The St. Petersburg Higher Education Consortium, made up of four Pinellas County higher education institutions, created a Racial Justice Fellowship to dismantle racial hierarchies and fight for racial justice.
By Isaiah Sterling
**Editor’s Note** Applications for the Racial Justice Fellowship closed on Sept. 13.
Two USF St. Petersburg students will be chosen to support local racial justice efforts during the 2021-22 academic year in a new Racial Justice Fellowship program created by a St. Petersburg Higher Education Consortium.
The purpose of the fellowship program is to place students at the center of efforts to create a systematic change, creating a pipeline to become involved in work related to anti-racist policy and movements, and racial healing and transformation, according to a university press release.
Participating students will each receive up to $2,000 thanks to a grant from the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg (FHSP), including a $500 stipend for both fall and spring semesters and an additional $1,000 for an approved summer internship.
USF St. Petersburg, FHSP and three other higher education institutions formed the St. Petersburg Higher Education Consortium for Racial Justice last year.
Director of Community Relations and Consortium member Caryn Nesmith said Eckerd College, St. Petersburg College and Stetson University College of Law also make up the Consortium.
Nesmith said she is looking forward to working with students who are selected to become Racial Justice Fellows.
“I am looking forward to involving students in the work of the Consortium and creating pathways for students to work toward racial justice and equity in our community,” Nesmith said.
Nesmith said she hopes the fellowship program will secure more funding in the future to actualize additional goals of the Consortium.
“We hope to secure funding in the future to grow the program as well as actualize some of our other goals, which include research projects, a professional learning committee for faculty to consider issues of race, and sharing resources across our institutions to host seminars, workshops and symposiums with equity and justice themes,” Nesmith said.
Students in the program are required to attend bi-weekly planning events, Racial Healing Circles and events and discussions relating to race equity and racial justice.
There is no GPA requirement for the Racial Justice Fellowship program, and students who are enrolled as a full-time student during the 2021-22 academic year and plan to graduate in May 2022 or later are eligible to apply.
Applicants should be able to pursue and participate in racial justice internships in Summer 2022.
Students selected to become fellows for the 2021-22 academic year will be named in early October.
