The 19th’s Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Fellowship provides recent graduates and early- and mid-career alums of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) yearlong, salaried positions in reporting, audience engagement and news product.
The 19th is an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting at the intersection of gender, politics and policy. Named for the “mother of African-American journalism,” the fellowship seeks to build a meaningful pathway for those historically excluded from U.S. newsrooms.
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Fellows are embedded on The 19th’s newsroom teams and receive wraparound support: mentorship, career coaching, life and journalism skills workshops, National Association of Black Journalists membership and conference access, professional development, hardship support, personalized job search guidance and a growing alumni network. They also connect throughout the year at retreats and networking mixers across the country.
Fellows earn $75,000 and receive generous benefits, including health insurance, paid time off, a 401(k) match and merit bonus.
Since the fellowship’s launch in 2022, The 19th’s fellows have made a lasting impact — from launching a voter dictionary and the Surviving the News series for social media to rolling out new photo layouts that expand our visual storytelling, and collaborating on a powerful story about the Black women who fed, housed and protected voting rights activists in 1965 Selma.
Fellows have gone on to work at outlets like The Marshall Project, The Baltimore Banner, The Trace, Nashville Banner, Nonprofit Quarterly and Disability Culture Lab.