St. Louis Rapper Nelly Start's A "Mike Brown Scholarship Program" As A Way To Help Heal The Community

St. Louis Rapper Nelly Start's A "Mike Brown Scholarship Program"
 As A Way To Help Heal The Community 

BHR Hollywood Reports............St. Louis rapper Nelly has been putting his celebrity to great use behind the scenes in Ferguson.

Nelly stopped by Ebro In The Morning to discuss his scholarship programs.

 Nelly’s Black and White Ball has sent two students to college every year for the past 10 years and now they’re sending additional students to college from Ferguson, MO.

Nelly Uplifting The Community 

Nelly has been in constant contact with Mike Brown’s family and has started the Mike Brown
Scholarship program, which will send two additional students to college from Ferguson.

The students will be chosen by the family of Mike Brown. Nelly, T.I., Kevin Hart and NBA player Al Jefferson have all pledged $15,000 a year in college tuition to teens chosen by Michael Brown’s family.

Nelly 

“I try to do it through education because that’s the only way we’re going to get it. The only way we’re going to get this is to elevate.

 We have to get the kids to go out of these communities.

Graduate. Get the knowledge. Come back to the community, and then they can run it because they understand the people and understand the severity of the situation.”

“It’s not about the hoo-ha.  It’s about the silent assassins. It’s the ones that move behind the scenes that get things done.

 The guy that’s screaming on television, he’s the diversion. I’m not a diversion. I’m going to get it done.”

Mike Brown Parents 

Mike Brown’s parents are also involved in the selection process of each scholarship recipient and in addition to Nelly’s financial backing, other celebrities including T.I. and Kevin Hart have also donated.

Black celebrities (musicians in particular) have long been criticized for their lack of public support for the Black Lives Matter movement and other social issues affecting the Black community.

While Nelly is absolutely correct that the focus should be more on the cause than the person pushing the cause, it’s great to see him publicly speaking out to let people known what he’s doing to use his platform as a vehicle for good.