Episcopal Diocese Of LI Creates Slavery Reparation Scholarship Program

GARDEN CITY, NY — The Episcopal Diocese of Long Island has created a new scholarship program designed for the descendants of enslaved Africans, part of a larger reparations effort by the church "to address the long sin of racism that has existed...in the diocese."

The scholarships are named in honor of the first Black woman to become an Anglican bishop, Barbara C. Harris.

Lawrence C. Provenzano, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, said in an announcement this week that the scholarships are designed to combat historical discrimination on Long Island "for college aged children of families disenfranchised by the racist policies of redlining in housing and the discriminatory hiring practices here within the geography of the diocese."

The Long Island Diocese includes Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties.

The scholarships were funded by the sale of a $500,000 unneeded church property, Bishop Provenzano explained.

The scholarship recipients will be announced at a Juneteenth celebration on June 19 at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City.

Scholarship applicants do not need to be members of the Episcopal Church, but must be residents within the diocese's borders.