Beyoncé’s Historic Coachella Performance Culminates In A New Scholarship Program
April 18, 2018Everything Beyoncé does seems to have some deeper meaning, and apparently her monumental Coachella set was no exception. Two days after making history as the festival’s first black female headliner with her HBCU-homaging performance, Bey has announced that she’ll be donating a total of $100,000 to four historically black colleges and universities.
The four schools chosen for the brand new BeyGOOD Homecoming Scholars Program are Xavier, Tuskegee, Wilberforce, and Bethune-Cookman universities. A $25,000 scholarship will be awarded to one student from each university for the upcoming 2018-2019 academic year. Applicants will be selected from various majors and are required to maintain a 3.5 GPA or above. Each university will select its own finalists, with the winners set to be announced this summer.
According to a press release, Saturday’s Coachella performance was the “impetus” to mark Beyoncé's new scholarship program. “The show, with its homage to excellence in education, was a celebration of the homecoming weekend experience, the highest display of college pride,” a statement on Beyoncé’s website reads.
Indeed, Bey’s collegiate-themed performance featured a marching band, majorette dancers, a choir, and HBeyCU merchandise (Bey even wore a yellow sweatshirt with the Greek symbols for “Beta Delta Kappa” on it). Now we know none of that was a coincidence.
This is the second year Beyoncé created a scholarship program. Last year, in celebration of the one-year anniversary of Lemonade, she established the Formation Scholars Awards Program to encourage and support young women. Who knows what next year will bring?!