Justice League of Greater Lansing Michigan awards first scholarships

Justice League of Greater Lansing Michigan has awarded $50,000 comprising 10 $5,000 Reparations Scholarships to recent college-bound, high school graduates.

This is the first distribution of the Justice League’s Reparations Fund established to address the racial wealth gap in Greater Lansing. Now over $400,000, the fund was built by reparations payments from churches and individuals that have taken a proactive approach to social justice.

The non-profit organization, founded in 2021, awarded the scholarships at an event with the recipients’ families and Justice League supporters at Lansing Church of God in Christ, Saturday, Aug. 3.

"This reparations project requires an intergenerational, cross-racial and cross-denominational approach,” said Prince Solace, president, Justice League of Greater Lansing Michigan. “Support from the faith and secular community are vital. The wisdom shared by the nine-member African American Advisory Council and the integrity of our executive leadership team keeps us focused. It's through education and community engagement that this project takes root. We are thankful to all of our dedicated volunteers."

Recipients, their hometown and high school, and where they will study this fall are:

• Zachary Barker, East Lansing, Okemos High School, Michigan State University
• Olivia Burns, East Lansing, East Lansing High School, Michigan State University Honors College
• Ahja Crawford, Lansing, Holt Senior High School, Lansing Community College
• Marvin Deh, Lansing, Eaton Rapids High School, Michigan State University
• Lydia-Anne Ding-Mejok, Lansing, East Lansing High School, Central Michigan University
• J'Kyla Hobbs, Lansing, Haslett High School, University of Michigan
• Braelyn Jackson-Pointer, Lansing, Grand Ledge High School, Howard University
• Nala Noel, East Lansing, East Lansing High School, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• Hailey Perkins, Okemos, Okemos High School, Howard University
• Joseph Pizzo, Lansing, J.W. Sexton High School, Siena Heights University

Willye Bryan, founder and vice president of the Justice League of Greater Lansing Michigan, noted that the applicants identified discrimination as strongly affecting African Americans’ ability to accumulate wealth.

She said, “A common thread in their essays is that discrimination today has resulted from years of social injustices, and it continues to limit African American families’ access to basic wealth builders — education, higher paying jobs and home ownership. This doesn't allow for generational wealth building, nor does it allow for closing the Racial Wealth Gap."

Here are excerpts from three winning essays:

“… segregation was only two generations ago. Most of our grandparents can describe what it was like to be African American back then and the struggles they had to face. They couldn't build generation wealth when the world was actively pulling the rug from underneath them. There's only been two generations to be given a ‘fair’ chance and enough time to build upon .... On paper the odds are ‘fair’ but in reality we still have to face racism, police brutality, injustice, systematic oppression, lack of influence, stereotypes, and societal pressure.” — Marvin Deh

“As a Black transracial adoptee, I was exposed to the generational differences that changed the amount of income in my white parents' household and my biological family's household … both my adoptive parents went to college paid for by their parents and received bachelor's degrees. Neither of my biological parents nor siblings have had the opportunity to attend college, and most were barely able to finish high school because they had other responsibilities like working or providing childcare for my younger siblings. Today my adoptive family owns their homes and no one in my biological family owns their homes.” — Olivia Burns

“By understanding the historical context of generational wealth disparities and advocating for policies that promote equity and inclusion, we can begin to address these systemic barriers. Investing in affordable housing, improving access to quality education and healthcare, and reforming the criminal justice system are critical steps toward building a more equitable society.” — J’Kyla Hobbs

The essays are posted on the Justice League’s website: www.JusticeLeagueGLM.org.

Recipients were selected based on their 500-word essay that examined the racial wealth gap or generational wealth in America and how it has affected their families. Academic grades counted for 25% of total score. The finalists were interviewed.

Eligible applicants were high school seniors, descendants of enslaved African Americans and residents of Ingham, Eaton or Clinton counties. The Justice League defines a descendant of enslaved Africans as an individual who is the third generation to have been born in the U.S. — the applicant, a parent and a grandparent.

Solace noted that most Black adults in the U.S. are descendants of enslaved African Americans — well over 80% per U.S. Census Bureau 2020 — and learn of their history through family stories, in part because it is nearly impossible to trace African American ancestry. Enslaved African Americans were not recorded by name prior to 1870. Slave schedules were used in 1850 and 1860 as population counts separate from federal censuses. Enslaved persons were recorded as property on these schedules by numbers, not names.

“The ‘three generation’ definition helps students quickly determine eligibility,” Solace said. “Their families have definitely felt the detriments of systemic and structural racism that are the aftermath of the sin of slavery. This has prevented Black families from building generational wealth and hits to the core of our mission.”

About Justice League of Greater Lansing Michigan

The 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization was founded in 2021 to repair the breach in Greater Lansing caused by the nation’s historical damage of slavery. Reparations are in the spirit of repentance for the sin of slavery, its aftermath of gross human rights violations — including genocide, violence, land theft, incarceration and police violence — and complicity in the misbelief of white supremacy.

The solution is a faith-based model of reparations. The Justice League builds relationships and facilitates reparations between houses of worship, collaborative partners and individuals to close the racial wealth gap that exists between Black and white residents. This specifically means increasing wealth equity for descendants of enslaved African Americans. Financial reparations will support home ownership, education and entrepreneurship. More information is at www.JusticeLeagueGLM.org.