NBA legend Charles Barkley has proved time and time again that his heart is just as big as his mouth.
The loquacious and humorous co-host of the iconic “Inside the NBA” show on TNT has announced that he’s donating $1 million to Spelman College, the sixth major contribution he has made to an HBCU.
The Emmy Award-winning sports analyst was inspired to donate to the historically Black women’s college in Atlanta after witnessing some of the great things that the daughter of his business partner, John Hudson, has been doing at the school.
“John has been a great mentor, a great friend, and a great business partner,” Barkley told Alabama news site al.com. “I was ready to do another HBCU and with his daughter [Jordyn Hudson] doing great things at Spelman, so I told him, ‘Why not there?’ ”
The announcement shocked the newly-christened Spelman College president Helene Gayle, the publication states.
“Charles Barkley’s $1 million gift to Spelman College comes at a significant time as we continue to close education and wealth inequality for Black families and maintain affordable education opportunities for women of African descent,” said Gayle. “As one of the country’s leading engines of social mobility and the nation’s leading HBCU, this generous gift will help build upon Spelman’s legacy of developing the next generation of leaders.”
Barkley, who was born and raised in Alabama and became a national star at the University of Auburn, has already given $1 million each to Alabama A&M, Miles College and Tuskegee University.
This marks Barkley’s third million-dollar pledge to a school within the famed Atlanta University Center in the past six years. He’s already given to Spelman’s sibling school, Morehouse College, in 2017 and did the same for Clark Atlanta University a year before that.
“People are aware of Charles from TNT and his NBA stardom, but I don’t think people are aware of how focused he is on philanthropy and entrepreneurism,” John Hudson said. “He knows how committed Jordyn is to Spelman and has seen how it has transformed her worldview.”
