About the Fellowship: The Emily Winfree Fellowship for African and African American History in Virginia promotes the study and interpretation of Black history in Virginia and provides access to the VMHC’s vast collections. The inaugural Winfree Fellowship will be awarded in 2025.

Emily Winfree (b. ca. 1834, d. 1919) was one of thousands of Black Virginians who transitioned from bondage to freedom during the Reconstruction era, and who kept her family united through slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow, More information on Emily Winfree can be found here.

A generous gift from Jan Meck, Ph.D., co-author of The Life and Legacy of Enslaved Virginian Emily Winfree (The History Press), has made this important, new fellowship possible.

The VMHC holds a nationally significant collection of nearly nine million items, many of which concentrate on the late eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. Within these records, there is much information about the lives and contributions of African Americans both free and enslaved. 

The Winfree Fellowship carries a stipend of $8,000 for a minimum of six weeks in residence at the VMHC. The fellow is expected to spend most of their time at the E. Claiborne Robins, Jr. Research Library. Time spent at other repositories in the Greater Richmond Region and across Virginia is to be mutually agreed upon between the fellow and VMHC. The E. Claiborne Robins, Jr. Research Library is open 10am to 5pm, Monday through Saturday. 

The successful applicant will be required to participate in a colloquium while researching at the VMHC, give a public presentation on their project in the final week of their fellowship, and— within two months of the fellowship’s completion—submit a two- to four-page abstract of their research project, which may be published  in the Virginia Magazine of History & Biography.

The VMHC will confer the Winfree Fellowship based on an applicant’s scholarly qualifications, the merits of their proposal, and the appropriateness of their topic, as demonstrated by citation to specific sources in our collections. Applicants whose research promises to result in significant publication, including the Virginia Magazine of History & Biography, will receive primary consideration. Applications will be reviewed and judged by a VMHC fellowship committee with select outside scholarly advice when necessary. 

Eligibility: Undergraduates, master’s students, and graduate students not yet admitted to Ph.D. candidacy are not eligible. Applications from doctoral candidates and independent researchers are welcome. 

How to Apply: Applicants must submit the following materials, in a single document in Word or PDF format, to fellowships@VirginiaHistory.org:

• Cover letter (two-page limit – please note if you would like to be considered for other shorter-term fellowship opportunities at the VMHC if your Winfree Fellowship application is unsuccessful)
• Résumé (three-page limit)
• Description of the research project that also states the length of the grant period requested (four double-spaced pages limit)

Two letters of recommendation should be submitted electronically to Dr. James Herrera-Brookes, Melanie Trent De Schutter Library Director, at jherrera-brookes@VirginiaHistory.org. Please reference the applicant’s name in the SUBJECT line.

The Fellowships Committee encourages and will consider re-applications. For repeat fellowships, the maximum number is limited to one within a five-year period.

The deadline for applications is Friday, September 27, 2024.

Founded in 1831, the Virginia Historical Society is a private, nonprofit, educational institution supported by membership dues and endowment. Its wealth of cataloged materials includes books, paintings, photographs, maps, broadsides, newspapers, artifacts, and more then eight million manuscripts.

Please address any questions about the application process to: Dr. James Herrera-Brookes, Melanie Trent De Schutter Library Director (jherrera-brookes@VirginiaHistory.org)