They should have the option to give the scholarship to one of their kids
Virginia OK's Scholarships for Public School Integration Victims
Date: Sunday, June 20, 2004
By: Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia lawmakers approved $1 million last week to fund scholarships for now middle-aged people who were denied an education when public schools shut down in the late 1950s to avoid racial integration.
Nearly 100 former students from Prince Edward County, where public schools closed for five years, stood in the gallery and burst into applause after the House approved the funding, 94-4. The Senate later approved the measure 36-0.
"I feel like crying. I'm so emotional, so happy," said 57-year-old Rita Moseley, who was sent 150 miles across the state to continue her education when schools in the county closed.
Gov. Mark R. Warner's office estimates that 250 to 350 former students, now middle-aged, could receive several thousand dollars each under the statewide scholarship program. The money could be used toward a high school diploma, a GED certificate, career or technical training, or an undergraduate degree from a Virginia college.
Legislators had initially provided $50,000 for the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Fund, but Warner amended the budget to increase the funding to $1 million.
Billionaire philanthropist John Kluge last month pledged $1 million of his own money if the state would match it.
