NBA legend makes huge donation for 100th HBCU anniversary

In a strong testomony to the enduring affect of Traditionally Black Faculties and Universities (HBCU). NBA legend and enterprise mogul Earvin “Magic” Johnson has pledged $500,000 to Xavier College of Louisiana. The announcement got here throughout Xavier’s Centennial Gala on Could 9, 2025. At an occasion celebrating the college’s 100-year dedication to educational excellence and social justice.

Johnson’s beneficiant contribution was made in honor of Dr. Norman C. Francis, Xavier’s former president, who led the establishment for 47 years. Underneath Dr. Francis’s management, Xavier turned a nationwide chief in producing Black medical college graduates, considerably increasing its campus and enrollment. “The mark of an incredible man [is] who reveals up,” Johnson remarked through the gala. “As a result of the person that you’re, all the good issues that you simply’ve executed in your stellar profession. And all of the individuals that you simply helped. You turned profitable by your nice management at Xavier… In your honor, I’m going to provide Xavier $500,000.”

The Centennial Gala, hosted by comic Invoice Bellamy and that includes a efficiency by R&B legend Jeffrey Osborne, raised over $2 million to help scholar scholarships. The occasion additionally honored the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, who based Xavier alongside Saint Katharine Drexel in 1925. Dr. Reynold Verret, Xavier’s present president, emphasised the importance of the fundraising efforts: “The funds raised by the gala — each reward, each act of generosity — will instantly help scholarships, guaranteeing that extra college students have entry to the schooling they deserve and the long run they dream of.”

Magic Johnson, Bryant Gumbel, and Dr. Norman C. Francis

Xavier College of Louisiana is the nation’s solely Catholic HBCU and continues to be a number one establishment in making ready Black college students for careers in medication and STEM fields. The college’s Centennial Marketing campaign goals to lift $500 million to additional its mission of fostering academic excellence and fairness.

Past his current contribution to Xavier College, Magic Johnson has a longstanding historical past of HBCU help:

South Carolina State College: In 2016, Johnson pledged to lift $2.5 million to ascertain the Magic Johnson Endowed Scholarship Fund, supporting college students within the College of Enterprise.

Grambling State College: In 2019, Johnson donated $2 million by his firm SodexoMAGIC, one of many largest unrestricted items within the college’s historical past.

Central State College: Johnson pledged $1 million in 2018 to help the college’s initiatives and scholar success.

Morgan State College: In 2024, he pledged $1 million to endow a professorship in Entrepreneurship on the Earl G. Graves College of Enterprise & Administration.

These contributions spotlight Johnson’s dedication to empowering Black college students and supporting the mission of HBCUs nationwide.

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