Simon Cox Blog: For #MLK50, Christian Schools Launch $1.5 Million in Minority Scholarships

Wednesday 4 April 2018

For #MLK50, Christian Schools Launch $1.5 Million in Minority Scholarships

Dream Forward initiative by Wheaton, Gordon, SBC seminaries, and others builds on Martin Luther King Jr. commemorations in Memphis.

Twenty Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries have raised more than $1.5 million in scholarships to offer minority students in Memphis as part of a new initiative in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated there 50 years ago today.

Organizers for MLK50: Gospel Reflections from the Mountaintop, a joint conference by The Gospel Coalition (TGC) and the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), will announce the “MLK50 Dream Forward Scholarship Initiative” this morning before 3,700 attendees at the Memphis event.

The program, which offers full and partial tuition scholarships to minority students “who demonstrate a heart for Christ and a potential for academic excellence,” is a way to extend the local impact of the commemorative two-day conference long-term.

“As we were planning and preparing for this event, we have been given wise counsel by a local advisory board consisting of pastors and ministry leaders. Early on, they asked if we would consider creating a legacy item, consistent with Dr. King’s work, specifically for the city of Memphis,” Brent Leatherwood, ERLC director of strategic partnerships, told CT.

“Time and again, the issue of education was consistently voiced as the one to engage. We agreed.”

The 20 participating schools—including several Baptist seminaries and evangelical colleges such as Wheaton and Gordon—raised the $1.5 million in available financial aid for the scholarships. Interested candidates can learn about eligibility and other details through the MLK50 Conference site following the conclusion of the event today.

There’s a possibility of offering scholarships to minority students in other ...