I don't think I need to tell you that sending a kid to college is expensive. If my kid decided to give back a $1,000 scholarship, I think I'd be having a heart attack. But Jeffrey Warren didn't have a lot of options. The California high school graduate is white, and the scholarship was supposed to go to a black kid.
He could have kept it ... legally. But Jeffrey Warren did something that too few kids do these days.
He showed people that it's better to win things "fair and square" than it is to simply "win." That's a pretty hard thing to teach a child. It's not like a mathematical equation where the right answer is directly in front of you.
In this case, Warren didn't know the scholarship was directed toward kids of color. The Martin Luther King Senior Citizens Club had mentioned the scholarship's race stipulation in a letter to his high school guidance counselor, but it wasn't in the wording of the actual scholarship. And the Senior Citizens Club didn't know Warren was white until he stood up during the graduation ceremonies to accept his award.
He says he gave the money back because:
I knew they were trying to do a good deed for the African-American community. I had no trouble giving it back to them at all.
He makes me feel hopeful for the future. And he makes me want to send a letter to his parents asking for tips on raising such a great kid. I am still struggling with how to teach my daughter the concept of being a "bigger person."
Jeffery Warren could have had a cool chunk of change to spend on college. That "seems" right. After all, he applied. He "won" the scholarship. And I'm sure it would have helped his parents financially. But the fact that this kid decided to right a wrong here should help his parents even more ... at least it helps them know that they've done a good job in raising a future member of society.
What would you have done if Jeffrey was your kid winning the scholarship intended for a kid of a different race?
Image via gadgetdude/Flickr
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Comments 26
It would not even be an issue with my kids, they would give it back. And Mandago, it's true that in a perfect world there would be no race stipulations for scholarships. Unfortunately, this is not that perfect world yet, we must continue to work on it.
Person of color won a white only award n gave it bak...
Good for him for giving it back. But the Martin Luther King Senior Citizens Club should have insisted that he keep it. After all, the man that they have chosen to honor said that we should "judge people not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
And these people are doing just the opposite. Judging first, by the color of skin. Pathetic.
And for the record, I did hear, maybe a year ago now, about one scholarship, down in Texas. It was for $500 and it was for whites only. I don't remember the details. I'll see if I can find a link.
I'm glad that he returned the scholarship. It was the right thing to do. I am not offended by racial scholarships at all. If an organization decides that they want to give a scholarship to a certain type of student then that it their choice. No one is entitled to the money that they are charitable enough to give to students for free to help with their education. There are plenty of other scholarships to apply for and yes there was a white scholarship out there.
There are TONS of scholarships directed towards specific groups. Why do people insist on running their mouth when they are so egregiously wrong.
Here's a random sample found, including the Texas one mentioned, just by doing a 1-min Google search. Really people, best to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
http://www.scholarship-programs.net/irish-americans/
www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/26/texas-group-to-offer-coll_n_828684.html
http://www.scholarships.com/financial-aid/college-scholarships/scholarships-by-type/religious-scholarships/jewish-scholarships/
Here's a story from the Huffington Post about that White's Only scholarship. It was from around March of 2011. There have been a few others, you can find them through Google. Interesting that some people think that a scholarship offered to "25% Caucasions" is racist, but a scholarship with all the same requirements except that it's offered to "25% Hispanic" or other race is not.