In 1921, Missouri designed a scholarship program for Black college students, and after eight years of dragging its feet, that program was implemented. Most Southern states adopted this program, but not out of generosity.
These“segregation scholarships” paid Black students’ out-of-state tuition so that colleges in the South could remain segregated. However, the money for these scholarships came from funds earmarked for HBCUs, leaving Black colleges and universities underfunded and incapable of admitting more students.
The recipients of segregation scholarships were sent North, mainly to predominantly white institutions, far from their friends and families. For some students, the scholarships did not cover all of their expenses, so in addition to being homesick, the students were also broke or in debt.
By the time the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 ended segregation in public schools, the damage to HBCUs had already been done. Imagine if, instead of forcing Black students to go out of state, those Southern states had invested more state funds in strengthening their HBCUs?
Segregation scholarships show how colonial structures will steal our money and tell us they’re doing us a favor. We know better than to believe them.