Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Business
BusinessEntertainmentHer Side

Charles Barkley Is Giving Black Ala. Women $1M for IT Start-Ups ‘Not Hair Salons’

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

 

Charles Barkley announced he would donate $1 million to Black women in Alabama Thursday night, but not before telling them how they could invest the funds. Barkley made the announcement after noting how Black women came out in droves to elect Doug Jones as the first Alabama Democrat to the Senate in more than 25 years.

“I’m pledging $1 million to Black women in Alabama to do start-ups,” he says Thursday, Dec. 14 on TNT’s “NBA Tip-Off.” “That do [sic] not mean hair salons and restaurants, Black women. That means start-ups.”

While Shaquille O’Neal began cracking up, co-panelist Kenny Smith questioned why Barkley made an “under-handed, backhand joke.”

“We’re not gon’ do a weave shop,” the Alabama native continues, “We’re going to do IT. IT. That doesn’t mean ‘it’ either.”

Smith finally told Barkley to “leave it alone” as the Auburn University alum continued to take digs at Black women.

Related: Charles Barkley News

Charles Barkley Thinks He Gets to Decide How Boston Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas Can Grieve

In Rousing Anti-Moore Plea, Charles Barkley Urges Alabama to Show America ‘We’re Not a Bunch of Damn Idiots’


Charles Barkley Weighs In On Colin Kaepernick’s Ongoing Free Agency: ‘He’s Getting Blackballed’

As it turns out, many women (and some men) sided with Smith more than Barkley when it came to his so-called joke.

https://twitter.com/CoachPSays/status/941474229446471683

Others praised the Hall of Famer’s donation.

https://twitter.com/Kevo3k/status/941649738197237761

And some didn’t think what he said was an issue.

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top