Congratulations to Ph.D. Candidate Paul McAllister on receiving the Colonel Charles Young Fellowship.

Paul says, "It is a paid fellowship sponsored by the U.S. Army Center of Military History with the goal of increasing diversity in its workforce. As a fellow I will be working in the federal government history community getting the chance to sharpen many of the editorial and research skills I developed while working at PBH [Picturing Black History]. This fellowship will help give me a leg up in preparing for future, post-military, opportunities as a civil service employee or contractor in the federal government. I made my work at PBH a central part of my application and I believe it was a huge boost to me."

About the fellowship (from the U.S. Army Center of Military History website):

This fellowship commemorates the service of Col. Charles Young to the nation and the Army. Born to enslaved parents in 1864, he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1889, becoming just the third African American to do so. During his career he served in the cavalry, led the military science program (a forerunner of ROTC) at Wilberforce College, was superintendent of a national park, served as military attaché to Haiti and later Liberia, and commanded a cavalry squadron in the Philippines and another during the 1916 Punitive Expedition in Mexico. He was a torchbearer and trailblazer, becoming the first African American officer to achieve the ranks of major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel in the Regular Army. Through his selfless service Colonel Young demonstrated that African Americans could lead at any level and serve fully as soldiers in the U.S. Army. By doing so he helped open doors for African Americans in the Armed Forces and made the Army more representative of the nation it serves. In 2022, the Army bestowed on him an honorary promotion to the rank of brigadier general.

The U.S. Army Center of Military History (CMH) sponsors this fellowship with the objective of increasing diversity in its historian workforce and in the history it produces. Fellows will acquire additional knowledge in the fields of U.S. Army history and general military history, gain firsthand experience in the federal government history community, and obtain a security clearance. Fellows thus will be better prepared for possible future opportunities with the federal government as a civil service employee or contractor. Fellows with a PhD will receive $80,000 in return for working at the Center of Military History for one year. Fellows who have not yet completed their PhD degree and are in all-but-dissertation (ABD) status will receive $60,000. The fellowship does not include any paid benefits, other than 11 paid national holidays and 26 days of paid leave. By mutual agreement, the fellowship may be extended for a second year. Fellows will work a standard 40-hour week, but are eligible for flexible work schedules that may permit occasional weekdays off in addition to holidays and paid leave. Fellows are eligible for partial telework, but should anticipate spending part of each week at CMH offices in Washington, D.C.

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