{"id":117718,"date":"2023-11-22T11:00:04","date_gmt":"2023-11-22T17:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/?p=117718"},"modified":"2023-11-29T10:50:50","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T16:50:50","slug":"university-honors-ole-miss-8-with-scholarships-mentoring-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/university-honors-ole-miss-8-with-scholarships-mentoring-program\/","title":{"rendered":"University Honors Ole Miss 8 With Scholarships, Mentoring Program"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Donald Cole (center), retired UM assistant provost, congratulates inaugural Ole Miss 8 scholarship recipients (from left) Deja Johnson, Fatimah Wansley, Jhalen Wells, Marcus Ball, Jae Darra Betts and Ebonee Williams at a luncheon. The university\u2019s new scholarship was developed to help Mississippi students earn their education. Photo by Kevin Bain\/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services<\/p><\/div>\n

OXFORD, Miss. \u2013 Eight Mississippi residents are the inaugural recipients of the University of Mississippi’<\/a>s Ole Miss 8 Scholarship<\/a>, an award commemorating the eight students expelled from campus after a peaceful protest in 1970.<\/p>\n

University police arrested 89 students in front of Fulton Chapel during a protest<\/a> on the evening of Feb. 25, 1970. The students were calling on the university to hire more Black faculty, form an African American studies program, ban the use of Confederate imagery from official university gatherings and establish more scholarships for Black students.<\/p>\n

Eight of those students \u2013 Donald Ray Cole, John Donald, Theron Evans Jr., Paul D. Jackson, Linnie Liggins, Kenneth Mayfield, Alva Ruth Peyton and Henrieese Roberts \u2013 were expelled.<\/p>\n

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Shawnboda Mead, vice chancellor for diversity and community engagement, speaks with students and community members at a luncheon for recipients of the university\u2019s new Ole Miss 8 scholarship. Photo by Kevin Bain\/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services<\/p><\/div>\n

The Ole Miss 8 Scholarship will cover tuition, a meal plan and housing for up to four years of undergraduate education. The inaugural class of recipients includes two freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors and two seniors. The university will select two incoming freshmen each year for the award.<\/p>\n

“All of us take for granted the sacrifices that had to be made and all the alumni who endured so that we could be here today,” said Shawnboda Mead, vice chancellor for diversity and community engagement. “That process has been collaborative, but acknowledgement of the part of the Ole Miss 8 is critical to understanding our history and where we’re going.”<\/p>\n

The inaugural recipients of the scholarships are:<\/p>\n