The 19th opens application for new Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Fellowship cohort

The 19th is thrilled to announce that applications for the 2023/2024 cohort of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Fellows are now open.

The Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Fellowship Program — named for the “mother of African American journalism” — was launched by The 19th in 2022 and provides recent graduates and mid-career alums of Historically Black Colleges and Universities with full-year, salaried and benefit-laden fellowships in editorial, audience engagement, and product and technology. Learn more about and apply for a fellowship here.

The inaugural class announced in August 2022 includes Ashaki “Nzingha” Thompson-Hall, a Morehouse School of Medicine graduate, in audience, and Jamila Wood, a graduate of Clark Atlanta University, in product and technology. Rebekah Barber, a North Carolina Central University graduate, and Daja E. Henry and Katherine Gilyard, both alumni of Howard University, are editorial fellows. 

Editor-at-large Errin Haines said at the fellowship’s launch that she expects the Frances Ellen Watkins Harper program to create “a transformative path and an industry standard for women of color and LGBTQ+ journalists to not only land competitive newsroom jobs but to thrive and become leaders in our industry.”

The program was funded with a $3.8 million gift from Michelle Mercer and Bruce Golden — the largest single gift in The 19th’s history — and developed in partnership with Nikole Hannah-Jones, Howard University’s Knight Chair in Race and Journalism. It was designed by The 19th’s reporters, editors, developers, people operations and Director of Fellowships Kari Cobham to center on-the-job training, mentorship, professional development and job preparation. 

Additional details on the Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Fellowship Program:

• This full-year journalism fellowship for five HBCU graduates or alums annually will include three editorial fellows, one audience engagement fellow, and one technology or product fellow.
• Fellows will receive a minimum salary of $70,000 and all other benefits of full-time employees, including health insurance, paid time off, a company expense account and 401(K) plan.

For more details on the program, who is eligible to apply and frequently asked questions, see the fellowship overview. Applications for the 2023/2024 fellowship class close May 15, 2023. Apply today!