AKRON, Ohio -- As a donor of Kent State University, I was very disappointed to find out that KSU can no longer guarantee that my scholarship donation goes to a student of color. I met with a representative of KSU who discussed the U.S. Supreme Court affirmative action ruling and the determination from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost that race-based scholarships are unconstitutional. KSU would no longer be able to guarantee that my gift would go to a student of color; however, they could guarantee that my scholarship be gifted to a first-generation college student, a second criteria I requested.
I absolutely love first-generation students. I was a first-generation high school graduate and college graduate. I even quit my job working at KSU to build a business called First Generation Revolutionaries for the purpose of supporting first-generation students by offering professional development training, empowerment keynotes, and confidence coaching. I authored, “Be the GOAT: a Career Readiness Manual for First Generation Students and Young Professionals,” to help students who are a reflection of the naive, inexperienced person I once was. Remembering the hard-knock lessons I learned, I wanted to do my best to keep other first-generation students from repeating the same mistakes. Yes, I love first-generation students, but more importantly … I love students of color.
I was the first African American professor of the KSU School of Fashion. After being denied a teaching position that I was more than qualified for on three separate occasions, I had to file an affirmative active complaint against the school to finally be hired. At the time, I was working for KSU on a part-time basis while obtaining my Ph.D. Each time I was denied, I saw the persons they chose instead of me, white women who had less education than I did. Something had to be done, so I filed the complaint, and to my colleagues’ dismay, I was given a position in the school. I am not the first and only and will not be the last African American woman to deal with this type of injustice. Therefore, yes, being a person of color more than outweighs my status as a former first-generation student.
According to a 2023 Forbes Advisor article, the largest number of first-generation students are white -- 46% to be exact. Therefore, the chances of my scholarship being gifted to a white student is highly likely. I love all my students; however, we still live in a society where race is a factor in the opportunities one will have access to. Thus, it’s my wish that my scholarship money go to a student of color. While the universities are trying to wait out the Supreme Court ruling by “temporarily pausing” all race-based scholarships, my funds have also been paused.
The backlash regarding electing Barack Obama as president and the resentment over not re-electing Donald Trump as president continue to trickle down in society. The retaliation shows up in the efforts in proposed Ohio Senate Bill 83 to target funding towards diversity initiatives. It shows up in Ohio still not having passed Senate Bill 204, the CROWN (Creating a Respectable and Open World for Natural Hair) Act, giving African American people the agency to show up at work and other institutions as their authentic selves. It shows up in efforts to ban the teaching of critical race theory and now preventing affirmative action in university/college admission.
I will still financially support students of color, but unfortunately will not be able to partner with my alma mater and former employer to do so. KSU: I and many other donors of color are wanting to know what can be done to rectify this? I hope that the backlash against this backlash is so great that conservatives will be doing backflips to correct their wrongs!
Tameka Ellington, Ph.D., is a professional speaker, author, and former professor and administrator at Kent State University. Her articles and books focus on Black hair and culture, as well as personal and professional development.
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