In 1939, the Dongs, a Chinese American family in Coronado, California, found themselves unable to rent a house amid racially restrictive housing laws that favored white buyers and renters.

Emma and Gus Thompson, a Black entrepreneurial couple in town, allowed the family to rent and eventually buy their Coronado property when nobody else would. Now, to thank the Thompsons for helping them get a hold in American society, the Dongs are donating $5 million to Black college students using proceeds from the sale of the house.

“It may enable some kids to go and thrive in college that might not