June 16 brought news, in the form of a press release from the Republican National Committee, of the "J. C. Watts Civic Achievement Scholarship Program." That would be Oklahoma's Republican congressman J. C. Watts, who is black. The scholarship, an annual affair, will pay for "our outstanding Republican campaign management and finance schools" and will be awarded to "nine civically-inspired HBCU students." Those would be students at "historically black colleges and universities."
Because these scholarships are ear-marked merely for students attending particular schools, and not explicitly for students of a particular skin color, THE SCRAPBOOK supposes that they technically do not run afoul of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If the scholarships were explicitly designated for "black students," on the other hand, they would be fabulously, undeniably illegal. Which is why THE SCRAPBOOK is grimly amused to note the headline on the RNC's press release: "RNC Announces Scholarships for Black Students."
We note that the party platform still quaintly proclaims: "Because we believe rights inhere in individuals, not in groups, we will attain our nation's goal of equal rights without quotas or other forms of preferential treatment. We scorn Bill Clinton's notion that any person should be denied a job, promotion, contract or a chance at higher education because of their race or gender." Then again, "Republican campaign management and finance schools" probably don't qualify as higher education.