Sean “Diddy” Combs donated $1 million to Jackson State University (JSU) one year after promising to do so at the 2022 BET Awards.
Through the Sean Combs Foundation, the music mogul gave $1 million to JSU’s football team, according to People. Combs presented an oversized check to the school during JSU’s football game on Aug. 25. He posted an excerpt of an ESPN clip of him presenting the check during the game on his Instagram page on Aug. 28.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for HBCUs,” Combs wrote in the caption. “It is my honor and my responsibility to support the HBCUs! The work they are doing is to be commended! My grandmother raised me to sow my seed in my community, and that’s what I’m going to continue to do!!”
The “Been Around the World” rapper attended Howard University, a prominent Historically Black College and University in Washington, D.C.
Combs stated that many HBCUs are “under-resourced” and that his donation to JSU was his chance to step up and “do something about it.”
Earlier that Friday, Combs also presented a $1 million investment check to Earn Your Leisure (EYL) and founders Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings, as seen in a video posted on EYL’s Twitter page. EYL helps “emerging and established content creators.” Combs’ investment will aid financial literacy and be distributed to his tri-state area charter schools.
In June, Combs also pledged funds to the Apollo Theater in his native Harlem. He received the Icon Award at the Apollo’s annual spring benefit gala, but plane troubles kept him from attending. Despite his last-minute absence, he recorded a video message thanking the Apollo, and Combs Enterprise President Tarik Brooks, who accepted the honor on his behalf, announced Combs would donate $250,000 to the institution.
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