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2025 Scholarship Application Provisions
Applicant Qualifications: Must be:
A high-school graduate, GED recipient, college student. If the applicant is not currently enrolled, they should plan to submit proof that they plan to attend college or a post-secondary program in 2025.
A U.S. resident who is age 18 or above. If under the age of 18, a parent or guardian must apply and sign. Note: Applicants for Victor Quann Johnson Memorial Scholarship should be under age 21.
Application Requirements: Applicants should:
Submit these documents by April 1:
A completed scholarship application. Click here for the application.
Verification of needy status with ONE of the following:
A copy of the notice of Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) eligibility. Visit https://fafsa.ed.gov/ for information about how to apply for FAFSA (FAFSA notice required for college students) or
A copy of a notice verifying eligibility for reduced-rate meals, food stamps or a summer feeding program, or
Documentation showing where family income falls within the federal poverty guidelines. Visit https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines for additional information about poverty guidelines.
An essay titled “My (nationality) Heritage, My American Dream.” For example, if the applicant was born in or has family roots in Jamaica, the essay should be titled “My Jamaican Heritage, My American Dream,”
Note: For the Victor Quann Johnson Memorial Scholarship, applicants should submit a 200-300-word essay describing a time in their life when they demonstrated resilience or confidence. They are to share what happened, the resilient qualities shown, what they learned, and how this experience will help them move forward in life.
OR submit a one-page minimum book review of ONE of the following books about life in Holmes County, MS.:
Growing up Black in Rural Mississippi: Memories of a Family, Heritage of a Place, by Chalmers Archer, New York: Walker and Company, 1992. Available at https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/growing-up-black-in-rural-mississippi-memories-of-a-family-heritage-of-a-place_chalmers-archer/1313723/#edition=1828152&idiq=34544683.
A Place Called Home: As Told by the Lastborn by Andora Wade Cambell, www.urbanwarecafe.com, 2023. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Place-Called-Home-Told-Lastborn/dp/B0C5P7Z6W4.
Mis-educating Blacks in A Southern Rural Community: The Case of Holmes County, Mississippi by Sylvia Reedy Gist, South Holland, Il: Accurate Publishing Company, 2023. Available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/098378518X?ref_=pe_93986420_774957520.
Integration Now, Alexander v. Holmes and the End of Jim Crow Education by William P. Hustwit, Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2019. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Integration-Now-Alexander-Holmes.../dp/1469648555.
Broken Rungs Yet I Climbed by Mary G. Patton, Ph.D., Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019. Available at https://www.westbowpress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/745500-broken-rungs-yet-i-climbed andhttps://www.amazon.com/Broken-Rungs-yet-I-Climbed/dp/197366.
Borrowed Land, Stolen Labor, and the Holy Spirit: The Struggle for Power and Equality in Holmes County, Mississippi, by Diane Feldman, University of Mississippi Press, 1925. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Borrowed-Land-Stolen-Labor-Spirit/dp/1496857461 or the University Press of Mississippi at https://www.upress.state.ms.us/content/search?search_in%5B%5D=all&SearchText=feldman.
Important Note: Essays and photos submitted to MHF as a part of the application are subject to publication. Submission of these documents confirms approval to publish them.
Submit the following by May 1:
Proof of admission to or proof of current attendance at an accredited college, university, or career preparation program anywhere in the U.S.
All documents should be emailed to S. Gist at srgf2013@gmail.com. All emails should be titled "MHF Scholarship Application" and received by the above deadlines.
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