If I had a Memorial Scholarship in my Name...

Warning: This post may contain an unpopular opinion, nevertheless, it is my personal opinion based on my personal experiences.

If someone wants to name a memorial scholarship for me once I'm dead and gone I have one request: I want the scholarship application to include a bold condition statement for its applicants. 

I want that statement to read:

Your race and/or ethnicity does not matter for this scholarship. 

All colors, cultures, races, and ethnicities are encouraged to apply!  

I can't tell you how many scholarships I come across that are named in the honor of a person's memory, but you must be BIPOC to apply.*

    *Definition of BIPOC according to the Oxford Language Dictionary:

BIPOC, n. & adj.

(a) n. (With plural or singular agreement) ‘Black, Indigenous, and people (or person) of colour’; used to refer to non-white people, or a non-white…

An Important Note: I fully understand that race is a complicated topic, so the following statement is simply my own personal feelings on the specific matter of college scholarships. I also fully understand people are allowed to make a scholarship available to whatever group of people they chose to, but if I had a scholarship out there with my name attached to it, I hope with all my heart, that all people, regardless of race or ethnicity, will be allowed to apply. 

You know what I never see? A single scholarship that requires applicants to be white, Caucasian, or of European decent to apply. 

Again, if a scholarship were to carry my name, I would want it to be open to everyone of all skin colors. To me, a person's skin color, your ethnicity, your race, and your culture does not solely define who someone is as a person, nor should those things hinder nor elevate someone in their pursuit to fund their education. 

What's truly ironic is a scholarship I came named the "Black Leaders Scholarship," that contained a promotional image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. front and center as well as four other influential black figures. What I just can't understand is why MLK's image is used on scholarships that mandate the applicates to be a certain skin color when, in his own words during his "I Have a Dream" speech he stated: 

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." 

His words say, "my four little children," but if you read or listen to the rest of his speech it's clear that MLK wasn't only speaking of his own four children. You can read MLK's words for yourself here if you're interested. 

I, too, have four children, all of which have blond or light brown hair, blue eyes and olive skin. At first glance, people might categorize my family of six as your quintessential "white" family. My husband who is part Italian and part Norwegian (and a few parts of other things) has beautiful olive skin that he passed down to all four of our children. Unfortunately, I didn't luck out like my husband and kiddos. I have a pasty pink completion that I inherited from my German, Portuguese, Polish, Scottish, and Irish ancestors.

A few years ago, we did an ancestry DNA test on one of our children. While the majority of their ancestry showed "Western European," no surprise there... there were a few unexpected results that showed up in the test. 

What you may not see by looking at my children is the fact that they are also Ashkenazi Jew and West African. 

Now that you know that information, consider how someone might react if they were to see my blonde-haired, blue-eyed, olive-skinned child applying for a scholarship that requires the applicant to be of African descent. Some scholarship websites won't even allow someone to apply unless they identify with specific ethnicities like African/Latinx/Pacific Islander/Native American. While my children technically are of African descent, they do not appear to be on the surface. 

Here's lies the issue: I feel that if my children were trying to apply for a scholarship designated for those of BIPOC decent, they had better be ready for backlash, and that breaks my heart, just as it would break my heart if a black student with European heritage was rejected for applying for a scholarship designated for those of European descent. 

Which brings me back to my main point. If I die and someone wants to create a scholarship that carries my name, please let it be open to all people of all skin colors, cultures, races, and ethnicities. We as humans are better together.