Founded in 1961 by Horace B. (“Hockey”) Davis as a memorial to his wife, Marian, a teacher and political activist who had died of breast cancer the previous year, the Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund has awarded over 1500 scholarships to students working for peace and justice. Hockey was a steelworker and labor journalist who became an academic, writing his doctoral thesis on the steel industry. He wrote extensively on labor history and socialist theory and taught at a number of universities before refusing to testify against his friends and colleagues during the McCarthy era.
When Hockey gathered his children and a number of friends to form a board of directors and raise funds for the scholarships, a key player was Polish-born Norton S. Putter. Putter supported the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, campaigned for Henry Wallace for President in 1948, and was a lifetime member of the NAACP.
Early DPSF grantees fought for civil rights, against McCarthyism, and for peace in Vietnam. More recent grantees are working toward self-determination for all oppressed people and doing work that can potentially undermine the U.S. empire. This work is characterized by opposition to capitalism, racism, patriarchy and gender-based violence, environmental exploitation and other forms of systemic harm and oppression. The Fund’s website states:
“We value the labor and leadership that it takes to sustain and grow movements. There are people who do more public-facing work, and others who work behind the scenes to make actions and meetings possible. Others do the necessary and important work of team building and conflict transformation within groups. All these and more are crucial and valuable components of what it means to build a team and to sustain movements through ebb and flow of our current political climate. We want to find people who are inspired and willing to commit to this work over the long haul, who are committed to their own growth and development and that of the larger movement.”
“The Fund seeks to support the development of active and emerging movement leaders, so it is expected that grantees may be new or emerging leaders. The Fund recognizes that not everyone has access to the same resources and networks, and particularly encourages folks from under-resourced regions, those in rural communities, and students outside of major cities to apply. We love to receive applications and support student activists who are leading social change work on the margins of traditional mainstream movement activism, and will consider applicants who may not have access to other financial support for the radical work they are doing. There is a strong preference for applicants who have participated in activities in the U.S. and plan on continuing their work in this country.”
Apply online at the fund’s website: davisputter.org.