Morehouse School of Medicine students are set to receive a major financial boost, initiated by Michael Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies, as the former NY mayor and presidential candidate is pledging $26 million to the school. According to multiple sources, the investment will cover currently enrolled students to the tune of $100,000.
“This historic investment in the Morehouse School of Medicine will lift the crushing burden of student debt and empower our graduates to take on the systemic racial inequities and injustice that have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic,” offered Valerie Montgomery Rice, dean and president of Morehouse School of Medicine.
“These dollars will help free up future doctors to immediately head to the front lines and save Black lives while also improving healthcare access, equity, and quality for everyone,” she said.
This gift is part of a $100 million pledge that will be spread among four major medical HBCUs across the nation, including Charles R. Drew University of Medicine (Los Angeles), Howard University College of Medicine (Washington, D.C.), and Meharry Medical College (Nashville) over the next four years.
“More Black doctors will mean more Black lives saved, and fewer health problems that limit economic opportunity,” said Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg LP.
“During my campaign for president, I proposed a bold set of policies — which we called the Greenwood Initiative — to shrink the racial wealth gap,” he said. “Today’s commitment by Bloomberg Philanthropies is just the first step we will take to bring that work to life.”
The Greenwood Initiative was instigated as a tribute of sorts to the thriving Tulsa, Okla. community, aka “Black Wall Street,” which was famously destroyed by a White mob in 1921.
