Five students recently received scholarships from three different scholarship programs offered through the NAACP Vicksburg Branch.

NAACP Vicksburg Branch members, in conjunction with Fayedra Brown-Dear and Adrienne Brown Mosley, hosted the second annual Bettye Smith-Brown Memorial Scholarship Reception on July 1 at the Vicksburg Business and  Event Center, 2321 Washington St.

The date marked what would have been Mrs. Bettye Smith-Brown’s 74th birthday. Ms. Micayla Tatum, NAACP Vicksburg Branch Education Chair, served as Mistress of Ceremonies for the program. Five students received scholarships from three different scholarship programs offered through the NAACP Vicksburg Branch.

Two Bettye Smith-Brown Memorial Scholarships were awarded in the amount of $10,725 each. Sha’Kyria Allen, 2023 Valedictorian of Vicksburg High School, will attend Southern University in Baton Rouge, and major in pre-med in hopes of becoming an OB-GYN. Donald Taylor Jr., a high school and junior college graduate of River City Early College, will attend Mississippi State University where he plans to major in electrical engineering.

Brown-Dear and Mosley said, “Our family is honored to once again see the extension of Bettye Smith Brown’s legacy in furtherance of the education of Vicksburg students.”

Mrs. Grace Hicks Brown, family and friends established the $500 Tierre LeRoi Brown Memorial Book Scholarship in loving memory of Hicks Brown’s son. The scholarship is awarded to a graduating Warren County Public High School graduating senior who will be attending Alcorn State University and participating in band or sports. Padre Gray Jr., a graduate of Warren Central High School, will major in business administration and play football at Alcorn. Da’Marian Heard, a graduate of Vicksburg High School, will major in business administration and participate in Alcorn State University’s Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite Band. 

The John H. Young Memorial Scholarship was awarded by Gertrude Anderson Young in honor of her late husband, John H. Young. John was a graduate of and was employed as a computer scientist at Jackson State University. The $300 scholarship was awarded to Malachi Wright who will major in media at Jackson State University.