US Department of Agriculture Suspends scholarships for historically black universities

Washington (AP) – A federal scholarship aimed at promoting students in unattended and rural areas that attend historically Afro -American schools and universities has been suspended.

The United States Department of Agriculture suspended the 1890 Scholarship Program, which provided the beneficiaries for registration and complete rates to study agriculture, food or natural resources sciences in one of the 19 universities, known as land granting institutions 1890 .

It is not clear exactly when the program was suspended, but some members of the Congress first issued statements criticizing the suspension of the program on Thursday. A message was left requesting more details on Saturday to the Department of Agriculture.

“The 1890 scholarship program has been suspended pending an additional review,” the department said on a program website.

The suspension coincides with a freezing of funds that the government of President Donald Trump instituted. Government officials had said that pause was necessary to review if the expense was aligned with Trump’s executive orders on issues such as climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The freezing has been challenged in the courts, with a temporary suspension of the executive action already in force.

The affected universities include Alabama A&M, Florida A&M, North Carolina A&T and the University of Tuskegee in Alabama, among others.

The scholarship program dates from 1992, but 1890 in the title refers to the Second Morrill Law of 1890, which established historically Afro -American colleges and universities.

The requirements include being an American citizen, having an average of notes equal to or greater than 3.0 and having been admitted in one of the 19 1890 universities that grant scholarships. Students should also study Afinea agriculture or disciplines and “demonstrate leadership and community service,” according to the department’s website.

In October, the department reported that it had reserved 19.2 million dollars for the program. In fiscal year 2024, scholarships were granted to 94 students, according to the department.

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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.