PAYING IT FORWARD

Why This Chinese American Family Is Giving $5M to Black Students

In 1939, a Black couple in California showed kindness to the Dongs. They’re repaying the favor.

A kindness shown to a Chinese American family by a Black couple 85 years ago is being repaid in the form of $5 million in aid to college students. NBC News reports that Emma and Gus Thompson allowed the Dong family to rent their Coronado, California, home at a time when housing laws were racially discriminatory. The Dongs eventually bought the property, which is now worth $8 million and which is about to be sold. Two of the Dong brothers plan to donate their share to San Diego State University’s Black Resource Center to help Black students to pay for college. “It’s just exactly what’s appropriate,” Ron Dong, 86, told NBC. Brother Lloyd Dong Jr. said the family’s success owes much to the Thompsons and their willingness to help another marginalized community. “Without them, we would not have the education and everything else,” he said. In addition to the gift, the Dong family is seeking to have the center named for the Thompsons.