SAN DIEGO — A Chinese-American family with Coronado roots is donating $5 million to the Black Resource Center at San Diego State University.
It’s the largest donation the center has ever received.
The family behind the donation says they wanted to pay it forward after someone was willing to give them a chance when no one else would.
The Dong family grew up on C Avenue just blocks away from the world-famous Hotel Del Coronado.
"All the way from when my dad first rented the place in 1939," recalls Ron Dong.
Dong was just two years old at the time.
His Chinese-American father moved the family there from San Diego, so he could work as a gardener on the island.
However, back then, finding a place to live was difficult because of their race and restrictive housing laws that favored white buyers and renters.
"He was unable to find anything for a long time. And eventually, this came up," said Dong.
The home was owned by Gus and Emma Thompson, a Black entrepreneurial couple in town.
Gus ran several businesses, including transporting guests to and from the Del. Emma operated a cafe.
The two, who were born into slavery, decided to give the Dong family a chance by first renting them the home, and then selling it to them in 1955.
Ultimately, it helped pave the way for the Dong family.
To honor the Thompsons, the Dong family is donating $5 million in their name to the SDSU’s Black Resource Center, using proceeds from the sale of the property, which includes both the home and a separate complex next door.
The announcement was an overwhelming surprise for the SDSU community.
"After the wow factor was over, I was just excited for our students. And then really thought like, this is exactly what we teach them to pay it forward,” said Brandon Gamble, Director of the Black Resource Center.
Gamble says the money will be put towards growing their academic programs and helping give more students a chance to go to college.
"And that's the core of what we do - academic programs, and also academic coaching. So, our students do peer to peer coaching, which is exciting, but they also get paid to do that work. And we want to extend that work for our students," said Gamble.
It's especially meaningful for the Dong family, since three of their four children worked in education.
For them, this gift and their story is about creating opportunities for others just as the Thompsons did for them.
"It's just been phenomenal the way things fell in place," said Ron Dong.
If you'd like to learn more about Coronado's black history, including the Thompson family, there's an exhibit open for free through mid-June inside Coronado's Museum of History and Art.
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