Photo by: Isaiah Rustad
By Scott Hagan, Ph.D., President, North Central University
In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death a controversial movement has begun. On June 4th, North Central University hosted the private family memorial service for George Floyd. When a representative from the Floyd family asked if we were interested in holding the memorial service at our downtown Minneapolis campus, my immediate response was to say, “Yes, how can we help?”. Minneapolis was burning and escalating toward unimaginable violence. As president of the university, I felt we could help the Floyd family by quickly assembling a “table of healing” in the form of a memorial service.
During the memorial service I announced the creation of a George Floyd Memorial Scholarship at North Central University as an action step of aspiration and educational promise—one that could immediately benefit a new generation of young black American students.
I then challenged other university presidents across the country to join me by establishing their own George Floyd Scholarship.
This would allow people to support the movement by donating to a college of their choice. The reaction was immediate and substantial. Several colleges and universities, including the University of Minnesota, the University of Utah and Ohio University, have already responded positively.
The backlash was also immediate. Some saw the scholarship appeal as academic blasphemy. Scholarships should be named after prodigies, not prodigals. In their eyes, George Floyd was a flawed emblem. “Why are you immortalizing a felon?” “Have you seen his rap sheet.” “Stop making George Floyd a martyr and a hero.” I argue that those dictums fail to consider the true nature of education, and that the attitudes they exemplify don’t account for the delicate but fierce emotional mechanisms of teenage imagination. If you haven’t looked out the window lately, know that millions of people, mostly young, were marching because their sentiments about America were both confirmed and disrupted by the human disparity they witnessed near the corner of 38th and Chicago Ave on May 25. In general, the white populace I grew up with was satisfied with definitions of racism; this generation wants it solved. Some quickly critiqued the scholarship announcement as a gimmick, or virtue-signaling, instead of seeing it as a generational opportunity to transcend the myopia and indifference of a society that often segments white and black differently.
Certain scholarship programs are designed to honor achievements. Others, like the George Floyd Scholarship, are designed to recognize significance. Nothing in my lifetime has caused us to reconsider our justice gaps like the passing of George Floyd. Historical and current issues of racial disparity and inequity at North Central, my own institution, has surfaced over the last two weeks requiring immediate care and attention. George Floyd has sparked a spectacular new American dialogue—one that is both personal and broadly educational. Sometimes the event itself becomes a key ‘talking point’ for a generation to come.
People not familiar with higher education see a scholarship as a way of honoring a person’s achievement in hopes that others will emulate their life. That is why a George Floyd scholarship is confusing to them. Quite simply, they have an incomplete way of looking at the educational process and how human tragedy is redeemed through educational generosity.
When it comes to inspiring future scholars and leaders, stories of achievement and stories of significance carry equal weight. Some figures are thrust forward as tragic educational catalysts. Such is the case with George Floyd. I hope this scholarship will capture and extend the educational portal where false narratives of race and power can be examined and held accountable. Equally important, the story of George Floyd has the potential to inspire new levels of generosity and philanthropy which in turn will create broader access for young black Americans.
All of us are flawed emblems with deficiencies and secrets known only to God, and of course, social media. It’s misguided to interpret the George Floyd scholarship as a way of canonizing crime. Focusing on the negative more than the positive objectifies George Floyd as something other than the man—the human being—that he was.
As an educational leader, I was trying to turn national anger into redemption and pedagogy. I was also looking for a way his three children could redeem their dad’s life.
Our country, in the form of rogue police officers failed their father. I envisioned a college graduate approaching the Floyd children years from now and telling them how their dad changed the course of their life because they went to college on a George Floyd scholarship. I could see the smiles and faith of the Floyd kids soaring when they saw that out of ashes good has come.
George Floyd is not being immortalized; he is simply being remembered and interpreted. Scholarships keep the interpretation and learning process alive. George Floyd is a new generational symbol for long overdue social and spiritual change in America. Simply put, his story is educationally and systemically critical.
While lying powerless beneath officer Chauvin’s knee, George Floyd remained formidable in mind and spirit until the murder was complete. During his final eight minutes and forty-six seconds of life, George Floyd repeatedly used the word ‘please’ and referred to the police officer as ‘sir.’ In other words, George Floyd died acting politely. That’s remarkable work for such a flawed emblem. When I think more about it, I’ve rarely met someone that accomplished.
Establishing the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship is a potent and necessary step for American higher education. Somewhere a second grade child is once again telling their teacher they want to be a Supreme Court Justice when they grow up. This scholarship might be the miracle that helps them end up as that Justice, instead of as chalk art at the corner of 38th and Chicago.
This article was originally published by Scott Hagan, Ph.D., on LinkedIn on June 15, 2020.
Scott Hagan, Ph.D. serves as President of North Central University in Minneapolis, MN. Author of “The Language of Influence and Personal Power” (Kensington Books)
