Howard Student Proud to Win P.I.M.P. Scholarship

By Roberta Dooms
Black College Wire

Photo credit: www.letitloose.com Nelly's organization is trying to change the definition of "pimp."

"Not what you see on TV, no Cadillac, no greasy-head full of hair (expletive). I�m a P-I-M-P,� said rapper 50 Cent in his 2003 chart topper, "P-I-M-P."

50 Cent boasts that he is unlike the gold-toothed, Jheri-Kurled, Cadillac-driving, gold-cup-holding, bright-suit-wearing pimps that people usually envision.

The inaugural winner of rapper Nelly's P.I.M.P. scholarship is also challenging the meaning of "pimp," which has long been defined as a man who solicits clients for a prostitute.

Last year, Nelly and Fillmore Brewing Co., which makes his energy drink Pimp Juice, teamed up to create the P.I.M.P. Scholars Program. Here, P.I.M.P. is an acronym for "Positive Intellectual Motivated Person."

Bryan Hughes of Howard University and Joyce Jackson of St. Louis University each won $5,000 scholarships. Applicants wrote a series of essays on subjects ranging from what makes them "pimps" to who they emulated.

In one essay, Hughes, a senior marketing major from Bowie, Md., wrote why he was a "positive, intellectual, motivated person." In the other, he discussed his father, a "Christian man" he said he emulates. "Men like my dad are rare," said Hughes, living life according to the Bible.

Photo credit: Courtesy Bryan Hughes P.I.M.P. scholarship winner Bryan Hughes is on the dean's list.

The release of Nelly's "Tip Drill" video in 2003 prompted protests from some African American college students. In one of the video's most controversial scenes, Nelly swiped a credit card down a woman's buttocks.

A bone-marrow awareness event at Spelman College, at which Nelly was to perform, was canceled after some women students objected.

Hughes said he understood the "controversy" associated with pimp but said that Nelly's organization is trying to change the meaning of the word.

"There exist negative stereotypes that are linked to the African American culture, as there are in other cultures," Hughes said. "In this culture, a pimp is no longer someone who takes advantage of people for selfish or unethical reasons. A pimp is now to be known as an individual who takes advantage of opportunities to better their communities, and someone who brings a positive reputation that reflects their culture, heritage, and people they represent."

As for being called a pimp, Hughes says that "as long as people understand the new definition associated [with] the title," it will not bother him. However, he added, there are going to "be people who refuse to understand."

Hughes description of himself is unlike that of any other pimp.

"I am a regular Bible reader and I study the Bible and attend Bible studies on a regular weekly basis. I�m on the dean�s list at Howard University, and a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society.

"I mentor a student at a local high school, I am an active volunteer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a tour guide, and I have volunteered with Junior Achievement. I am also a member of the National Association of Black Accountants, and the American Marketing Association," he said.

"Last year I was awarded the State of Maryland Governor�s Award and Citation for Community Service, and most recently I finished 5th place in the Elective Leadership Council (ELC) Essay Competition," said Hughes.

Hughes said he learned about the P.I.M.P. scholars through fastweb.com, which provides scholarship information. He saw the scholarship as something "positive," and "it didn't hurt" that the winner gets to meet Nelly.

"I think what made me the perfect recipient of the scholarship was my enthusiasm and sincerity in my essay responses. I was not writing to impress anyone, and I wasn�t writing to gain sympathy, however to gain empathy. I wanted to connect with the people at Fillmore Street Brewery so that they can understand and feel me as a person, as an individual. I don�t feel as if I have accomplished anything extraordinary," said Hughes.

Hughes is interning at the Merrill Lynch financial management company this summer as part of its seven-week summer analyst program, in New York and Houston.

Roberta Dooms is a student at Howard University.

Posted July 18, 2005