A whites-only scholarship was set up at Columbia University. It was originally set up in 1920. Someone donated money but wanted the person to be white that received the scholarship. Here is the link:
LinkWhen I was in the military, I was sitting next to a guy who was talking about the United Negro Fund and a scholarship associated with it. I asked him for an application (I was going to give it to a black guy who worked with me). The guy told me that it wasn’t for white people.
Should we have scholarships based on race?
When I was in the military, I was sitting next to a guy who was talking about the United Negro Fund and a scholarship associated with it. I asked him for an application (I was going to give it to a black guy who worked with me). The guy told me that it wasn’t for white people.Should we have scholarships based on race?
Comments (36)
While it’s true that there is still a large number of financially struggling black communities, I am of the mind (and not close todiscussion) that we need to start doing away with these types of scholarships. We already have AMPLE examples of black people – or of any ethnicity – rising above the poor conditions they grew up in. Heck, even Abe Lincoln grew up in seriously poor conditions and became one of our country’s best presidents…he became president at all!!!
I do get that people just simply NEED help even when they’re trying their hardest. I’m not saying to not give out scholarships. But here’s the thing…the world “scholar” ought to be something more towards one’s efforts to seek an education and NOT on one’s skin color.
Depends on the purpose and intent of its establishment. A lot of the African-American scholarships were set up as an attempt to undue the historical repression and disenfranchisement of Blacks in America.
If the White Scholarship were designed with some notion of racial purity or prejudices towards non-white, then fuck no.
Blacks were singularly united in their collective experiences of being enslaved in the United States and, afterwards, having raised families in poverty in the Jim Crow South. There is little to unite “white” asides from their historical discrimination of minorities– whether it be through the Chinese Exclusion Act, Segregation, or the Japanese internment camps. I can understand scholarships for Irish-Americans, German-Americans, British-Americans, and French-Americans– groups with distinct identity and history in the United States; but definitely not as monolithically and discriminatorily ”white.”
My daughter applied for several that were only for women, or only for band members. Is that any different than racially specific scholarships?
@saintvi - In countering social biases and improving under-representation in higher education? No, not really that different.
If I do my best to run a 4.4 40, do I qualify for a race-based scholarship?
you were in the military???
I find it RACIST to be for just white or just black… let
alone just women?!?!?! Obviously society isn’t going to get very far as long as
this thinking and behavior is allowed
We shouldn’t. They’re stupid. About four years ago I applied for a Hispanic Foundation scholarship. I thought, well everybody else is milking the color of their skin, why not? The types of questions I was asked where, “As a Hispanic, what are your goals for the future?” “How do you plan to better yourself and your fellow Hispanics?” It was all BS. Every question included the word “Hispanic.” Why? Why was it necessary? Was my answer of, “I want to excel as a marine biologists because the ocean and it’s inhabitants are crucial to maintaining our environment (or some similar crap answer),” not just as good because i didn’t say, “I want to be a marine biologist because I want to show the whole United States that Mexicans are smart and do care about the ocean.” I mean come on! Race is bull donkey. By using race to our advantage we are only further isolating ourselves from others. How can we expect to be treated as equals by everybody else if we keep ourselves in these little boxes.
@Shadowrunner81 - A scholarship based on physical prowess is not exactly mentioned here but yes there is a lot of scholarships for athletes. Race does not always matter on physical prowess but it is the chief way that POC enter into some big league colleges and universities.
Texas used to allow minorities into their Universities based on if they were of the top 5% of their (Texas based) school. Some physical prowess like Cheerleading may not get a scholarship but sometimes a donor can specify a certain skill set.
I think scholarships should be based on ability, not by race or gender and the level of financial aid actually needed for them to attend college.. If there is someone who excels more in one area or field over another then I think that person should get a scholarship, based on their level of financial need. Now if say the person who is the best at something, lets say applied physics, they should get some sort of scholarship, but only if they had to apply for financial aid in the first place. If that person who was the best in said category and could afford to pay for their entire semester out of pocket, they shouldn’t get any financial aid scholarships. I think maybe if you want to be fair based on gender, then it should be the best male and best female regardless of national origin or race or even religion. (Oh by the way, my stepdad is black and put himself through college on his own and my mom is white and never went to college. Take away what you will from that sort of up-bringing and then realize my step-dad is also republican.)
@Baseballchik138 - People naturally gravitate towards those they’re comfortable and familiar with. When it comes to minorities in the United States, it means growing up and raising families in ethnic neighborhoods. In our hometown, it means Hispanics in East L.A., Koreans in K-Town, Armenians in Glendale, and Indians in parts of Cerritos.
A child growing up in these neighborhoods are strongly influenced and pattern after those around them. It’s no coincidence that children of parents in the medicine and law professions become doctors and lawyers themselves. The danger, here, is self-perpetuating cycles of underachievement in these ethnic hubs. Growing up without college-educated parents and neighbors, the kids are likely to not think as much about college and to be less prepared or aspirational towards college.
The goal in a lot of these scholarships is to broaden the opportunity of minority kids in minority communities. That is why some Hispanic Scholarship has an interest in awardees benefiting and positively impacting their home communities.
Thats a hard one. The biggest reason for specific race-only scholarships is because those minorities are often underrepresented in our colleges, because of the increased poverty of certain groups. Would it be nice to be able to level the playing field a little more? Yes. Should we actually establish these? I’m not so sure – if a black kid can perform as well as a white kid, they should both be competing for the same scholarship, and whoever has the most need should win!
i don’t think it matters, especially if it’s a private organization giving out the scholarship.
There are certain things that are protected by law from discrimination — sex, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and disabilities. Law prohibits organizational discrimination personal acts of hatred against people based on those categories. Having scholarships that are based on those same characteristics seems more likely to perpetuate discriminatory attitudes and behaviors than otherwise.
However, personal preference is not the same thing as discrimination. If an individual has a personal preference, that is perfectly fine. An individual’s freedom to give their own money to whomever they choose based on whatever qualifications they set out should not be infringed upon. It is their money to do with as they please for as long as the money lasts, no matter how long that person has been dead. There should not be interference by outsiders on personal legacies and funds.
@wildchildofthebluemoon - I would tend to agree with you, except I think the person who should win the scholarship would be the person with the most ability or promise or work ethic. I really hate the idea that being poor or “poorer than the next guy” makes you somehow more deserving of help. If everything else is pretty equal, then make need the determining factor.
Eh, this kind of thing just makes me think of the move American History X.
I won’t say how I feel about anything until that’s out there.
Personally, I don’t think we’ll ever get over our racial in-differences unless we abolish these organizations that say they are strictly for one race or ethnicity.
If it is a private person or organization, they they should be able to create a scholarship in anyway they want. No one is making them give the money. It reminds me of when Oprah was giving money to South Africa (or somewhere) for a school project and people were like, “Why doesn’t she help poor children in America?” They don’t get that it was HER money and if they want a certain group to get money, then they should donate their own money and start their own project.
In the past I would have supported race based scholarships for the reasons that CelestialTeapot gives. However, now that I’ve encountered well meaning liberals who’ve tried to define ME by my race, I feel differently about it. Scholarships like these are made by people who define minorities by their race, and they’re meant for minority students who define themselves by their race. I don’t agree with the message they perpetuate.
No.
Its all a foolish idea, good intentions or bad one. If you want to help the disadvantaged. Give your scholarships to the poo. A rich black kid does not need the help, while a poor white kid just might
If it’s a private fund, they can set it up for whomever they want. I’m looking for a scholarship for over 50 diabetic women with brown eyes who have lost both parents and are the oldest female out of six siblings. Still haven’t found it.
I think there has to come a time when we do not have scholarships based strictly on race, nor special hiring allowances, quotas, et cetera based on race.
Lets celebrate humanity and that which we have in common.
I think a person or organization that gives someone a gift should be entitled to give it to whomever they please (the obvious exception being the government). That being said, I think race or skin color is an unwise criterion upon which to base such a decision. But hey, people with less than honorable motives screw up and do good things all the time, so I’ve got no problem with either side of the issue.
They have scholarships for polo club, golf, moms, auto workers and swimmers ETC. but no one takes those into issue. It is all allowable since it isn’t tax money but private contributors.
@Celestial_Teapot - Yeah what he said!
As long as our society has people who want to give money based on race.
I remember a time where I wanted to apply for a scholarship, but it was only meant for Hispanics. It really got under my skin. I believe anyone no matter what race or gender should be able to apply for scholarships.
There is nothing hard to understand or hard to comment on this. It is simply wrong to give out scholarships based on race.
The company I work for runs a scholarship competition for Hispanic students ONLY in Colorado. If the name looks white or anything other than Hispanic, the publisher insists the name that qualifies them for the scholarship is included. These kids are the best and brightest, and my company allows them to be recognized, even if they don’t win the scholarship at the end of the year.
If people want to use their own money to set up a college scholarship, they should be allowed to do so, regardless of the criteria they use.
I want to make 2 points that are equally as important.
First .. any race based scholarship is racistSecond … racism is protected speech. i.e.. you can be racist if you choose, IMO.
Unless the form is medical, I never answer the question of race. I haven’t since I was 15 or so, it isn’t a valid question. Now that I married outside of my race and my children are of mixed lineage, I still find the question pointless and even more perplexing. But God forbid I say this to my friends. They get very offended if I tell them this fact about me. Why? Maybe they find my follow-up speech too hard hitting and close to home: “As long as we make race an issue by constantly categorizing and defining ourselves by the color of our skin, it’ll airways be an issue. I refuse to define myself by my skin color, and I won’t define my children by theirs, either. They are not their color. They are human beings.”
If that offends someone, they should reflect inward and ask themselves why.
Race is more-or-less a cultural, not a physical, determinate. I doubt that there is anyone in America who is racially “Pure”in the sense that they have no African or European, or Asiatic genes. A scholarship for “White”students implies discrimination against all other types – translation: only WASPS need apply. Shame on Columbia for accepting such scholarship requirements.
i read about this. i think a scholarship should not be measured on race. unless it comes from an organization that caters to a certain ethnic background, which in the case of Columbia University, it is NOT.