The scholarship is made possible by Emancipation Park Conservancy and award-winning actress, Phylicia Rashad
The Emancipation Park Conservancy and award-winning actress, Phylicia Rashad recently announced that Navaeh Richardson was chosen as the recipient of the Dr. Andrew Arthur Allen Sr. Memorial Scholarship. To be eligible for this one-time, $5,000 scholarship, students had to be a 2020 Yates High School graduate planning to enter their freshman year at Howard University during the Fall 2020 semester.
The scholarship was made possible by Emancipation Park Conservancy and Dr. Allen’s daughter, award winning actress, singer, stage director, Houston native and Howard University alumna, Phylicia Rashad, who is also a Jack Yates High School graduate.
“Our family is honored to have a scholarship named after our father, Dr. Andrew Arthur Allen, whose first office was just across the street from Emancipation Park,” said Phylicia Rashad.
Navaeh is a 2020 Jack Yates High School graduate and incoming Howard University freshman, who plans to major in media journalism and film, with a minor in fine arts photography. She graduated from Yates in the top 5% of her class with a 4.0 GPA, and was ranked number 7 out of 147 seniors. She served as member and vice president of the National Honor Society, as well as a section leader in the Jack Yates High School Band, where she played both the mellophone and the trumpet. Her photography was featured in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston from 2017 to 2020 as part of the Eye of Third Ward exhibit, depicting her perspective of the historic Third Ward Community. She was also an active participant of the EMERGE Fellowship and spent time volunteering at the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, Word on the Street Ministries, and Institute for Psychological Services. While at Howard, Navaeh hopes to continue serving others by teaching middle and high school students about photography, while also encouraging students to connect, serve and build relationships with the community surrounding the university.
We are thrilled that with the help of the amazing and talented Phylicia Rashad, we were able to provide this scholarship to assist Navaeh with her college education,” said Ramon Manning, board chairman of Emancipation Park Conservancy. “We pride ourselves on being the center of the community and that means being a resource while also giving back to the community we serve.”
Emancipation Park Conservancy’s Board Chairman Ramon Manning, Vice-Chairman Jacqueline Bostic, and the staff formerly presented the scholarship to Navaeh, along with her mother, Darlene Harrison, on August 20th during a special presentation via Zoom.
The Emancipation Park Conservancy, a non-profit 501c3 charitable corporation, was established in 2014 to restore, manage, and enhance Emancipation Park. Its purpose is to create an open space of environmental and community excellence while continuing to preserve the park’s integrity and historical roots. Its goal is to transform the park into one of the nation’s premier landmark destinations through capital initiatives, operational improvements, strategic partnerships, programming and special events.
For more information about the Emancipation Park Conservancy, visit www.epconservancy.org.