Gwendolyn S. Cherry Endowed Scholarship

Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. created Gwendolyn S. Cherry Endowed Scholarship to honor their soror Gwendolyn S. Cherry, a 1965 Florida A&M University College of Law graduate. Ms. Cherry was a woman of many firsts. Before attending FAMU’s law school, she was the first Black woman law student to attend the University of Miami. She was the first Black woman to practice law in Dade County, Florida. She was one of the first nine attorneys who served at Legal Services of Greater Miami in 1966. In 1970, she was elected as a state representative, becoming the first Black woman to serve as a legislator for the State of Florida. While in the State House of Representatives, she introduced the Equal Rights Amendment, the Martin Luther King, Jr. state holiday, and other legislation. She was elected to four terms and served until 1979.

The Gwendolyn S. Cherry Endowed Scholarship is a $2,000 non-renewable scholarship. To be eligible to receive this scholarship, the applicant must have received an undergraduate degree from FAMU, be interested in public service law, and be in good academic standing.