Robert Smith on His Donation to Morehouse to Pay Off Student Debt: ‘I Wanted to Show Them There’s a Black Man Who Believes in You’

Robert Smith is a billionaire who gave 2019 Morehouse Commencement Address and announced that he’s repayment of all student loan debt for all the graduating class. He paid $34 million to repay the debt of all 396 students who graduated from Morehouse College this spring. It was a unprecedented moment of economic liberation for those students, giving them the gift of entering the workforce without that burden. I wanted to know why he did it.

When I interviewed Smith for “Masters of the Game” on TheGrio Cable Network, he was obviously thrilled to speak about that moment. You can see how grateful he’s to find a way to help so many young black people take a step forward. Smith is working to ease student loan debt through the years, but for him there was something greater about that gift. He said he wanted those students to know that somebody was saying, “I believe in you.” Those are powerful words for a young black person to hear.

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I also wondered whether Smith’s gift was the top of his relationship with these students or the start of an ongoing conversation. Like any good angel investor, he continues to talk to these students and mentor them. He talks to a lot of them every month and is raring to see how they’re doing and help them where he can. I feel a lot of them will find that Smith’s gift has modified their lives in a really profound way.

This is an incredible example of how private wealth may be used to help others, and the way black wealth may be used to truly make a difference in a community.

To see the remainder of my conversation with Robert Smith, watch “Masters of the Game,” now streaming.