The Grammy-nominated artist and reality TV icon is being celebrated for her generous and impactful gift to the historically Black university, which will benefit students for years to come.
Tamar Braxton is making a powerful investment in the next generation of leaders. The beloved singer and television personality has generously donated $30,000 to Norfolk State University, a historically Black university (HBCU) in Virginia.
The university announced the news in a thrilled social media post, thanking Tamar for her “benevolent gift.” The donation will go to the Jessie and James Lilly Jr. Fund, an initiative started by Phil Thornton.
Specifically, the funds will provide much-needed scholarships for students majoring in Mass Communications or Business—two fields that are crucial for building future entrepreneurs and storytellers. The university celebrated the long-term impact of her contribution, noting that her “philanthropic gift that will benefit students for years to come.”
This donation is more than just a financial transaction; it’s a profound statement of support for higher education within the Black community. By choosing to invest in an HBCU, Tamar is helping to empower an institution dedicated to nurturing and developing the talents of Black students.
Her contribution will provide opportunities for students who may not have otherwise had the financial means to pursue their dreams, creating a ripple effect that will be felt for generations.
The news was met with an outpouring of love and admiration from fans, who are celebrating this inspiring act of kindness. Many took to social media to praise her for “giving back” and “looking out for the community.”
In a world where celebrity is often associated with glamour and drama, Tamar’s generous donation is a beautiful reminder of the positive impact a platform can have. She is not just building her own legacy; she is helping to build the legacies of countless students who will benefit from her incredible generosity.
Quick on the heels of famously sassy, phrase-turning R&B singer and reality TV star Tamar Braxton’s announcement her recently released album, “Bluebird of Happiness,” will be her last — at least for a while — and news that her husband, music executive husband Vincent Herbert, founder of Streamline Records, was legally ordered to pay Sony more than $3.7 million to settle a lawsuit over a 2013 advance, the couple hoisted their grandly proportioned and glamorously appointed Mediterranean mansion in Calabasas, Calif., up for sale at $15 million.
The Herbert-Braxtons, married in late 2007 after about five years together, purchased the 13,716-square-foot mansion inside the double-gated Estates at The Oaks enclave in April 2013 for $10.5 million and public records show since then there have been several notices of default filed and subsequently canceled against the two-acre spread that provides a total of seven bedrooms and nine full and two half bathrooms between the main house and poolside guesthouse.
Wrought iron and glass front doors open to an entry vestibule and foyer with black and white floral-patterned inlaid floor and a floating, wrought iron railed staircase that curves up to the bedrooms on the second floor. The main living and entertaining space makes a great sweep across the rear of the residence with gleaming wide-plank hardwood floors laid in a classy chevron pattern.
A central gallery with glossy grand piano is flanked to one side by a lounge with semi-circular sofa in front of an ornate fireplace and to the other by a “champagne bar” modeled after The Dorchester Hotel in London with tufted velvet sofas and a stately wood-paneled ceiling.
Arched French doors open the vast space to an immense, stone-paved loggia with retractable canvas shade awnings and a bowling alley-length dining table that easily seats at least two-dozen al fresco diners. With elaborately carved cabinetry, granite countertops and a super-sized commercial-style range under a hand-hammered copper hood, the kitchen is open to a spacious informal dining area that, in turn, opens to a family room with fireplace and French doors to the backyard.
The three-story mansion’s creature comfort also include a home theater, a game room, an office, a wine cellar with tasting room and, unsurprisingly, a recording studio along with an elevator, an camera-equipped security system, a gentlemen’s lounge with authentic barber chair, a mirror-walled gym and a subterranean parking garage that will accommodate over a dozen cars. The mansion makes a U-shaped embrace around a broad and grassy courtyard with swimming pool and spa beyond which a soccer pitch-sized lawn gives way to a panoramic view over rugged ravines and undeveloped mountaintops.
Some of the other, equally sized and similarly luxurious estates in The Estates sections of The Oaks are owned by reality television’s Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian, Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine Jackson, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Jay McGraw, elder son of extraordinarily well-compensated TV therapist Dr. Phil McGraw, and his Playboy model wife Erica Dahm.