Halle Bailey is giving back to women in the arts. The actor and singer announced the launch of the “Angel Scholarship” to help support Black women wanting to further their education in performing arts.
Four women will be awarded $10,000 each as part of the initiative. The winners are being announced today.
“I’m so excited to announce that I am launching the “Angel Scholarship, which will support amazing young Black women in the performing arts,” Bailey said in a video announcement posted on social media. “Thank you for supporting ‘Angel’ and helping to make these incredible young ladies’ dreams come true. Stay tuned.”
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The scholarship was established after the release of her solo debut single, “Angel,” last August.
“I wanted to launch this scholarship as a part of my latest song, ‘Angel,’ which I wrote to empower Black women. It’s a reminder to all of us women that we are beautiful; we can do anything we set our minds to and our hearts to,” Bailey said.
The piano-led ballad was written as a celebration of Black girlhood. It aimed at inspiring Black girls to embrace their flaws and as a message of support for anyone feeling overwhelmed. “Angel” was inspired by Bailey’s experience in the public eye.
“I wrote this song because the past three years of my life have been a really beautiful journey of self-discovery for me. It has opened so many doors for me; it has been an eye-opening experience,” Bailey said in an Instagram Live when the track was released. “This song was a mixture of all my emotions and how I could feel so grateful for something but also so overwhelmed. This is a huge, big thing that [The Little Mermaid] was for me. I’ve never experienced something like this in my life.”
“Angel” was included in the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the music video was viewed 12 million times on YouTube.
