Wilson’s gift is nothing flip

The name of Flip Wilson is associated with comedy, not journalism. Nevertheless, more than four years after his death, the comedian is funding scholarships at Cal State Northridge and four other universities for African American journalism students.

Each school is administering the scholarship at its own discretion, but there is one common requirement: The winning student must write an essay or research paper about Wilson, the first black performer to host a high-rated TV variety series in the early 1970s.

“I wanted his name to live on; young people today don’t remember him,” explained Kathleen Fearn-Banks, a communications professor at the University of Washington and former publicist for Wilson who advised him on making the scholarship donation.

She said the money is only becoming available now because other parts of the will have been in dispute.