $600 million gift from Michael Bloomberg’s Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The billionaire founder of Bloomberg LP and former New York City mayor announced the donation at the National Medical Association’s annual convention in New York, according to an Associated Press report.
“This gift will empower new generations of Black doctors to create a healthier and more equitable future for our country,” Bloomberg said in a statement.
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Black Americans face significantly worse health outcomes compared to white Americans, as reported by the Associated Press last year. Experts believe that increasing the representation of Black doctors is a key solution to addressing these disparities. Despite making up 13% of the U.S. population, only 6% of physicians were Black in 2022.
This donation is one of the largest private gifts to HBCUs. Howard University College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, and Morehouse School of Medicine will each receive $175 million. Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science will receive $75 million, and Xavier University of Louisiana, which is opening a new medical school, will receive a $5 million grant.
Bloomberg Philanthropies stated that these donations will more than double the size of three of the medical schools’ endowments.
Garnesha Ezediaro, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative, explained, “The commitment follows a $1 billion pledge Bloomberg made in July to Johns Hopkins University, ensuring most medical students there will no longer pay tuition. The four historically Black medical schools are still deciding with Bloomberg Philanthropies how the latest gifts to their endowments will be used.”
The Greenwood Initiative, named after the Tulsa race massacre, was initially part of Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign. After withdrawing from the race, Bloomberg tasked his philanthropy with reducing the racial wealth gap, committing $896 million so far, including this latest gift to the medical schools.
These same medical schools benefited from Bloomberg’s $100 million grant in 2020, which helped reduce the debt load of enrolled students amid financial challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When we talked about helping to secure and support the next generation of Black doctors, we meant that literally,” Ezediaro added.
Valerie Montgomery Rice, president of Morehouse School of Medicine, discussed the impact of the previous gift, which alleviated $100,000 on average in debt for enrolled medical students.
“Our endowment and the size of our endowment has continued to be a challenge, and we’ve been very vocal about that. And he heard us,” Montgomery Rice said, referring to Bloomberg and the latest donation.
