Black Girl 44 announces 2021 recipients of scholarship created to reimagine politics
Exclusive: To expand their resources and network, theGrio is unveiling the 2021 list of Black Girl 44 scholars and their interests
The Black Girl 44 Scholarship is the brainchild of former Obama White House alum Deesha Dyer. Through contributions from more than 55 Black women who worked in the Obama White House, Dyer provides financial support to young Black women with internships in the public service sector.
Dyer established the scholarship as part of an initiative to expose Black women to policy, community engagement, community service, advocacy, global relations and politics with the ultimate goal that the experience entices scholars to pursue careers in these fields.
“When you hear the word politics, people get turned off,” Dyer explained. “So they’re like ‘politics is the Hill and the White House and the president.’ That’s how I thought for years, that I didn’t belong in politics and I don’t belong there. But that’s not necessarily all that it is. There’s a whole realm of politics and public service that we don’t talk about, that really is broad.”
Through the Black Girl 44 Scholarship, Deesha hopes to redefine the “face of what politics looks like” and reimagine “what it means.”
This summer, 10 girls from across the country will be the new faces of politics as they participate in the Black Girl 44 scholarship. Due to the pandemic, some scholars may be in a position to experience the public service field remotely. To expand their resources and network, theGrio is unveiling this list of the scholars and their interests. It takes a village, and during the pandemic, theGrio is committed to announcing programs like Black Girl 44 so the community can support our youth.
Name: Araoluwa “Ara” Omotowa
Age: 21
Hometown: Idaho Falls, ID
College/University: Harvard College
Major/Minor: Government & African American Studies
Career Interest(s): Pursue a JD/MPP to be able to effectively advocate for low-income communities of color and help secure economic equity for underserved groups in the US.
Dream Job: Work in D.C. advocating for public policies that uplift historically disenfranchised communities and eventually contribute to the process of crafting legislation, focused on closing socioeconomic disparities through employing principles of reparative justice and equity.
Summer Internship Title/Internship Company: D.C. Office of Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Most excited about your internship: Getting to know the people that work for Senator Warren (as well as hearing stories about their work in the Senate and/or the campaign), and getting a real mastery of housing and economic policies that will help real people in low-income communities of color.
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The post Black Girl 44 announces 2021 recipients of scholarship created to reimagine politics appeared first on TheGrio.
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