Hi, my name I Liv R. and I am a Special Education and English teacher at a high school in Brooklyn, NY. In 2019, I created a scholarship fund for Black students at my school. My school does not have a large Black student population and I felt that this was one of the ways that Black students could be shown that they are seen and valued. To apply for the scholarship, students had to submit either a written or video essay answering one of three questions where they spoke about themselves as activists. Through a GFM, selling snacks, and fundraising with BLM t-shirts during the BLM at Schools Week of Action, we were able to raise and award a Black girl around $900 to start her first semester of college with.

Last school year, however, we were unable to offer the award. Due to a few interacting factors, as well as COVID, we couldn't do the fundraising that was necessary to offer a significant amount to a student. I do not want that to happen again this year. Our Black children, especially in these times, need to know that they are seen and that they are being thought about. COVID and the uncertainty of this school year infringed on our ability to do any traditional fundraisers in school but I do not want this scholarship to go a second year without being offered.

This year, we would love to have enough money to offer this scholarship to two Black students. Please donate what you can and share if you cannot! Thank you for supporting Black youth activism!

(I've not included the name of my school for security purposes but please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Thank you!)