Scholarship Effort Launched for Journalism Students in Liberia Will See Brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity in Liberia April 2020

NEW YORK – On May 17^th, 2010 a number of prominent New Yorkers gathered at a reception in Brooklyn, New York, to mark the creation of a scholarship fund aimed at assisting aspiring journalists in Liberia. 

The J. P. Hicks Family Mass Communication Scholarship was officially launched at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn at an event attended by several New York elected officials. They included United States Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, Former New York City Comptroller John C. Liu and City Councilwoman Debi Rose, whose district in Staten Island includes the largest Liberian community in the United States.  Emmett Dennis, the president of the University of Liberia, was the guest of honor and delivered remarks.

Four mass communications students at the University of Liberia were announced as the first recipients of the scholarship. The four students were: Hansen S. Hne, Massa F. Kanneh, Edward Palmer and Beatrice T. Sieh. Scholarship awards are based on a combination of academic achievement, exceptional talent within the discipline and a commitment to enhance the quality of journalism in Liberia. The scholarship award covers the cost of tuition and fees for a period of up to four semesters at the University of Liberia. It also provides for online, one-on-one mentorship with professional journalists as well an allowance for Internet usage. Students entering their junior and senior years at the university are eligible to apply for the award.

The scholarship was created by late Jonathan P. Hicks, a longtime journalist and writer, and his family. Mr. Hicks was a senior fellow at the DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York and a former financial and political reporter with The New York Times. Mr. Hicks was co-editor of the book,” From Disaster to Diversity: What’s Next for New York City’s Economy?” He also was the scriptwriter for the documentary Back Channels: The Price of Peace, which opened the 2009 Monte Carlo Television and Film Festival.

Mr. Hicks’ interest in Liberia began in childhood, when his family lived in Monrovia while his father, John Henry Hicks, a former journalist and former United States diplomat, served at the American embassy in Liberia. John Hicks, who was the first African American reporter at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, supervised the operation of the United States Information Service’s library in downtown Monrovia and hosted a weekly public affairs program on ELBC Radio in Monrovia. It was during that time that Jonathan Hicks formed a connection with Liberia and its people that would last throughout his life.

In the fall of 2009, Jonathan Hicks traveled to Liberia on a grant from the Ford Foundation to write articles and produce broadcasts about the redevelopment of the country following the 14-year civil war that ended in 2003. He was also charged with laying the groundwork for a training program for professional and aspiring journalists there.

While in Liberia, he was a guest lecturer in the Mass Communications Department at the University of Liberia. After meeting so many talented and committed students who had few resources, he determined that there was a need to support those students, who would become the country’s next generation of journalists, through scholarships and mentoring opportunities.

Mr. Jonathan P. Hicks passed November 3^rd, 2014 but his dream and legacy is still living on with the Brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., through the Kappa Alpha Psi New York Foundation, which administers the funds for the scholarship. In honor of Jonathan Hicks several brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi will be traveling to Monrovia, Liberia April 2020 to award the recipients of this year’s scholarships and affirm their continued commitment to this honorable program.