Beyoncé’s Celebration of HBCUs Continues With A $100K Scholarship Award
It looks like Beyoncé’s history-making Coachella set had a deeper meaning. Officially the first black woman to ever headline Coachella during its 19 years, it appears Beyoncé’s HBCU-infused Coachella performance meant more than we thought.
Earlier today Beyonce annouced she’ll be donating $100,000 to four historically black colleges and universities through her BeyGOOD initiative. The universities, Xavier, Wilberforce, Tuskegee, and Bethune-Cookman will be the first designated schools to receive the an award from The Homecoming Scholars Award Program.
According to the press release, Beyoncé’s Coachella performance was a homage to excellence in education and a celebration of the homecoming weekend that put the spotlight on art and culture and was the force behind The Homecoming program. Each school will choose one winner to receive $25,000 for the 2018-2019 academic year. Qualifying students must have a 3.5 GPA or higher and be studying literature, creative arts, African-American studies, science, education, business, communications, social sciences, computer science, and/or engineering.
“We salute the rich legacy of Historcally Black Colleges and Universities. We honor all institutions of higher learning for maintaining culture and creating environments for optimal learning which expands dreams and the seas of possibilities for students.” Ivy McGregor, Parkwood Entertainment’s Director of Philantrophy and Corporate Relations said in the statement.
The Homecoming Scholars Award Program follows Beyoncé’s Fomation Scholars Award Program which was launched last year in celebration of the one year anniversary of Lemonade.
Winners of The Homecoming Scholars Award Program will be announced this summer.
After the announcement, Beyoncé’s mother took to Instagram to recount a poignant conversation the two shared on the event.
“I told Beyonce that i was afraid that the predominately white audience at Coachella would be confused by all of the black culture and Black college culture because it was something that they might not get. Her brave response to me made me feel a-bit selfish and ashamed. She said i have worked very hard to get to the point where i have a true voice and At this point in my life and my career i have a responsibility to do whats best for the world and not what is most popular “ She said that her hope is that after the show young people would research this culture and see how cool it is, and young people black and white would listen to “ LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING and see how amazing the words are for us all and bridge the gap. She also hopes that it will encourage young kids to enroll in our amazing HIstorically Black Colleges and Universities . I stand corrected”
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