2023 Julian Bond Fellowship
The Julian Bond Fellowship program aims to promote emerging voices in Southern media and support early-career journalists and researchers seeking innovative approaches to promoting justice and democracy in the South.
The Julian Bond Fellowship is a nine-month, full-time position for public interest journalists or researchers. Fellows will be paid as an independent contractor with a stipend of $5,000 a month, which is subject to federal and state taxes, an will be provided additional resources for office, professional development, and research expenses. Fellows will also be provided two weeks of paid time off in addition to paid federal holidays, and will have the option to join the Institute's employer-paid health and dental insurance plans.
While the Institute will entertain applications from prospective fellows who seek to conduct their fellowship remotely, preference will be given to applicants who plan to be based at the Institute's offices in Durham, North Carolina.
During their time at the Institute, fellows will write regularly for the Institute's online magazine, Facing South. Fellows will also have the opportunity to conduct and publish in-depth writing and research projects, such as investigative stories or policy reports, in areas of mutual interest to the Fellow and the Institute. Fellows will join the Institute's dynamic, multiracial team of journalists, researchers, and nonprofit leaders, and have the opportunity to engage with the Institute's network of change-makers across the South and country.
The Fellowship is aimed at early-career journalists and researchers interested in helping to change the public debate about issues of equity and democracy in the South. Journalists and researchers of color are strongly encouraged to apply, as are others who believe their presence would contribute substantially to diversifying the media and public scholar landscape in the South. Candidates must have at least two to three years of experience writing and/or producing research reports for a public audience, and a demonstrated commitment to promoting justice, equality, and democracy.
The fellowship is named in honor of Julian Bond, a civil rights veteran and co-founder of the Institute for Southern Studies. Bond served as media director of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the early 1960s, and later as a member of the Georgia General Assembly, national chairman of the NAACP, and history professor at the University of Virginia. Bond had a special interest in the power of public interest media and innovative policy thinking in advancing social, racial and economic justice. He was a regular commentator for ABC's "The Today Show," and from 1980 to 1997 hosted "America's Black Forum," then the oldest Black-owned syndicated TV program.
The Institute for Southern Studies is a nonprofit media, research, and education center and publisher of the online magazine Facing South. Founded in 1970 by civil rights veterans, the Institute has earned a national reputation for its award-winning investigative journalism and innovative research on policy issues and Southern trends.
The 2023 fellowship will start Jan. 3, 2023, and end Sept. 30, 2023. To apply, please go to the online application form here. The application deadline for the 2023 fellowship has been extended to Monday, September 26, at 5 p.m.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please email us at julianbondfellowship@southernstudies.org. No phone calls, please.
Photo: Julian Bond speaking in 1984 (Public Domain/State Library and Archives of Florida)