The Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity is excited to announce the inaugural recipients of the Heartland Journalism Fellowship.

Established by WashU and the River City Journalism Fund, the Heartland Journalism Fellowships support development of aspiring minority and underrepresented writers. During their yearlong residency, fellows will work with WashU faculty as well as staff of The Common Reader, a journal based at WashU, to produce long- and short-form journalism dealing with issues of race, ethnicity and equity. 

The fellowships were initiated by the River City Journalism Fund, a new nonprofit that seeks to advance local journalism in St. Louis, in partnership with The Common Reader. Additional support and sponsorship are provided by: the Black Heartland Fund; WashU’s Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity; and the departments of African and African-American Studies and of English, and the Urban Studies program, all in Arts & Sciences. The River City Journalism Fund collected and evaluated fellowship applications. 


2023-2024 Fellows

Keona Dordor

Keona Dordor

Undergraduate Student, Washington University in St. Louis

Lyndsey Ellis

Lyndsey Ellis

St. Louis Novelist