Scholarship fund reclaiming legacy stolen by violent racial displacement in Georgia's Forsyth County
The Forsyth Descendants Scholarship is currently offering up to $10,000 per year to students who can trace their lineage back to the families who were violently displaced from the county over a century ago.
In 1912, the landscape of Forsyth County was changed forever by racial terror as more than 1,000 Black families were expelled. Six years after the Atlanta Race Massacre in September 1912, White residents accused three Black men of assaulting Mae Crow, a White woman from Oscarville. Following her death, one of the men was lynched, and the other two were publicly executed after a swift conviction.
A group known as the "Night Riders" violently forced families out. The families left behind their homes, land, and the lives that they knew.
"Nobody in my family had been to Forsyth County since 1912," says Elon Osby, whose family was among those forced out. "My parents never went back to try to get any compensation for their property. They never thought about going back up there."
About five years ago, Durwood Snead, a retired local pastor, learned the history of his community.
"As I imagined being one of these Black men who could not care for his family, who had to leave everything and run and go somewhere where no one wanted them, my wife and I were reading about this, and actually wept," Snead said.
He collaborated with other local pastors to create a path forward.
While the fund addresses a historical grievance, the founders are clear about its intent. They emphasize that the scholarship is not a formal program of reparations or tied to any movement; they say it simply as "an act of love."
To date, the fund has awarded nearly $450,000 in scholarships to 25 descendants. For Osby, seeing her two grandsons receive the award was a full-circle moment.
"The families that were forced out never gave college a thought," Osby said. "To see descendants now going to college because somebody has acknowledged this was wrong is special."
Applicants must prove they are descendants of the displaced families. A genealogist is available to help students confirm their connection using the 1912 Census. Students are required to write an essay about their family's history and legacy. Recipients can receive up to $10,000 annually for their college education.
"Hopefully we'll be honoring them, honoring their memory, and honoring the loss their families had," said Snead.
Applications for the current cycle are open now and will close in April. You can learn more here.
