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Ezel and Sherrilyn Silver Legacy Project

The Ezel & Sherrilyn Silver Legacy Project

In 2020, Tisa released the book, Borrowing While Black. She dedicated the book to her parents, Ezel and Sherrilyn Silver.

To Mom:
It pains me to speak of you in the past tense, my dear. Your legacy influences my path daily.
Grace, faith, strength, integrity, self-advocacy…you were and always will be cherished, loved, and admired.

To Dad:
In the world of girl dads, you reign supreme.
Your generosity, humility, and consideration for others is an example I aspire to.
I cannot thank you enough.

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Sherrilyn S. Silver

Virginia State University
Class of 1969

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Ezel Silver, Jr.

Howard University
Class of 1970

About the Ezel and Sherrilyn Silver Legacy Project

Ezel and Sherrilyn Silver represent the kind of first-generation student success many students and families hope for. Their journeys began in different worlds—one in the housing projects of Newark, New Jersey and the other in the rural town of Ruther Glen, Virginia.

Ezel and Sherrilyn received partial scholarships to attend historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Ezel received significant support from his mother who worked as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and a part-time Avon sales representative. Sherrilyn borrowed student loans and on one occasion she recalled missing a financial aid deadline. She asked her father, who worked as a skycap at Reagan National Airport, for financial support to cover the balance. Both contributed their earnings from various jobs during time off from school and graduated as first in their family to complete an undergraduate degree. Ezel earned a degree in electrical engineering and Sherrilyn graduated with a degree in accounting. Their paths crossed while working for the federal government in Washington, DC.

Paying for college was not easy for Ezel nor Sherrilyn. Today’s students face similar challenges, trying to pool their resources to pay for higher education. Unfortunately, many students cannot cover the costs without borrowing student loans. In fact, Black students typically:

  • borrow more often,

  • borrow in larger amounts,

  • graduate less often,

  • earn less upon graduation, and

  • experience greater difficulty throughout student loan repayment.

After interviewing her parents and researching the Black student loan borrowing experience, Tisa released Borrowing While Black (2020), a guide to help African-American students make strategic decisions about borrowing student loans. Soon after, she created the Maryland HBCU Challenge, a grassroots fundraising campaign to donate 500 copies of Borrowing While Black to current students of Maryland’s four historically Black colleges and universities.

The campaign exceeded expectations, raising enough funding to donate more than 600 books and award $1,000 in scholarships at Bowie State University. The outpouring of love and support inspired Tisa to establish the Ezel and Sherrilyn Silver (ESS) Legacy Project housed in a new nonprofit organization, the Silver Canady Charitable Collective (SCCC). The SCCC promotes educational success, financial education, and charitable giving through:

  • hosting free, quarterly informational webinars about paying for college including borrowing and repaying student loans,

  • awarding scholarships to support students pursuing a college degree or career school credential, and

  • donating funds and/or non-perishable food items to campus food pantries at public higher education institutions in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

The educational component of the ESS Legacy Project inspired Tisa to create the Maryland Center for Collegiate Financial Wellness (MCCFW). As of April 2024, MCCFW has helped student loan borrowers eliminate more than $17 million in debt. MCCFW’s programs include:

If you would like to invest in the cause, you can make a tax-deductible donation to the Silver Canady Charitable Collective via mail or PayPal:

SCCC
PO Box 896
Bowie, MD 20718

The Silver Canady Charitable Collective, Inc. DBA Maryland Center for Collegiate Financial Wellness is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.