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BC's 44th MLK Scholarship Banquet
Lynch School of Education and Human Development Assistant Professor Earl Edwards ’10, a researcher of racism and homelessness among K-12 students, scholar of educational leadership, and human rights advocate, will be the keynote speaker at the 44th Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Banquet on February 23 at 5:30 p.m. in the Yawkey Center Murray Function Room.
At the event, University President William P. Leahy, S.J., will present the MLK Scholarship, awarded annually to a Boston College junior who has demonstrated superior academic achievement, extracurricular leadership, community service, and involvement with the African American community and African American issues on and off campus.
Lynch School of Education and Human Development Assistant Professor Earl Edwards
This year’s finalists are Carroll School of Management students Brian Davids, Kaitlyn Gyamfi, and Gabrielle Keeley, and Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences students Mohamed Yassir Dirar and Timileyin Faba. The scholarship provides up to $35,000 toward the winner’s senior-year tuition and an additional $1,000 gift certificate to the Boston College Bookstore.
Edwards, who graduated BC with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, joined the Lynch School faculty in 2023 after completing a master’s degree in school leadership and a doctorate in urban schooling from Columbia University Teachers College and the University of California-Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, respectively.
While an undergraduate at BC, Edwards was president of the AHANA Leadership Council and NAACP chapter and was awarded the title “2010 Person of the Year” by BC’s independent student newspaper The Heights. He is also an alumnus of the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center’s Options Through Education Transition Program.
Edwards’ expertise and research interests encompass educational leadership and policy, equity and social justice, urban education, and educational policy. He also leads the Housing and Educational Equity Lab (HEEL), a collaborative research initiative between the Lynch School and the Psychology Department at the College of the Holy Cross. His lab has published papers in the Journal of Trauma Studies in Education; Social Sciences; Journal of Children and Poverty, and Sage journals. In 2024, under Edwards’ directorship, HEEL released a policy report titled “Who are Serving the Unseen? An Analysis of the Student Homeless Population in Massachusetts Charter Schools.”
“It is a profound honor to return to Boston College and deliver the keynote at the MLK Scholarship Banquet,” he said. “As someone who was an MLK Scholarship finalist nearly two decades ago, this moment feels deeply full circle. I’m especially grateful to celebrate the remarkable students whose leadership and commitment to justice carry forward Dr. King’s legacy and remind us of the transformative role education and service can play in building a more equitable world.”
Edwards is a board member of California-based housing nonprofit Brilliant Corners and Higher Ground Boston, a Roxbury-based nonprofit that connects families in Greater Boston communities like Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury with resources to address the interconnected issues of education, health, and housing.