Just Me Reblogs

This isn’t my normal content, but I was thinking recently about how many academic opportunities I missed out on simply because my parents didn’t know the Western academic institution like my white peers did. And by the time I heard about most of these scholarships and programs, I was too old to apply, or they didn’t make sense for my career path anymore.

I have a lot of young followers. I imagine many of you find yourselves in a similar position, where your non-South Asian peers are applying for scholarships that no one ever told you about. I also imagine many of you are looking for ways to seek education on your own terms, and figuring out the finances poses a hurdle. So I wanted to do a rundown of some prestigious and/or South Asian-centric scholarship programs that you may find yourself eligible for and interested in, at a time when you’re young enough to take advantage of these opportunities–or, at the least, young enough to keep them in mind as you go through school.

This is not a list of every scholarship out there. The scholarships listed here are specifically prestigious, nationally or globally recognized scholarship programs that don’t require independent nomination or enrollment in a specific field of study. As a result, these are also highly selective programs, with some granting fewer than 50 awards each year. But that shouldn’t discourage you from applying! God knows your white peers are applying without caring if they meet the requirements.

National Merit Scholarship

Eligibility requirements: Junior in high school; must take PSAT/NMSQT test in 11th grade; must achieve one of the highest scores in the state the test was taken

Country of origin: US students, or US citizens studying abroad

What the program covers: Minimum $2,500 for undergraduate studies; maximum full tuition for undergraduate studies at certain schools

Deadline to apply: Take PSAT/NMSQT by January of junior year

Link

Coca-Cola Scholars Program

Eligibility requirements: High school senior; minimum 3.0 unweighted GPA; must demonstrate leadership capacity and commitment to making an impact at their school/community

Country of origin: US citizens or nationals

What the program covers: $20,000 for undergraduate studies

Deadline to apply: October 31

Link

The Gates Scholarship

Eligibility requirements: High school senior; person of color; Pell-eligible; minimum 3.0 unweighted GPA

Country of origin: US

What the program covers: Full cost of attendance not covered by other sources of financial aid for undergraduate studies; funding may continue for postgraduate studies in certain fields

Deadline to apply: September (phase 1); January (phase 2)

Link

NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program

Eligibility requirements: Must demonstrate exceptional financial need; minimum 3.3 unweighted GPA; must be enrolled or accepted for enrollment at a 4-year undergraduate institution; must commit to a paid Summer Laboratory Experience and 1 year of full-time employment at NIH post-graduation per year of funding received

Country of origin: US

What the program covers: Up to $20,000 per year for undergraduate studies

Deadline to apply: Mid-March

Link

(Note: Some schools may require you to go through an internal application process before endorsing your application for one of the following scholarships. Check in with your university to see if there’s anything you need to do before applying to one of these programs.)

Rhodes Scholarship

Eligibility requirements: Aged 18-24 years; must demonstrate outstanding intellect, character, leadership, and commitment to service

Country of origin: Global

What the program covers: Generally 2 years’ tuition for any postgraduate course offered at the University of Oxford, plus an annual stipend for living expenses

Deadline to apply: Early October

Link

Fulbright Scholarship

Eligibility requirements: A bachelor’s degree; interest in facilitating cultural exchange

Country of origin: US (with some options for non-US applicants)

What the program covers: All expenses for 1 year to study, teach English, or pursue a research/professional project in a foreign country

Deadline: Mid-September

Link

Gates Cambridge Fellowship

Eligibility requirements: Must demonstrate outstanding intellectual ability and leadership potential

Country of origin: Global (minus UK)

What the program covers: Full cost of tuition, plus living stipend, plus discretionary funds, for most full-time graduate programs at the University of Cambridge

Deadline to apply: Mid-October (for US citizens in the US); December or January (for all else)

Link

Marshall Scholarship

Eligibility requirements: Senior in college or recent college graduate; minimum 3.70 unweighted GPA; endorsement from President, Provost, or Academic Dean of undergraduate institution

Country of origin: Global (minus UK); undergrad degree must be obtained in US

What the program covers: Full cost of tuition for up to 2 years of postgraduate study at any university in the UK, plus monthly living stipend and allowances

Deadline to apply: Late September

Link

Chevening Scholarships

Eligibility requirements: An unconditional offer from an eligible master’s course at any UK university; at least 2 years of work experience

Country of origin: Global (minus UK)

What the program covers: Full funding (tuition, room, and board) for any 1-year master’s program in the UK

Deadline to apply: Early November

Link

Knight-Henessy Scholarship

Eligibility requirements: First bachelor’s degree must have been obtained no earlier than 7 years prior to the year of enrollment

Country of origin: Global

What the program covers: Full tuition, plus a living stipend, for up to 3 years of graduate study at Stanford University

Deadline to apply: Early October

Link

Upakar Scholarship

Eligibility requirements: At least one parent born in India; family adjusted gross income <$90,000; minimum 3.6 unweighted high school GPA

Country of origin: US

What the program covers: Up to $2,000 per year for undergraduate studies

Deadline to apply: Late April

Link

APIA Scholarship Program

Eligibility requirements: Minimum 2.7 unweighted high school GPA; preference given to students coming from low socioeconomic backgrounds

Country of origin: US

What the program covers: Minimum one-time $2,500 award for undergraduate studies; maximum $20,000 for undergraduate studies

Deadline to apply: Late January

Link

SEED Scholarship

Eligibility requirements: At least one parent of Indian ancestry; minimum 3.0 unweighted high school GPA

Country of origin: US

What the program covers: $10,000 for undergraduate studies (tuition only)

Deadline to apply: March 1

Text reads: 

HEADS UP! @GullahGeechee Burial Ground Update: The destructioneer that desecrated a @GullahGeechee burial area moved the mobile home further into the land last night. Help support the Donate to the legal fund CashApp $GullahGeecheeNation or GoFundMe

[Source] Link to gofundme

Please share! The Gullah Geechee have been  struggling to keep their land safe, and have had so many attacks directed at them from people trying to take away their land. 

If they’re black, than they allow non-blacks into the practice. And on top of that, they’re signed with white publishing companies. 

In general, the current material we have available to us is not reflective of the new emerging hoodoo community. 

That said, I want to collab with rootworkers/black witches/hoodoo’s to come together to compile our own hoodoo book that can be free and accessible to anyone wanting to get into hoodoo. It’ll be made by black practitioners for black practitioners. 

I’m at the beginning stages of the idea now, and am wanting to team up with folks just so we can get this started.

I attempted something like this earlier in my blog’s life, but ultimately failed because I had no time or help. 

But if i’m successful with this, i’d like to revamp my other book which was a collab of witches of color form all ethnicities. 

I found out why after I’d been working there, oh, about a month. My period started suddenly, as it sometimes does, and I asked to excuse myself to go to the ladies’ room. He wanted to know why. I told him.

He started ranting about how lazy women were. How we wasted time. How we were so careless and unhygenic, and that there was no call for that. He finished by telling me that I certainly was NOT going to the ladies’ room and that I was just going to sit there and work. He finished this off with a decisive nod, as if I’d just been told and there could be no possible argument.

“If I don’t go,” I said in an overly patient tone, “the blood is going to soak through my pants, stain my new skirt that I just bought, and possibly get on this chair I’m sitting in. I need something to soak up the blood. That’s why I need to go to the bathroom.”

His face turned oatmeal-gray; an expression of pure horror spread across his face. He leaned forward and whispered, “Wait, you mean that if you don’t go, you’ll just keep on bleeding? I thought that women could turn it off any time that they wanted!”

I thought,  You have got to be kidding.

Several horrified whispers later, I learned that he wasn’t. He actually thought a) that women could shut down the menstrual cycle at will, b) that we essentially picked a week per month to spend more time in the bathroom, i.e. to goof off, and c) that napkins and tampons were sex toys paid for by Health and Human Services. I didn’t know the term then, but he believed that tampons were dildos. Which was why he and a good number of his friends considered them luxuries.

 “Wherever there are Africans, or people of African descent, there is magic.”- Faith Mitchell

 My calling to rootwork is ancestral. However, I unfortunately I have yet to encounter elders in my life to apprentice under on this plane of existence.  Coming up, I didn’t know other people who identified themselves as rootworkers/hoodoos/conjurers etc. Being a scholar (among other identities), my entry point into hoodoo began with books, archives, and scholarly journals. As a result, I was able to garner a wealth of information as to what hoodoo is and isn’t, which recipes (old school hoodoos don’t cast ‘spells’) to use for what, to be able to engage in an intangible mentorship with the elders that came before me. All of these things have informed how I move through the world and grow stronger in my practice.

    As a result of a White spiritual hijacking of African Traditional Religions and Africana Magico-Spiritual practices (i.e. hoodoo), the vast majority of the information about hoodoo on and offline has been authored by white people, so much so that they have become the face of hoodoo (similar to white women and yoga). 

    For those of us who are looking to grow and learn from other Black practitioners, here is a working list of books. This list consists solely of non-fiction texts, however, there is a lot to learn from novels as well, perhaps I’ll create a part two some other time. 

Please hit me up if I am missing anything or if you have a personal connection with these texts, I’d love to be in conversation. 

Many of these mentioned texts can be found online for Free.99. 

Also, sorry this is a long ass post. 

My Personal Favorites:

   1. Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms & Practical Rituals - Luisah Teish

 2.  Of Mules & Men- Zora Neale Hurston

3. Working the Roots: Over 400 Years of Traditional African American Healing

4. Mojo Workin: The Old African American Hoodoo System- Katrina Hazzard-Donald

5. Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition- Yvonne P. Chireau

6. Secret Doctors: Ethnomedicine of African Americans by Wonda L. Fontenot ( I think this one might be out of print but much of it can be found online via Google Books) 

Honorable Mention: Tell My Horse- Zora Neale Hurston

 Ok, so this is one of my absolute favorite texts though it doesnt discuss American hoodoo. It focuses on Haitian Voodoo and Jamaican Obeah. However, there is a lot that can be learned from this text and how African magico-spiritual practices are indeed “scientific” as opposed to mere superstition. 

Additional texts that I haven’t gotten to reading yet or are simply not in my favorites (no shade, no tea):

7. Hoodoo Medicine: Gullah Herbal Remedies - Faith Mitchell

8. 365 Days of Hoodoo: Daily Rootwork, Mojo and Conjuration- Stephanie Rose Bird

9. Sticks, Stones, Roots & Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo and Conjuring with Herbs- Stephanie Rose Bird

10. A Healing Grove: African Tree Remedies and Rituals for Body and Spirit - Stephanie Rose Bird

11. African American Folk Healing- Stephanie Mitchem

12. Faith, Health, and Healing in African American Life (Religion, Health, and Healing) - Stephanie Mitchem ED. 

13.  God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man: A Saltwater Geechee Talks About Life on Sapelo Island, Georgia - Cornelia Walker Bailey

14. Rootwork: Using the Folk Magick of Black America for Love, Money and Success- Tayannah Lee McQuillar

15. Voodoo & Hoodoo: The Craft as Revealed by Traditional Practitioners- Jim Haskins

b for blue sargent » chosen by @audreyrose​

The stones in my throat are restless. Shifting like tectonic plates. My throat swells.

Wallowing in silence- The taste of communion Is acid between the grinding.  

Maybe if I whisper? My lethargic tongue can Eventually, cast out the grit I need to create an avalanche?

“You are the one. The one with the gravity In her eyes. The only beauty powerful enough To pull me out of the black hole I created. The one brave enough to risk it.”

I whisper the same four lines. Over and over again. Hoping it’s enough to shed the Rigor of tiny boulders I’ve been Keeping at the precipice of freedom.

“Keep writing.” She says.