{"id":69239,"date":"2025-12-03T06:24:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T06:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/69239\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T06:24:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T06:24:20","slug":"alumna-launches-scholarship-at-portrait-unveiling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/69239\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumna Launches Scholarship At Portrait Unveiling –"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FAMU,<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby Keka Ara\u00fajo <\/a><\/p>\n

December 2, 2025<\/p>\n

The tribute was immediately followed by Smith\u2019s commitment to the next generation: a $25,000 donation to establish a new student scholarship fund.<\/p>\n

Cheryl Smith, a celebrated journalist, publisher, and mentor, was honored as the first representative of the Black press to be inducted into the Thelma Thurston Gorham Distinguished Wall of Fame at Florida A&M University\u2019s (FAMU) School of Journalism and Graphic Communication on Oct. 17. <\/p>\n

The tribute was immediately followed by Smith\u2019s commitment to the next generation: a $25,000 donation to establish a new student scholarship fund.<\/p>\n

The Cheryl Smith\u2019s Soldiers Without Swords Scholarship is scheduled to <\/a>award its first recipient in the Fall 2026 semester, 50 years after Smith first set foot on the campus.<\/p>\n

Elevating the Black Press and FAMU\u2019s Legacy<\/p>\n

During the 90-minute ceremony, Dean Mira Lowe lauded Smith\u2019s impact. <\/p>\n

\u201cAdding Cheryl Smith\u2019s portrait \u2026 is a powerful testament to her unwavering commitment to truth, equity, and excellence in journalism,\u201d Lowe said, noting that Smith\u2019s work \u201cembodies the spirit and vision\u201d of the school\u2019s founder, Dr. Thelma Thurston Gorham.<\/p>\n

Smith recalled her decision to fund a scholarship as soon as she learned of the honor. She presented<\/a> a $25,000 check to Lowe, emphasizing that alumni support is vital to the institution. \u201cI love FAMU,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAnd this is not the end,\u201d she said, adding that the university is included in her will. <\/p>\n

The funds were raised with the assistance of a group of \u201cChampions\u201d that included family members, sorority sisters, mentees, and professional colleagues.<\/p>\n

A Career Rooted in Mentorship<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s induction recognized not only her accomplishments as a National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Hall of Famer and a key figure in the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), but also her decades-long commitment to mentoring young reporters. <\/p>\n

Marlon Walker, a managing editor at the Marshall Project, commended Smith for \u201cmaking sure that our community is well-served and well-informed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Royle King, a FAMU graduate and city official in Tallahassee, credited Smith\u2019s mentorship through the Urban Journalism Workshop in North Texas as planting\u00a0\u201ca seed of excellence in me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

King demonstrated his gratitude by presenting an initial $1,000 annual donation to Smith\u2019s new scholarship fund.<\/p>\n

Dr. Benjamin Chavis, president\/CEO of the NNPA, called the portrait unveiling a \u201chistorical moment,\u201d hailing Smith as a \u201cgreat publisher and a great freedom fighter.\u201d At the same time, Karen Carter Richards, who heads the NNPA Fund, praised Smith\u2019s \u201cprincipled guidance of hundreds of young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith pledged to continue her mission, citing her own mentors, including the late Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson and activist Dick Gregory. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe must work to help each other and make the world a better place,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n

RELATED CONTENT: Campbell\u2019s VP Slammed In Lawsuit After Alleged Racist, Classist Rant About Coworkers And Products<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Keka Ara\u00fajo December 2, 2025 The tribute was immediately followed by Smith\u2019s commitment to the next generation:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69240,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[40273,1814,232,234,233],"class_list":["post-69239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallahassee","tag-cheryl-smith","tag-famu","tag-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee-headlines","tag-tallahassee-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}