Oregon minority group to offer scholarships to white students

OregonLive.com
By Janie Har, The Oregonian
February 07, 2010, 7:20PM

An Oregon group that represents minorities will start offering scholarships to white students -- and only white students -- in a bid to get people in the majority to champion issues important to minorities. The stipends will be small, perhaps no more than $2,000 over five years, for students to study race relations in college. The idea is to get students to translate what they learn in school into action in life. The Oregon League of Minority Voters has not figured out details for the awards, to be issued this spring, said Promise King, executive director of the statewide nonprofit organization. But recipients must live in Oregon. And they can't be of Asian, African, Latino or Native descent. "I want to reach white students because I believe the more the majority is involved in our conversations and in our work, the more we are able to get to solutions," King said. The idea of nudging white people to take up diversity and equity may be the way to go in a state and city where whites far outnumber people of color. But it also underlines a stark reality in Oregon: the stubborn lack of color in power.

Full Story: http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2010/02/oregon_minority_group_to_offer.html