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Project 68, a media and civic engagement organization, announced Monday the launch of a fellowship program designed to develop a new generation of Black storytellers, journalists, creators and civic leaders, beginning with a partnership at Howard University.
The pilot program, known as P68 Impact Hub x Howard University, will create a campus-based media ecosystem aimed at helping student creators develop their platforms and reach audiences that traditional news organizations often struggle to engage.
The paid fellowship program will provide participating students with editorial development, mentorship, production support and connections to professionals in the media industry.
Fellows will produce short-form videos, podcasts, shows, live activations and in-person social events focused on culturally grounded storytelling and the preservation of Black narratives.
“We are thrilled to be in partnership with our alum, Darryl Banks, who is dedicated to supporting our student creators,” Kimberly R. Moffitt, dean of Howard University’s Cathy Hughes School of Communications, said in a statement.
Moffitt said the partnership will help strengthen a pipeline of young storytellers who can tell Black stories “with authenticity and without apology.”
Building a pipeline at HBCUs
P68 said the Howard Impact Hub will focus on students who are already emerging as storytellers, creators, journalists and trusted voices within HBCU communities.
The program will also bring together parts of Howard’s existing communications infrastructure, including student creators, journalism programs, student newspapers, podcasts, radio and communications departments.
The goal is to create a coordinated network that gives students greater access to resources while helping their work reach audiences beyond campus.
Rather than treating student media as separate projects, P68 said the Impact Hub model is designed to connect those efforts into a broader narrative ecosystem.
The organization said the approach is intended to help reach people who may avoid traditional news outlets but engage with information through social media, podcasts, video and other forms of digital storytelling.
A personal mission for P68’s leader
Darryl Banks, P68’s executive director and a Howard University alumnus, said the partnership has personal significance because of the role the university played in his own development.
“Creating opportunities that give back to students at Howard, an institution that helped shape who I am, has always been a personal mission,” Banks said.
Banks said the program is also motivated by what he described as growing efforts to erase or diminish Black culture and history.
“As efforts to erase Black culture and history continue to grow, investing in our future leaders and cultural messengers is not just important; it is urgent,” he said.
Banks described the Impact Hub as an investment in the role HBCUs were created to play in developing Black leadership and institutions.
From Howard to a national network
Howard is the first university to join P68’s Impact Hub initiative.
The organization plans to establish additional Hubs at colleges and universities in states across the country in the coming months.
P68 envisions eventually connecting HBCUs, other colleges and universities, regional media organizations and surrounding communities into larger networks focused on storytelling and civic engagement.
The organization said universities could serve as anchor institutions within those networks, giving student creators access to professional opportunities while strengthening connections between campuses and their surrounding communities.
For Howard students participating in the pilot, the program offers an opportunity to build professional portfolios and audiences while experimenting with different forms of media.
For P68, the broader goal is to establish a long-term pipeline of creators and trusted messengers who can shape how Black communities are represented and informed.
The organization said the expansion of the Impact Hub model will allow it to build that pipeline across multiple campuses and regions, with Howard serving as the first test of the initiative.
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