TA’NYIAH WILLS HONORED WITH JAMES EMERSON DENNIS JR. SCHOLARSHIP

  

The great-granddaughter of James Emerson Dennis Jr. was honored on Wednesday as the third recipient of a $5,000 scholarship in his name.

Ta’Nyiah Wills, a senior at Brenham High School, was chosen to receive the James Emerson Dennis Jr. Black History Club Memorial Scholarship.  Wills was one of the founding members of the club and served as club president.

Wills plans to attend Texas State University, where she will major in exercise and sports science.

Scholarship recipients are chosen based on academics, spirituality, service and social engagement.  Students must maintain a 3.0 grade point average and submit an essay on Dennis and why social activism remains important.

Wills is active at Mt. Rose Missionary Baptist Church, volunteers in Brenham High School’s AVID program and is involved as a trainer in the high school athletic program.  In addition, she has assisted Faith Mission with Salvation Army bell ringing and Thanksgiving homebound meals, and has served for the past three years as a moderator during the Black History Forums held each February. 

Dr. John D. Harris, Senior Pastor at Mt. Rose Missionary Baptist Church, pointed to Wills’ strong academics and character, saying “success is written all over her.”

Dennis was a lifelong Brenham resident who became a “Freedom Rider” in 1961 during the civil rights movement.  He traveled to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was arrested and charged with breach of peace and spent 40 days in the Mississippi Penitentiary.

During segregation, Dennis was a student at Pickard High School and went on to teach at Brenham High School.  His goal was to establish a Black History Club at the high school.  The scholarship program was established in his memory in 2022.

D&J Power, Inc. is the primary sponsor of the scholarship.