Amazing Grace Restorative Scholarship for Social Justice

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A M A Z I N G G R A C E RESTORATIVE SCHOLARSHIP FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

High-quality education is a powerful vehicle that creates the opportunity for people of color to empower themselves, fight social injustice, and begin the long journey toward equity.

Over the past centuries, racism against people of color has been widely used to justify the objectification, silencing, and exploitation of people of color by a powerful and privileged minority. This has been especially true in the global south.

Brazil, for instance, was the largest importer of slaves and the last nation to abolish slavery in the world. Today, Brazilian rural workers include a large proportion of descendants of slaves, indigenous people whose land was stolen, and multi-racial individuals living in poverty.

The consequences of the violence endured by people of color throughout the world are evident and ever-present today.

These consequences take the form of social, emotional, health, and economic inequities that continue to marginalize people of color through lack of access to education, health, meaningful employment, and the ability to accumulate wealth. The marginalization of people of color continues to secure privilege and access to people born into families that have historically held power and that typically trace their lineage to White and European families.

While resources have been deployed to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion, especially in higher education settings, such opportunities remain unattainable for international students of color.

At the same time, a strong surge of authoritarian government throughout the world is aggravating race relations and wiping out the gains that were made in social safety networks designed to increase people of color’s access to highquality higher education.

The scholarship calls for healing, growth, and justice by providing financial restitution to historically marginalized persons to grant equitable access to the tools and education necessary to recognize oppressive systems, root out racism, and create a more socially just society.

The purpose of the Amazing Grace Restorative Scholarship for Social Justice is to create a mechanism through which those who have willingly or unwillingly benefited from this oppressive system of racial exploitation to partially return what has been systematically stolen from marginalized people.

Given the challenges that Brazilians of color are currently facing, the inaugural scholarship will focus on

funding

Portuguese-speaking

international

students pursuing a traditional Master of Social Work degree, with a preference being given to descendants of rural workers. In the future, it is the intention of the donor to broaden the scope of this scholarship and provide support for all Latin American international students coming from similar backgrounds of historical oppression.

socialwork.illinois.edu/giving If you are interested in learning more about how you can support this scholarship, please contact Nathan Goebel at 217-244-4709 or ntgoebel@illinois.edu.