Spelman College Announces $25,000 Scholarships for LGBTQ Advocacy at HBCUs

By Rayiah R.

Spelman College, an all girls HBCU, is one of the most acclaimed Historically Black Colleges in the country. Spelman, being known for its ranking in liberal arts, African American college graduates, and amount of given degree’s has now announced a new scholarship program for LGBT advocates.

Beverly Guy-Sheftall, founder of the Spelman Women’s Research and Resource Center, told The Root, “The Levi Watkins Jr. Scholars Program will call attention to the importance of making visible the courageous and significant work of LGBTQ scholar activists within and beyond the academy, especially at HBCUs.” Guy-Sheftall launched the scholarships program to explore unaddressed issues of race, gender, and sexuality. These topics of needed critical conversation, are often overlooked and under-reported.

With this new program, two Spelman sophomores will be ale to receive a $25,000 renewable scholarship. Spelman President Mary Schmidt Campbell said after the scholarship program was announced, “As an institution that upholds a supportive student experience, this gift will present new opportunities for conversation on race and sexuality with distinguished scholars and thought leaders, and provide a platform to recognize campus LGBTQ advocates and their scholarly achievements.”

Along with the many other reasons Spelman is a high-praised and acclaimed college, this is just one more great step forward for Spelman on their journey to encourage the advocacy of LGBT lives and racial education.