Short Takes : Rawls Sings Praise for Fund

LAS VEGAS — Singer Lou Rawls says his graduation from the College of Hard Knocks has made him determined that young black Americans will not be denied a higher education because they can’t afford one.

He is heading his 11th annual Parade of Stars Telethon for the United Negro College Fund on Saturday.

The telethon has raised more than $77 million for 41 private, predominantly black colleges and universities.

Rawls, a four-time Grammy Award-winner, occasionally runs across young people his telethon has aided.

“This young pharmacist kept staring at me,” Rawls recounted recently. “Finally, I asked her if something was wrong. She said, ‘I never thought I’d get a chance to thank you.’ She told me she’d received her education with the help of the telethon.

“You can’t put a price tag on experiences like that.”

Rawls, who grew up poor on Chicago’s South Side, criticizes federal education policies, which have restricted minority-only scholarships.

“They play with education like it’s a ballgame,” he said. “How can they be so casual and so nonchalant about our education and our welfare?”