<p>You are qualified to “check the box.” Agree you are technically, and otherwise African-American.</p>
<p>@ chesterton It’s a leap to say that a scholarship for AA is limited to “American” descendants of slaves. Any sponsor wanting to limit a scholarship to a subset of blacks can find precise wording to qualify. For all you know the scholarship is sponsored by someone who deliberately didn’t want any further limitations. </p>
<p>P.S. In your scenario, The President of the United States would be disqualified just like OP (being of African descent but with no slave blood).</p>