Applications are now being accepted for the second annual African American Descendants of Forsyth Scholarship program.
The scholarship targets descendants of Black people who were expelled from Forsyth County during the racial cleansing of 1912 when night riders and others forced African American residents to flee.
Organizers started the scholarship fund last year in an effort to address that wrong.
College scholarships of up to $10,000 per year will be awarded in June. To qualify, students must be descendants of African Americans expelled from the county in 1912, have a minimum 2.5 GPA, write an essay on the journey of their family after expulsion and have a financial need.
In 2022, nine students were awarded scholarships totaling $68,000. Of those students two have graduated.
Durwood Snead, a retired pastor and one of the founders of the scholarship, said the Atlanta History Center is interested in recording and preserving stories of some of the descendants.
The violence was touched off following the rape and death of an 18-year-old white woman named Mae Crowe,
In the decades that followed 1912, a Black person risked being shot or lynched on sight in Forsyth County even if they were with a white person, according to The New Georgia Encyclopedia, a program of Georgia Humanities and the University of Georgia Press.
Snead said the goal is to fund 10 new scholarships for the 2023 year. To do so, they need to raise an additional $80,000 by May 1.
To donate, go to www.ForsythScholarship.com/donate .
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