Following the Supreme Court's Thursday decision declaring race cannot be a factor in college admissions, NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley vowed to change his will to designate $5 million for Black students to attend his alma mater, Auburn University.
"In my will," Barkley said Friday, according to AL.com, "I am leaving Auburn $5 million. I'm going to change it to be just for scholarships for Black students. That's just my way of trying to make sure Auburn stays diverse.
"I love Auburn," he said. "I've actually changed it to be used for kids from poor homes. But after that ruling yesterday, my phone was blowing up. I was talking to my friends and said, 'I need to make sure Black folks always have a place at Auburn. So I'm gonna change my will and make it exclusive for Black students — all $5 million.' It's just for me the right thing to do. I always want to make sure that Auburn's diverse."
According to Auburn University's data, Black student enrollment dropped from 5.3% in 2020 to 4.91% in the fall of 2022.
"We've always lacked diversity. I'm doing my part to make sure we are more diverse," Barkley stated.
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