John Lewis Young Leaders Fellowship — Fellowship

John Lewis Young Leaders (JLYL) is an undergraduate fellowship run by the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, the New York organisation created in 1968 and still widely known as RFK Human Rights. The program started in 2017 and was restructured in 2022. It is named for the shared work of Congressman John Lewis and Robert Kennedy.

Fellows stay enrolled at their own universities for one academic year. They take grassroots organizing workshops, meet as a cohort once a month, get one-on-one coaching from Center staff, and build a capstone project in their campus or local community.

The cohort is small — 16 students in 2025–26, drawn from public universities, HBCUs and private colleges across the country. The fellowship runs every year: the 2026–27 round closed on 27 February 2026 and ends on 30 May 2027, and the next call is expected in early 2027.

Benefits & funding

$2,000 professional stipend, paid as two $1,000 installments across the fall and spring semesters.
$1,000 action fund for events and activities tied to the capstone project.
All-expenses-paid four-day fellowship retreat over a long weekend in June, including travel and lodging. Recent retreats were held in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Austin and Chicago.
Grassroots organizing workshops and sessions with working activists and changemakers.
Monthly one-on-one coaching with Center staff.
Access to the Center’s network of human rights professionals, peer fellows and program alumni.

Eligibility

Currently an enrolled undergraduate student.
Enrolled in an accredited two-year or four-year program.
Enrolled at a university located in the United States.
Graduating on or after May 2027, so the full fellowship year can be completed as a student.
No nationality requirement is stated; the gate is being enrolled at a US institution.
Priority — not a bar — goes to students at HBCUs, HSIs and HMSIs, and to students from marginalized communities.
Fellows must commit to the June retreat, the monthly cohort meeting on the second Monday, monthly coaching, and a capstone presentation at the end of the year.

Can you apply?

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Residence required
USA
Education required
Bachelor Enrolled

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Application process

1
Register an account on the fellowship application site and log in.
2
Create an application; it can be saved as a draft and returned to before submission.
3
Upload proof of current enrollment — a transcript or an enrollment verification — and a resume.
4
Answer the three written prompts: academic involvement, commitment to human rights work, and demonstrated leadership.
5
Describe the proposed capstone project and how the $1,000 action fund would be spent.
6
Submit the application as final before the deadline; the 2026–27 round closed at 11:59 pm EST on 27 February 2026.
7
Send questions to youngleaders@rfkhumanrights.org.

Program timeline

5 January 2026
applications open for the 2026–27 cohort
application deadline, 11:59 pm EST
27 February 2026
four-day fellowship retreat
11–14 June 2026
fellowship year begins
10 August 2026
capstone project proposal due
13 September 2026
Second Monday of each month
cohort meeting, plus monthly one-on-one coaching
capstone presentation and end of the fellowship
30 May 2027