(ThyBlackMan.com) Dr. Dre is one of the most successful entertainers in history, earning hundreds of millions of dollars by making great music. Much of this music moves because he has been able to successfully package urban/black culture, selling it to audiences around the world. One of the questions some have about those who readily use their blackness for profit is the following: What are you giving back to those who gave you so much?
It’s hard to know exactly what Dr. Dre is doing for the black community, but we all know where he made his greatest gift. Dr. Dre and music producer Jimmy Lovine recently announced a whopping $70 million dollar donation to USC to create a new degree. The program is one that pulls together liberal arts, graphic arts, business, music and technology. Dr. Dre’s donation is the largest ever given by any African American in history, and the money is going into the hands of rich white people.
As I prepared to give the commencement address at Simmons College, a growing HBCU in Kentucky with a very rich history, I heard a story about a group of ex-slaves who pooled their money to buy four acres of land so they could educate future generations. Without sacrifices like these, the school would not be giving so much to the community today. The school’s president, Dr. Kevin Cosby, has not taken a paycheck for his work for the last eight years and readily speaks of how the school is located in one of the poorest districts in America. He sees his contribution as a chance to lift up the community
If I could transplant Dr. Cosby’s brain into Dr. Dre’s body, black America would be changed forever. Also, had those ex-slaves been naive enough to give all their money to the big white university down the street, the impact of their contribution would be minimal at best. One of the reasons that black Americans struggle economically is because we’ve been locked out of economic opportunities, while massive institutions like USC hoard the wealth to protect their own (take a look at the very low percentage of African Americans they hire or admit as students). Simultaneously, when we do have access to the resources necessary to begin our building process, we don’t feel inclined to support those who look like us. That’s the difference between us and the Jewish community.
Another person who had something to say about the gift is Dillard University president, Walter M. Kimbrough. Dr. Kimbrough was once the youngest president of any HBCU in the country and proudly considers himself to be a part of the hip-hop generation. In an op-ed in the LA Times, Kimbrough openly asks Dre why he chose to give so much money to USC, as opposed to one of the struggling HBCUs that really could have used those resources:
I understood their need to build a pool of skilled talent. But why at USC? Iovine’s daughter is an alum, sure. And he just gave its commencement address. Andre Young — before he was Dr. Dre — grew up in nearby Compton, where he rose to fame as part of the rap group N.W.A. The Beats headquarters are on L.A.’s Westside.
Still, what if Dre had given $35 million — his half of the USC gift and about 10% of his wealth, according to a Forbes estimate — to an institution that enrolls the very people who supported his career from the beginning? An institution where the majority of students are low-income? A place where $35 million would represent a truly transformational gift?
Dr. Kimbrough is absolutely correct. USC’s endowment is over $3.5 billion, which gives this school more money than every single HBCU in America combined. Even more stunning is that the school’s endowment isn’t even in the top 20 in the nation. The point here, and I hope Dr. Dre understands this, is that white people have plenty of money. They don’t exactly need black people making donations, since they’ve already earned over a billion dollars from their African American athletes, many of whom have mothers who can’t even pay the rent.
Even worse is that much of this wealth was accumulated on the backs of slaves and black people who were locked out of the economic system. Schools like USC make it diffcult for black students to gain admission and even more difficult for black faculty to get jobs. Additionally, for Dr. Dre, his $35 million dollar donation (half of the $70 million he is sharing with Levin) is merely a drop in the bucket for a school like USC that is sitting on an amount of money that no HBCU will have for at least another 100 years.
Dr. Kimbrough goes even further to explain why USC was a questionable donation target for someone who grew up as a struggling black kid in South Central Los Angeles.
USC is a great institution, no question. But it has a $3.5-billion endowment, the 21st largest in the nation and much more than every black college — combined. Less than 20% of USC’s student body qualifies for federal Pell Grants, given to students from low-income families, compared with two-thirds of those enrolled at black colleges. USC has also seen a steady decrease in black student enrollment, which is now below 5%.
A new report on black male athletes and racial inequities shows that only 2.2% of USC undergrads are black men, compared with 56% of its football and basketball teams, one of the largest disparities in the nation. And given USC’s $45,602 tuition next year, I’m confident Dre could have sponsored multiple full-ride scholarships to private black colleges for the cost of one at USC.
Dr. Kimbrough made a courageous decision to write this article. There are some who might criticize him as a “hater” or argue with his right to question what Dr. Dre does with his money. But I’m not talking to those people right now. Instead, we must look at the facts: Dr. Dre, a man who has made hundreds of millions of dollars selling back urban culture to the world has made his largest donation to a predominately white university that doesn’t need the money and rarely admits black students unless they can play a sport.
By the way, the university has earned hundreds of millions of dollars from African American athletes, while HBCUs can barely pay the bills. All the while, almost none of this money is returned to the black community, and multi-million dollar USC athletes like Reggie Bush have their integrity questioned for receiving a few hundred dollars under the table. The fact is that these schools rob black people blind, don’t give hardly anything to the black community, and laugh at the fact that we are ridiculous enough to turn around and give all the money back.
I think this is what some in the dotcom era might call an “SMH moment.” Dr. Dre is a brilliant producer, but this move just doesn’t make any sense. I hope he has something to say.
Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit http://BoyceWatkins.com.
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Wow to be honest i was on google this site just pop up never did kno dr dre did tha
I agree whit the man who said dr dre still have hood ways and its sad
For the ones who look up to these rappers who call them selves man but really killing
Are people in the mind & soul
now you're talking my language....I am interested in the "crowd funding" enterprise....been seeing some things on CNBC about it....I definitely look forward to building with you about financial matters in the future....PEACE as well
Rameses thanks for your email address.
The professional credential that I hold is the EA "Enrolled Agent" license isssued by the United States Treasury where there is no restriction on my ability to represent individuals and businesses "including NonProfit Corporations" before ALL levels of the IRS.
My perspective is that of a successful entrepreneur for 18 plus years. It is more important that an individual identifies his or her PASSION and builds an enterprise around it which has the optimum probability of obtaining financial security on a sustainable basis rather than engaging in an enterprise for the sole purpose of making money.
I believe in American exceptionalism and capitalism and have always been driven by helping others. Therefore, I have incorporated "Impact Investing" in all my businesses and continue to employ my expertise in taxation, real estate and financial advisory services on a pro bono basis to low to moderate income taxpayers without exercising a Nonprofit Corporation.
It is the best practice of any business minded individual to form a team of counsel with expertise in the areas of taxation, real estate and investments to ensure business success and procedures are designed to comply with federal, state and local rules and regulations.
At age 48, my husband and I are focused on our Investment Management Company similar to Mitt Romney's Bain Capital with emphasis on "Crowd Funding" investors to continue sharing the fruits of our labor with the HOOD.
PEACE
@hoodgirl I just finished reading this book on nonprofits for dummies and it was pretty in depth.....as far as setting it up I'm not really worried about that part although I am always open to receiving info from someone who is much more knowledgeable than me on a topic...I'm really worried about after things are set up and making sure the entity stays in compliance and navigating the tax code from that perspective.....setting it up doesn't seem like it's the issue for people....the issue is maintaining tax exempt status....my stuff however is on the up and up so that your friend would have nothing to work with.....however I do know that there are two things any business minded person needs: a good attorney and CPA....you can reach me at chuckybookerinfinity@gmail.com....I knew you would love the Mae Jemison piece as well....doesn't it make you proud to see the sister and her accomplishments instead of talking about those who will never accomplish anything? Why waste time talking about the losers? Let's get this money and ride off in the sunset....and also @hoodgirl if you're not to familiar with nonprofits you are missing out on a goldmine in terms of structuring companies
@Rameses, I actually watched the video clip you shared of Ms. Mae Jamieson and girlfriend is AWESOME!
In the event that you don't already have this information, the number to IRS Tax Exempt Entity line is 1-877-829-5500 8 AM to 5 PM, M-F. They will pretty much answer any questions regarding Nonprofit Organizations under the Internal Revenue Code.
I currently have one 501(c)(3) client due to a favor for an existing client that begged and pleaded with me to help them to obtain federal tax exempt status when the person they hired did not see the process through completion. I explained to my client that I did not have experience in this area but they still wanted me to get involved so I did.
However, I got a call earlier this week from another existing client asking me for information on how to obtain tax exempt status under 501(c)(3). Here we go again, this time I have agreed to provide assistance with the entire process from registering the Articles of Incorporation of a Nonprofit Corporation with the Secretary of State as well as obtaining tax exempt status through the Internal Revenue Code, state and local government.
As to your question regarding a CPA that I trust, I do not know any CPAs in Georgia and have referred only one CPA for the last 20 years who happens to be a high school classmate of mine and have never heard anything but rave reviews about his work which is why I continue to refer him.
If you need assistance with a specific matter that does not violate Georgia State law I may be able to refer you to him or depending on the specific matter I may also be able to assist you if you give me your email address to contact you to discuss the specific matter, PEACE.
@hoodgirl....do you know any good CPAs? any you trust?
Peace @Deanne Matthews I knew you would love the book. It was really interesting wasn't it? We always hear about the butt whippings but we never hear about the success stories. This giant of a man accomplished more in 50 years than many black families accomplish through multiple generations!!! But we constantly get these "oh woe is me politics" that get your people nowhere. @hoodgirl, you know how I do!!!! lol...the truth of the matter is we have a choice to make: we can sit here and complain about what "we" are lacking and fall further and further behind. The inconvenient truth is that many of these black people we have this "de facto love" for are really our enemies. How much love do we actually really feel from black people? Do black people, in a general sense, make you feel loved? A friend of mine just moved to Brazil and is staying with a woman who he met from Brazil after he visited the country. When he got there and asked her how much will he need to pay her, she told him "my home is your home." She welcomed him as family. How often do black people here make you feel welcomed? Business is about family because when I see someone engaged in business, I automatically know that these people care about their families. How many people you see involved in business not caring about their families? Not many. The two go hand in hand. Business is about building good relationships with other people. This, over time, fosters a familial type of interaction with those you do business with which engenders goodwill with those you do business with and keeps you doing business with these same individuals. Now who would want to do business with black people in general? Even black people don't want to do business with black people in general. Black people will bypass a mall in their own area and go to one in a white area just because of this very reason. I was listening to a guy the other day and he said "it will be hard for you" (black people). He said "many of your people genetically have hit a brick wall and are not genetically capable of going further. You are starting at zero." He said "you must get around like-minded individuals who want commercial success and move forward. You can't worry about those who are not doing anything worthwhile because they won't change no matter what you try to do." I've been saying the same thing for years. This site is filled with negroes who sit back and bash white folks, and barack obama, and corporations, and the church, etc. for not giving them something. But their hands remain idle. They complain about a jobs program yet they create no jobs themselves. How can a people, who only consumes and never produces, complain about being in a low position? What product has black people created to make themselves some money? When was the last time you heard a black person actually inventing something? You have to go back to the traffic light for something to immediately come to your brain. But lately? You can't think of anything. Negroes love Jordans but how many black shoemakers do you see? Negroes love cars but how many black automakers do you see? The list goes on and on. Complaining about Dr. Dre is very weak and whiny for anyone on here because he created a product that he was able to package and sell. It's his intellectual property and therefore he can do what he wants. So your complaints on a website like this will not be heard by Dr. Dre nor will it affect him. The only inheritance black people pass down is welfare. For many women, this is their economic model: get pregnant, get child support, and collect food stamps, get on section-8 free housing. And they plan on supplying plenty criminal boys for the prison population in exchange for these privileges like the good slaves they are. Yeah this is what black people have devolved to: a group of losers. Black people accomplished more under segregation and when they thought that they were inferior to whites. Now because black people know a litle about history, and see some of the accomplishments of Egyptians, etc., they say "see whitey look at what we did. we built Egypt so we better than you." Blacks use greatness in the past as an excuse to not perform in the present. Utter laziness. Pure and simple. The men are lazy and the women are to. One spends too much time on their back and one spends too much time on the one who spends too much time on their back. Black men and women are oversexed maniacs who spend more time screwing around than creating something of value (even the kids they are producing are of no value because many are dumb as hell and can't compete globally). Corporate America is backing this immigration bill because they have created many jobs that the American public is not mentally competent to do. They are having to outsource people from other countries because quite frankly, the American public is becoming dumber and dumber. And it's worse for blacks. All of these schools in America, yet you have drug dealers and prostitutes galore. Really? I made a choice to identify with the Reginald Lewis' of the world instead of the Chief Keef's. I was wondering what happened to Mae Jemison (I won't say who she is because once again, if you're too lazy to look up, you're worthless) and so i looked her up. This black woman is phenomenal. Graduated high school at 16 and received a full scholarship from Standford and received a degree in Chemical Engineering. And did the peace corps and speaks Russian, Swahili. And for those that know of her know what she is ultimately famous for. She is doing some phenomenal things on the nonprofit level and is creating products to sell and also has a science summer camp as well. This black woman did not choose to be a whore: she chose to use her mind, not her behind to get ahead. This woman always stood out to me because she was one of the few sisters I saw, in 1992, who was natural and proud of it. This woman was and is a rare beauty. I was amazed to see she never married. She has a book that I checked out of the library called "Find Where The wind Goes." I suggest picking it up @hoodgirl and at @Deanne. I know both of you will enjoy it. My heroes are not limited by gender and this woman is definitely one of them. I am proud of her and use her as someone to gain inspiration from. If you're garbage on the inside then you will be inspired by garbage on the outside. Why waste time focusing on those who are hellbent on destruction and destroying themselves? I know it's hard for a lot of black people to do but they have to let go of that "hate whitey" thing of the past. It's a new era and too many of these dinosaurs are keeping that stuff alive. Yes ancestors had hard times. Many in our own families. But we don't have those experiences and when we adopt their attitudes, we are limiting our growth potential. Many whites help and try to help black people but black people spend so much time throwing slavery in their face that white people just stay back just to avoid confrontation. Stop doing that shit. I mean because there are some things they can throw up in your face that you did to them as well in the past. And not all white peoples' families had slaves either. Slaves cost money and many of the whites in America were slaves themselves. So just to paint every white you see as a descendant of slave-owners is ludicrous. In 2013, it's time to grow up. We've been through stone age, bronze age, iron age, etc. Now it's the information age. I spend more time processing information than anything else. I'm working on developing this nonprofit and it consumes all my time. While friends go to the club, I'm up all night sometimes working on this plan. I literally don't have time to waste. In America, right now, you have the luxury of being able to be stupid. But with these cuts to welfare coming (and they are coming) this luxury will be slowly fade away. Black people are literally letting and come here and take what their ancestors died for and think they will be blessed? Many of those ancestors established a covenant with their future generations by choosing to stay alive and persevere so that they would have better in the future and these past 2-3 generations have sold them out. Before you criticize Dr. Dre black people, clean up your own house first because I can guarantee you, there are more devils in it than you want to admit.
@Rameses I just have to mention... I just finished reading Reginald Lewis' biography... PRICELESS!
The tools to advance economically lay dormant in our community mainly because we choose not to address our family structure and pseudo intellectuals that keep us stagnate.
TO REALMAN.SOMETIMES I think to logically;you made the most sensible comment.