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Ray Charles Gave Millions to Black Colleges

By Alexander M. Ford
Black College Wire

Photo credit: Dillard Today Dillard President Michael Lomax, right, greets Ray Charles on May 10, 2003, when Charles received an honorary degree.

Ray Charles, who helped shape American culture with his eclectic musical style and social activism, left another legacy through his donation of millions of dollars to historically black colleges and universities.

Charles, who was 73, died June 10 after a long battle with liver disease. He was buried June 18 after services at First AME Church in Los Angeles.

Charles set up the Ray Charles Robinson Foundation for Hearing Disorders in 1987. Its early goals were to support research into hearing loss and sickle cell disease. The focus shifted after a few years to providing funds for educational programs at black colleges and universities.

Dillard University is the most recent college to benefit from Charles� generosity. He presented the New Orleans university with $1 million to establish a program in African American studies, including creating an endowed faculty position and a program devoted to the musical, culinary, artistic and linguistic contributions of African Americans.

Danille Taylor, dean of the division of humanities at Dillard, explained that the inaugural Ray Charles lecture is planned for this fall and will be delivered by Jessica Harris, a leading scholar in African food ways. Harris, who teaches at Queens College in New York and has written eight books, plans to present a lecture about food in the African diaspora and why African American food culture is so rich. Dillard is considering creating a registry for black chefs around the country.

�We�ve been so blessed to have been recipients of this gift,� Taylor said. �He had a vision for something so special, and Dr. Harris will show how brilliant Ray Charles was to donate this money.�

Charles� 2002 gift of $3 million over two years to Albany State University in Georgia was the largest single donation the university had ever received. The funds are being used to construct a new theater, which is being named after Charles� mother, Aretha Robinson, and to establish presidential scholarships of $6,600 per year for four years.

�We are eternally grateful and will forever remember his immense genius,� said Marsha Aaron, a university spokeswoman. �He was a generous man, a kind man and will always be Albany State University�s $3 million man.�

Wilberforce University, the nation�s oldest private African American university, was the first college to benefit from Charles� generosity. The $2 million he donated is being used for a scholarship fund for students interested in studying music, dance, theater and voice. Some of the money also is going toward a distinguished chair, allowing musicians, artists and scholars to visit the school and serve as temporary lecturers.

In 2001, Charles donated $1 million to Atlanta�s Morehouse College during a ceremony in which he was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Earlier in the year, Charles donated $1 million more to the school�s performing arts program.

�Over the years, he has been a generous supporter of Morehouse, not only financially, but also through his shared commitment to developing students who will be leaders and pioneers in the music industry,� said Morehouse President Walter E. Massey.

Alexander Ford is a student at Hampton University.

Posted June 22, 2004