By Aria Brent,
AFRO Staff Writer,
abrent@afro.com

The Stephen Long Worcester High Pioneers Club(SL-WHP) is upholding the legacy of the first Black superintendent in the Worcester county area by helping the next generation of Black students continue their education. 

Founded just a little under two years ago, SL-WHP is a nonprofit organization focused on highlighting the career and significance of legendary educator, Stephen Long. The organization is also dedicated to providing educational resources to youth and college aged students. SL-WHP vice president, Ronnie Collins Sr., shared why upholding the legacy of Stephen Long is so vital to not only the organization but the progress of the Worcester county community as well. 

“Instead of staying in Pennsylvania at Lincoln University, he decided to come back to Pocomoke City— a community he had left many years before. Just as he came back to Pocomoke, we decided that we would come back and look at the educational state of Pocomoke, which in many ways for many students is a bit small,” explained Collins. “We set up this organization because Stephen Long stressed higher education, and financial stability as a means to independence and character development. We’ve got to get back there and pick up where he left off.”

Continuing Long’s legacy is no easy task, especially when you look at all he did for the education of Black people in Worcester county. However, creating their scholarship was one way the organization knew they could continue to carry the torch that was set ablaze by the historical educator all those years ago. 

“We decided that we really needed to put our own resources together and we came up with about $10,000 by reaching into our own pockets to establish the initial scholarship,” Collins said. “Then we joined hands with the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore and we raised over $2,000.”

Collins went on to explain that although this is the organization’s first time giving out a scholarship, they’ve already made plans to give out more funding for school in the next few months. 

“The first scholarship was for $1,000. We had given some consideration to granting books, and stipends but now we’re in the process of endowing that scholarship and that will happen in a couple of months. We’ve started that process so that we can continue to give at a minimum $500 but $1,000 is our target.”

Amir Harmon is the first student to receive this scholarship from SL-WHP. Harmon is a sophomore at Morgan State University, where he’s studying computer science. The young scholar is a native of Snow Hill, Md., a small city in the Worcester county area. Harmon discussed how the legacy of Stephen Long and the mission of SL-WHP resonate with him. 

“I read the book they gave me about Stephen Long and I don’t think what he did is common knowledge and it should be,” stated Harmon “He was big on civil rights and he was the first African American to be a superintendent for his school district. More people need to know about him, especially in the Worcester county area.”

Sharing similar sentiments to SL-WHP, Harmon also feels that Long’s work was trailblazing and should continue to be looked at as a model for their community. Harmon explained that every dollar helps when it comes to paying for school. However, this scholarship is special because of the organization’s mission and how focused they are on helping his community. 

“I feel like Stephen Long’s work should be a torch for Black people everywhere but especially in Worcester county,” Harmon stated. “What makes this scholarship so significant is the purpose behind it. We don’t get a lot of attention in Worcester county so I feel like this is really big. It means alot to be the first recipient of this scholarship.”