Beyoncé made good on her Beychella promise and funded college scholarships for several HBCU students.
The eight recipients of the 2018-2019 Homecoming Scholars Award all hail from different HBCUs. Each will be awarded $25,000.
The Beyoncé Honor Roll:
Allana J. Barefield, Xavier University
Erin Evans, Wilberforce University
Caleb Washington, Tuskegee University
Demetrius Weaver, Bethune-Cookman University
Jordan Davis, Texas Southern University
Dartisha Mosley, Fisk University
Cletus Emokpae, Grambling State University
Kameron Willis, Morehouse College
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According the the official announcement of the winners, “the 2018-2019 disciplines include literature, creative arts, African-American studies, science, education, business, communications, social sciences, computer science, engineering and more. All applicants must maintain a 3.5 GPA or above.”
The scholarship is part of the singer’s BeyGOOD initiative, which launched in 2017. The Formation Scholars Award Program, specifically for female students, was launched that same year. Beyoncé’s new scholarship program is open to all qualifying college students regardless of gender.
An Homage to HBCUs
Beyoncé announced the Homecoming Scholars Award after her epic performance at Coachella (aptly renamed Beychella) that paid homage to HBCU culture. The dazzling show featured well-known HBCU homecoming traditions like stepping, fraternity/sorority gear, and other nods to what campus life is like at an HBCU.
“We salute the rich legacy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” said Ivy McGregor, Director of Philanthropy and Corporate Relations at Parkwood Entertainment in a press release after Coachella. “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.”
This year, Coachella was gracious enough to step aside and allow Beyoncé to bless us mere mortals with Beychella.
This “human” showered her fans with with nearly two hours of the Blackest, Blackity, Black musical performance ever put forth for a Coachella crowd. She not only put Black sisterhood in the spotlight as she dropped it low with her sister, Solange and reunited with her Destiny’s Child group-mates, but she honored Blackness as a whole. Check out the seven Blackest moments from the performance to relive the glory.