America's 'Painful' Times Inspire One CEO to Take Action

The top guy at Netflix and his wife just made a major donation to black colleges and say they hope others will do the same, NBC News reports. Company CEO Reed Hastings and Patty Quillin said Wednesday they're giving $120 million to two historically black colleges and the United Negro College Fund: "The times are the most stressed, the most painful, that we've ever seen in our lives," said Hastings, 59. "But out of that pain can come some opportunity, too. And maybe this will be the moment things change." The money is evenly divided between the college fund, Spelman College, and Morehouse College, with the goal of supporting student scholarships.

The power couple has donated to education before, creating a $100 million education fund in Silicon Valley and breaking ground on a retreat for teachers in rural Colorado, per recode. Now they say they're hoping to inspire others to consider African American institutions. "Generally, white capital flows to predominantly white institutions, perpetuating capital isolation," they say in a statement. "We hope this additional $120 million donation will help more black students follow their dreams and also encourage more people to support these institutions—helping to reverse generations of inequity in our country." (More historically black colleges stories.)