On April 23rd, 2016 Beyoncé released Lemonade. It created waves and broke records. It was revolutionary. Beyoncé is a pioneer of a generational wave of feminism. She is an icon quoted on women’s march posters and writer of lyrics that incited a movement.
Now, one year after her feminist album, Beyoncé is celebrating the album’s birthday with the announcement of a scholarship. Known as “the Formation Scholars awards” (titled after Lemonade‘s lead single), it is available to women who are “unafraid to think outside the box and are bold, creative, conscious, and confident.”
There are four awards available to all women, from incoming college students to the graduate level. These women must be pursuing a degree in creative arts, music, literature, or African American studies. Only certain schools are eligible, however. You must be attending Berklee College of Music, Howard University, Parsons School of Design, or Spelman College. It is unclear how much the scholarship will cover (full tuition or a partial gift), but it is worth looking into all the same if you are enrolled in one of the four!
Two of the universities are historically black, a nod to Beyoncé’s heritage, while the other two are institutions of art. It seems that Beyoncé is looking to give back to the young women pursuing their creative dreams as she did!
Although Beyoncé has traditionally kept her ways of giving back on the down-low, it is noteworthy that this is not the first time she has donated money. She has given over $7 million to an apartment complex in Houston for displaced persons and $4 million to Phoenix House, a center for recovering drug addicts. She has also partnered with Goodwill in the past to help create more jobs and aid the unemployment crisis. Although this scholarship is the first charity work to be in her name, Beyoncé is no newcomer to celebrity philanthropy. Beyoncé is the gift that keeps on giving!