San Francisco – In a unique twist to the notion of using educational scholarships to improve minority representation, an Oregon civil rights group says it will offer a $2,000 scholarship to encourage white college students to pursue studies in race relations.
The initiative by the Oregon League of Minority Voters, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group based in Portland, Ore., may well be the first of its kind. College scholarships have long been seen as a vehicle – albeit a controversial one – for improving the condition of minorities, but this appears to be the first time that white students have been singled out for assistance in the name of promoting civil rights.
“We lack white participation in the racial conversation in this state, so we are trying to do something about it,” says Promise King, executive director of the Oregon group. “When we talk about race relations, most of the time in Oregon, most white people are not at the table.”
The focus of his organization remains on empowering minorities, but the group also feels it’s important to have non-minority allies in a state where about 90 percent of the population is white, Mr. King says.
“I’m trying to push for solutions. And that’s what is driving this vision, to really seek out white students who will in the future be at the forefront of civil rights,” he says.