About This Episode

What happens when social movement activists receive leadership fellowships? In this podcast, three Harvard Kennedy School graduate fellows discuss philanthropic scholarships and fellowships given to “change agents.” They review the major foundations who are funding fellowships, examine the history of how this type of giving came about, think aloud some critiques and alternatives, then chat about their personal connections to this topic.

Hosts

Becky Mer

is a Center for Public Leadership Fellow and Master in Public Policy candidate at Harvard Kennedy School, and she has previously worked in criminal justice reform in the United States and abroad.

Inayat Sabhikhi

is a Center for Public Leadership Fellow and Master in Public Administration candidate at Harvard Kennedy School. She is associated with the Right to Information and Right to Food movements in India. Talk to her about gully rap and Zadie Smith.

Samer Hjouj

is a Center for Public Leadership Fellow and Master in Public Policy candidate at Harvard Kennedy School, and he has previously worked in education in Palestine.

Learn More

Videos

• Rockefeller Fellowship on Social Innovation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t6JyGoDnzQ
• Open Society Foundation for South Africa Commemorative Scholarship and Fellowship Awards 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCyTHhShfjA
• Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=43&v=qqH3Cib-Y5Q&feature=emb_logo
• 2019 Obama Foundation Fellows:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxPYxQ0KNkY
• Emerson Collective Dial Fellows:
• https://www.emersoncollective.com/organizations/emerson-collective-dial-fellowship/
• Harvard Lecture by Condoleeza Rice: 
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLYCE4NU9Hw
• Professor Randall Westbrook on W.E.B. Du Bois’ Talented Tenth:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wollGiMRCIE
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnACmH2ueSU

Books

• Capitalism: A Ghost Story by Arundhati Roy (2014)
• International Scholarships in Higher Education: Pathways to Social Change edited by Joan Dassin, Robin Marsh, and Matt Mawer (2017)
• The Lucky Few and the Worthy Many: Scholarship Competitions and the World’s Future Leaders edited by Warren F. Ilchman, Alice S. Ilchman, and Mary H. Tolar (2004)
• The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence (2007)
• Top Down: The Ford Foundation, Black Power, and the Reinvention of Racial Liberalism by Karen Ferguson (2013)

Articles

• Beilke, Jayne R. (1997) “The Changing Emphasis...