Law student Jack Morton awarded scholarship to study at Boston University

Jack Morton, 23, has been selected as a Saint Andrew’s Society of the State of New York scholar and flies out to Boston with his wife Emma later this year.

He told The Falkirk Herald: “I was the first person in my family to go to university so this next move is really massive – everyone is really proud that we are chasing our dreams.”

Mr Morton’s research is in the area of racial discrimination and segregation in US housing law. It also looks at the legal frameworks of reparations and transitional justice for the Atlantic slave trade and colonialism.

He said he would like to pursue a career in human rights before ultimately running for elected office, in the US.

Mr Morton said: “I’m grateful to the society and its members for their generosity in helping me pursue a career in public interest.”

While in Boston, he intends to hold a Robert Burns abolitionist event to educate people about the impact the poet had on transatlantic race relations.