[4] He was one of several Black students to win the Cresson scholarship: Laura Wheeler Waring, Ellen Powell Tiberino, Raymond Saunders and Louis B. Sloan.

It included a total of 49 works, 30 paintings and 19 sculptures, by 12 artists: Ellsworth Ausby, Clifford Eubanks, Jr., Hugh Harrell, William J. Howell, Tonnie Jones, Charles McGee, Ted Moody, Joseph Overstreet, Anderson J. Pigatt, Daniel Pressley, Charles Searles and Erik W. A. Stephenson.

[2] The papers of Charles Searles were featured in an exhibit on view at the Lawrence A. Fleischmann Gallery in Washington D.C. from September 23, 2016 - March 21, 2017.

The exhibition included papers, drawings, notebooks, and other materials from artists such as Henry Ossawa Tanner, Kehinde Wiley, and Alma Thomas.

It showcased how these artists experienced and explored cultural identity, racism, and major political events in their personal writing.