I think this article is meant to fan the fires of racism, and is not a real commentary on the state of research. Scientific research has always been funded by a mixture of public and private financing.
In my experience, private donors tend to give for specific disease research. But no one forces scientists to take money for a specific kind of research—they look for the donors funding the research they like to do, and ask for the money from them.
I think people who read and believe the New York Times are among the most racist people in America. How could they not be? What effin’ crap this article is!