About Us
Dedicated Institutions of Learning
Of the 17,000 colleges and universities in the United States, only 106 are HBCU's (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). Three (3) percent of the 14,000,000+ college students in the US attend HBCU's. But, according to the latest statistics for Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 38% of all STEM majors graduated from HBCU's. In addition, Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge ranks number 1 in Louisiana and 8th nationally graduating Black engineers and 9th Nationally in Family/Consumer/Human Resource Science graduates.
Commitment to the Institutions
The James H Gray Foundation Scholarship
With no regard for race, creed, color or ethnic origin, graduating high school students who plan to attend and enroll at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the fall immediately following their graduation may apply. The scholarship is $1000, paid in installments of $500 per semester for the recipient’s first two semesters of college. If the recipient attends Southern University, the scholarship value is increased to $2000.
About the Man
James H. Gray was a cotton farmer who owned land originally part of the Blankson Plantation in Caldwell parish between what is now Bosco and Corey Louisiana. He would spend half the farm’s yearly profit to send his (step) daughter, Willie Lois Mae Zimmerman (Patterson) to college at Southern University, about $150 per year. He wanted her to graduate from college with no debt; even if it meant, he had to live on less than $200/year and sell every animal on the farm, for her to do so. His daughter graduated in May 1949, debt free. He did not attend her graduation because he could not afford to make the trip. He did attend his first grandchild’s graduation from Southern in August 1974.