Bessie Morris Foundation, a local non-profit organization, announced the ten 2023 recipients of their academic scholarship program. Awardees are selected based on their scholastic achievement, community contribution, aspirations, as well as financial need.
In March 2020, when college campuses across the country closed and sent students home, many HBCUs continued to house hundreds of students who did not have homes to return to. Groups of students were stuck on campus without the funds to pay for transportation back to their home cities. This challenge was a byproduct of several students losing the jobs they used to help fund their education, along with loss of family income. Many students became both food and housing insecure without the critical resources that HBCUs often provide.