Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
UNC at Wilmington is losing $1 million in scholarship money donated by a prominent African American family because of its anti-DEI policy changes. Reportedly, about five percent of students attending UNC-W are Black.
Those policy changes, mandated by the Republican-led state legislature and the UNC System Board of Governors, now prevent Black students from receiving any financial aid from the gift, which was against the family’s wishes.
That African American family are descendants of Dr. Leroy Upperman, who was a well-known physician in the Wilmington area for many years. Dr. Upperman was known for mentoring and supporting young Black doctors.
The scholarship was specifically administered by Dr. Upperman’s daughter, Linda Upperman Smith, in memory of her father. Like her father, not only did Mrs. Smith mentor recipients of the award, but supported them. Not all recipients of the scholarship at UNC-W were Black.
That has now changed, thanks to the UNC System Board’s “equity” policy, which replaced DEI in 2024, and programs directed towards students of color as well. In order to comply with that new policy, the Upperman family would have to change the wording of the criteria for the award, and Mrs. Upperman Smith assured that that was not going to happen. “There’s no way that we’re going to not follow my father’s wishes for the money to go to an African American student, so we’re not changing the wording,” she’s quoted as saying.
Reports are that she is looking to move the $1 million scholarship to an institution where the student population makes it more likely that deserving Black students will be likely candidates for the award. Right now, the most likely school is Howard University in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Upperman graduated medical school.
But the damage isn’t finished yet. Mrs. Smith indicated that she is very likely to remove financial support from UNC-W’s Upperman African American Cultural Center as well, effectively closing it down. Apparently, the center will soon be forced to remove the term “African American” from its title.
