A scholarship to aid those impacted by the inequity of Virginia’s schools to Black students over 70 years ago is entering the summer with record funds and a record number of recipients.
Before the U.S. The Supreme Court outlawed school segregation in May 1954, Virginia’s system of public education left Black kids and their schools far behind. Among them was Barbara Johns who went on to be a plaintiff in the historic Brown vs. the Board of Education case. A committee and scholarship designed to benefit those who were subject to that mistreatment and their descendants now bears the name of the suit. Wednesday morning John’s sister, Joan Johns Cobbs, was present after being reappointed by Governor Glenn Youngkin.
“I thought it was important that I be here to help get the scholarships for other students who were left out of schools,” Cobbs told Radio IQ after Wednesday’s meeting.
Republican Delegate Anna Tata was also added to the committee. She said Old Dominion University, near her Virginia Beach district, will be among the colleges which will take in the 42 students who are expected to get nearly half a million dollars in scholarships approved for this school year.
That first bit was part of Congressional funds made possible thanks to Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. But that still leaves another $2 million in funds -appropriated in this year’s budget- and Tata hopes the committee can work to get more would-be students to apply.
“If more people knew about it, we’d have even more applications, but this is the first year they’ve expanded it, but I hope we’ll see more of it going forward,” Tata said.
Committee chair and Democratic Norfolk Senator Angelia Williams Graves was similarly interested in seeing more applicants next year.
“It’s as simple as connecting with the state board of education and us as elected officials and folks in the community connecting with various school boards and getting the info out there,” she told Radio IQ.
And while Williams Graves was pleased record funds were going to the scholarship program, she’s also been critical of Youngkin’s handling of race issues. Last week he vetoed an bill from her and Delegate Alex Askew which would have eliminated tax exemptions for the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Despite claims from UDC that they do not condone white supremacy, the elected officials argued the organization maintained a “Lost Cause” narrative no longer deserving of state support.
But Youngkin also agreed to sign the budget, giving the funds to those who were impacted by the state’s racist past.
Williams Graves said the two contrasting acts cancel each other out.
“We didn’t move forward, we didn’t move backwards,” she said. “The good thing is we do get the opportunity to fund people's education and that's a good thing.”
As for Youngkin’s support for the program, a spokesperson for his administration told Radio IQ “The program was started in 2005 for the purpose of providing a gateway to opportunity for students who were unjustly denied an education in Virginia’s public schools between 1954-1964.”
The next meeting of the Brown vs. Board of Education Scholarship committee is in the fall.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
