Travis Scott Wins Award For HBCU Philanthropic Efforts
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Travis Scott is being rewarded for his philanthropic efforts.
After the Grammy-nominated rapper, whose real name is Jacques Webster, spontaneously pledged to pay a semester’s tuition to five students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) on Twitter last October, Travis has been was named as one of five recipients of the first RAD — Red Carpet Advocacy — impact award, which honors cultural figures who “inspire purpose” in their work, according to the Associated Press. (His fellow recipients were Charlize Theron, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Laverne Cox and Margot Robbie.)
For the 28-year-old entertainer’s efforts, which also include launching the Cactus Jack Foundation that additionally provided several HBCU students with scholarships, his foundation will receive contributions from Amazon to give further scholarships to HBCU students.
“I want to give out as many [scholarships] as we can every year,” Travis told the news outlet. “As the years come, and the more opportunities we have to be able to give out scholarships, we definitely want to do that. Hopefully, we can double and triple it every year.”
He added, “We’re also about to start creating a space for people to create products, cook up ideas and hear from different creative people. They could teach a class at the spot and do different things. And maybe even help support people’s projects.”
Apart from the additional scholarship funding, Travis is also “working on a project in Houston that will operate as a design education center for youth,” as noted by the AP.
Last October, Travis tweeted that he would cover tuition expenses for five students who attended HBCUs. “AND I KNOW SCHOOL JUST STARTED AND I WANNA TAKE CARE OF 5 KIDS TUITION FOR THEIR FIRST SEMESTER OF SCHOOL!!! WHY NOT!!!!!” he wrote at the time. “5 KIDS THAT ATTEND A HBCU. Send me ur schools ya heard!!!”
He then shared that both of his parents attended HBCUs, with his mother going to Louisiana’s Grambling State University and his father going to Prairie View A&M in Texas.
A month later, the Cactus Jack Foundation announced the Waymon Webster Scholarship program — named after Travis’ grandfather who also attended an HBCU — to award additional scholarships to HBCU students.
In February, the Cactus Jack Foundation also partnered with Travis’ hometown of Houston to distribute 50,000 free meals to residents during the Texas freeze.
