White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

June 12, 2012
When a student who won a scholarship for African-American students walked to the stage at a Riverside, Calif., high school to pick up his award, the audience laughed nervously. The student, Jeffrey Warren, was white.

Warren, 17, a recent graduate of Riverside's King High School, won a $1,000 scholarship sponsored by Riverside's Martin Luther King Senior Citizens Club. While a cover letter to guidance counselors indicated that the award was intended only for black students, the application merely "encourage[d] African-American students to apply," according to King High School Principal Darel Hansen.

The morning after the ceremony, Warren returned the money. Since then, his story has made national headlines.

Warren's father Rod, a language arts teacher at King High School, said he told his son to apply for every scholarship for which he might be eligible. Since the application did not explicitly rule out non-black applicants, the soon-to-be San Diego State freshman gave it a shot. Out of the 27 scholarships for which he applied, he won four, including the one he later gave up.

"The laughter was slight at the beginning, then it got louder," Rod Warren said. "You could tell the [award presenters] were surprised, but they shook his hand and gave it to him."


When the Warrens returned home from the ceremony, they concluded that returning the money was the right thing to do.

Etta Brown, the chairwoman of the MLK Senior Citizens Club's scholarships committee, said she was shocked when she realized the winner of her group's scholarship was a white student. Since the scholarship was created in 2005, it had never been awarded to a non-black student.

Warren's decision to return the award was "generous," she said. Since the application did not explicitly disqualify non-black students, she said the group would not have asked Warren to give it back, despite some internal debate.

In the future, the application will be worded more clearly, she said.

Rod Warren said his son reasoned that if he were ineligible for the scholarship, the issue would be resolved at the interview stage of the application process. The interview, however, was over the phone, and Brown said it never occurred to the reader who interviewed Warren that the interviewee might be white.

After news of Jeffrey's decision to decline the scholarship spread, Susan Jaggers, his former math teacher, launched a campaign to compensate him for the sacrifice. Circulating a framed picture of Warren to all the teachers whose classes he took at King High School, Jaggers has so far yielded $351.

"We didn't totally replace the money, but I knew many of [Warren's former teachers] would be willing to throw a few bones," Jaggers said. "All his teachers love him."

Warren's scholarship has been given to an African-American student who will be attending Cornell University in the fall. The second of the scholarship's two winners is a North High School student who will be attending Xavier University.

Edited to add source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/confusion-white-high-schooler-returns-scholarship-intended-black/story?id=16544544#.T9d3ZLDO3ow

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Kudos to the kid for being the bigger person & returning a scholarship he won!

Message edited 6/12/2012 1:11:17 PM.

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

He sounds like a good kid- they should have set up a national scholarship for him- I bet a lot of people would have donated

While I dont think its good to rule out anyone from winning any scholarship- its certainly odd... When I was in HS, I appied for a scholarship through the Italian American WOMEN's Society.. and a guy won it, I was kind of shocked.

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

I was chosen to participate in a journalism camp that was sponsored by the Association of Black Journalists.

I'm white. No biggie. It was an awesome experience!!!

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

I'm not sure how I feel about this, he won that scholarship fair and square. I kind of feel bad for the kid in that he was basically laughed at for collecting it at the awards ceremony.

I think when he went to return it, he should have been told to keep it. The group awarding the scholarship screwed up and should have been clear when wording their application. He shouldn't have had to bare the brunt of their screw up.

Message edited 6/12/2012 1:25:20 PM.

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

There was a very interesting discussion on leonard lopate (or brian lehrer) on NNPR about what African-American should mean. There are some who believe it is someone who is descended from a slave. Many East African immigrants are wealthy and coming to the US. The argument was that they shouldn't participate in programs that were set up to help years of discriminated.


FWIW, friend of mine in HS's mom was from Kenya. they were white, but he checked off African-American on his college application. I always thought that skated the line.

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

If he won it fair and square than I think he should have gotten to keep it. Are there any scholarship funds just for white kids? I mean I am just curious about this whole scholarship fund based on race.

Message edited 6/12/2012 9:14:44 PM.

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

The truth is there are very few scholarships that children of European ancestry can apply to. Here is what happens with scholarships: most say only Hispanics or African Americans can apply. The rest say all can apply and the organization does not discriminate against individuals based on race or religion, etc. To clarify, most say only a certain race can apply, then the rest say "we do not discriminate." I find the whole issue very discriminatory. I think a few scholarships specifying only minorities can apply is fine, but it is almost all.

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

Posted by twicethefun

Posted by ItsTime2011

Posted by twicethefun

If he won it fair and square than I think he should have gotted to keep it. Are there any scholarship funds just for white kids? I mean I am just curious about this whole scholarship fund based on race.

This could open up quite the pandora's box on here...

I know but its my first time starting a fest so please forgive me. I can not even undo it cause it is copied twice.

I just felt strongly about it. I believe in fairness for all. I do work in a neighborhood filled with minority children and I want them to succeed and go to college and I know they need the money. But then so do some children with light skin. Honestly, if that child met all the requirements, why should he be discriminated against based on his race.

Message edited 6/12/2012 9:29:15 PM.

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/09/study_shows_that_white_students_are_more_likely_to_get_scholarship_money.html

worth a read

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

in college, there was an automatic "minority scholarship"
500.00 for applying and writing an essay.

I sold so many essays through the years to minorities. I did it for 100.00.
Could not believe people just simply would not go after the money(dh included, boyfriend at the time)

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

Posted by Janice

in college, there was an automatic "minority scholarship"
500.00 for applying and writing an essay.

I sold so many essays through the years to minorities. I did it for 100.00.
Could not believe people just simply would not go after the money(dh included, boyfriend at the time)

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students

I was on the awards committee for my school this year where we selected who got what scholarship. Some of these scholarships are very specific. This year we had a scholarship that among other things was supposed to go to a male. While we were discussing candidates it really seemed like only a female would be qualified. We called the person funding it and he did not budge and even threatened to remove his scholarship if we did not comply. Unfortunately we had to give it to a male who was probably lesser qualified than a female. This was the same way when we all were in high school too. Personally I think that what this kid did was very honest and the group should have said to keep the money and then offer another scholarship to their desired winner.

Re: White High Schooler Returns Scholarship Intended for Black Students