Westchester Black Scholars
To Be Young, Gifted and Black
For the last thirty years the Black Scholars Community Partnership Initiative has worked to offset the negative images so often associated with African-American youth by honoring them and their academic achievements.
We are a a coalition of 21 Westchester County based African-American organizations dedicated to promoting, supporting, and rewarding excellence among African-American students.
"There is a disheartening tendency in public discourse to focus on low achievers and drop-outs and to foster the misconception that all Black youth aspire to be athletes, performers, and drug dealers".
-Hugh Price, Past-President National Urban League
The Black Scholars Community Partnership was formed to dispel such myths.
Our Vision
We seek to develop an educational community in which hard work, success, and superior performance are universally recognized, respected, honored, and rewarded. African-American scholars who are achieving academically have a unique need for such support. The Community Partnership is committed to meeting this need.
Each year, through a cooperative effort with 28 high schools, principals and guidance counselors, the Partnership honors more than 300 high school seniors from throughout Westchester County who have maintained honor roll credentials during their high school years. These students are eligible for scholarships, book awards, and essay contest prizes to help prepare them for college.
The Partnership also recognizes teachers who have motivated and inspired our Black Scholars. At the end of the academic year, students submit essays nominating an instructor for the Teacher of the Year Award. The nominees have won the respect and admiration of their students, and have played a significant role in their academic and personal development. The winner is honored at the annual Black Scholars Recognition Reception, held at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York.