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Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and the streaming company are committing over $120 million to institutions dedicated to the higher education of students of color and Black youth, Black creators and Black-owned businesses.
Hastings will donate $40 million each to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and Spelman and Morehouse colleges.
“There are many good places to donate, but the [historically Black colleges and universities] are 150 years old, incredibly resilient, producing an amazing number of Black graduates,” Hastings told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin in an interview that aired Wednesday.
“The amount of tragedy really did get us to focus and say, ‘let’s do something now that will be supportive of these great institutions and give people some sense of hope,’” Hastings said. “This moment is not the first time that racism has reared its, you know, terribly ugly head.”
“We want to help draw attention to the HBCUs, to them being part of the solution for America, and for Black children to aspire to,” he added.
In addition, Netflix will pledge $5 million USD to organizations that help create opportunities for Black youth, Black creators and Black-owned businesses. Some of the major organizations that Netflix will be giving to are Black Public Media, Ghetto Film School and Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp.
The initial donations will start at $3 Million USD.
Netflix chairman and CEO Reed Hastings mentioned in a statement, “Tackling racism and injustice in meaningful ways means creating long-term opportunities for the Black community.” He added, “The main role we play is through our funding of and member viewing of important content like When They See Us. As an additional step, today we’re committing $5 million to nonprofits dedicated to creating direct opportunities for Black creators, Black youth and Black-owned businesses.”
$1.5Million of the pledged total will be going to Ghetto Film School, Film Independent’s Project Involve, Firelight Me and Black Public Media.
Furthermore, Netflix will be allocating $1 Million USD to Know Your Rights Camp, the Posse Foundation and Black Girls Code — three youth organizations — while $500,000 USD will be going to Black-owned businesses. Last week, the streaming company launched a “Black Lives Matter” collection featuring over 45 titles about racial injustice and the experience of Black Americans.
Netflix said that many of its employees also have been personally donating to Black and racial-justice causes, with the company matching all employee donations at 200%.
