The Akron Press Club is collaborating with the Sojourner Truth Project to offer a new $5,000 scholarship to aspiring Akron Public Schools journalism, public relations, marketing and communications students: The Sojourner Truth Legacy Scholarship.
The deadline to apply is Sunday, March 3, 2024. The winning recipient will be honored at the John S. Knight Scholarship Luncheon on April 26, 2024.
The Press Club in conjunction with the John S. Knight Memorial Scholarship Fund annually awards scholarships of $5,000 each to journalism and public relations college students. Funding for these scholarships comes from Press Club luncheons and generous individuals from our community.
The Press Club sincerely thanks Summit County for its generous donation to our scholarship fund. One of our scholarships is named in honor of the late County Executive Russ Pry. Russ was a supporter of the Press Club through his annual State of the County speech. Current Executive Ilene Shapiro continues that tradition with her State of the County address this fall at the John S. Knight Center.
The Press Club also thanks Dr. Aileen Thong and Elizabeth Bartz for their generous donations to support scholarships.
apply for the Knight and Press Club Scholarships
About The Sojourner Truth Project-Akron
In 2018 Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro brought together community representatives to identify a project to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote. The Sojourner Truth Project-Akron was born in 2020 to fundraise for a statue of Sojourner Truth, the renowned women’s rights activist and abolitionist, who made her historic speech known as “Ain’t I a Woman?” in Akron, Ohio, on May 29, 1851. When the United Way of Summit & Medina donated its parking lot, a site adjacent to the location where Truth’s speech was made, the project expanded from a statue project to a plaza that will host the statue and serve as a site for learning and contemplation. The Plaza and statue will be dedicated on May 29, 2024.