Our Team

The Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab hosts USC Faculty Fellows, student fellows and professional senior fellows.
Meet the team!

Charlotta Bass Faculty Fellows

The Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab has a vibrant team of Faculty Fellows, who lend their expertise in various ways. Faculty Fellows teach journalism and PR bootcamps to our student fellows. They host “Lunch and Learn” workshops about the industry. They even help us strategize. Meet the team!

Clarissa Beyah

Melanie Cherry

Jameela Hammond

Keith Plocek

Charlotta Bass Senior Fellows & Student Fellows

The Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab hosts professional senior fellows and USC student fellows. Our senior fellows are working professionals who have an ongoing research relationship with the Lab. They host talks and events at USC, write articles for our Bearing Witness zine, offer advisory support and enjoy access to many of USC’s research resources. Our student fellows are on either research or practitioner tracks. Research fellows pledge to conduct an investigative project of their choice for one year. They receive stipends for research fees, travel support and reporting equipment. Journalism or public relations fellows write for the Bearing Witness zine, go on site visits, help plan and promote our annual Media Trailblazer Award ceremony, and engage in hands-on Black archival practices workshops. Without further ado, meet the inaugural class of Fellows!

Morgan Fykes

Senior Research Fellow

  • Morgan Fykes is a storyteller, experience creator, connector, yogi, visual artist, teacher, and impact investor — a true Jill of many trades! With a passion for people, places, and occasional things, this native Washingtonian believes in the power of collective success to improve the world.

    Morgan is a strategist and coach with a keen eye for business, branding, storytelling, and events that drive results at the intersection of people and experiences.

    Morgan holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's in Counseling, and she continues to expand her skill set to serve her clients better.

  • As a senior research fellow and Bass family relative, Morgan will help locate and connect more branches of the Charlotta Bass family tree. She will also host events about her great-great-grand aunt’s influence in Los Angeles, and beyond.

Iliya Kure

Research Fellow

  • Iliya Kure, a Nigerian Journalist, is a Master’s of Arts student in Specialized Journalism at USC.

    Kure worked as a reporter with Radio Nigeria (National Radio) in Kaduna, and freelanced for Voice of America (VOA); e-Global (a Portuguese news media); and UK-based African Farming Magazine, among others. He has been a media consultant to many development organizations and projects in Nigeria, including UNICEF, UKaid and USAID.

    In 2014, Kure established the Africa Media Development Foundation, a media development organization, which provides professional support to African journalists and sustainable development initiatives. In 2015, he started Africa Prime News, an online news platform, which reports on issues of interest to Africans.

    Kure attended the University of Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria, where he obtained a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Mass Communication.

  • Iliya Kure is studying the #AfricansinUkraine social justice movement as a master’s thesis project. Nigerians living in Ukraine in the lead up to the Russian war used mobile and social media to broadcast racial discrimination they faced at the Ukranian borderlands. The Bass Lab funded Iliya’s trip to Nigeria to interview returnees to the country.

Jacqueline Nkhonjera

Global Media Studies Fellow

  • Morgan Fykes is a storyteller, experience creator, connector, yogi, visual artist, teacher, and impact investor — a true Jill of many trades! With a passion for people, places, and occasional things, this native Washingtonian believes in the power of collective success to improve the world.

    Morgan is a strategist and coach with a keen eye for business, branding, storytelling, and events that drive results at the intersection of people and experiences.

    Morgan holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's in Counseling, and she continues to expand her skill set to serve her clients better.

    As a senior research fellow and Bass family relative, Morgan will help locate and connect more branches of the Charlotta Bass family tree. She will also host events about her great-great-grand aunt’s influence in Los Angeles, and beyond.

  • “All About Love” by bell hooks

  • “Sofa Silahlane” by Wanitwa Mos and Master Kg

  • Writer + Author

Britney “Bee” Pollard

Journalism Fellow

  • Morgan Fykes is a storyteller, experience creator, connector, yogi, visual artist, teacher, and impact investor — a true Jill of many trades! With a passion for people, places, and occasional things, this native Washingtonian believes in the power of collective success to improve the world.

    Morgan is a strategist and coach with a keen eye for business, branding, storytelling, and events that drive results at the intersection of people and experiences.

    Morgan holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's in Counseling, and she continues to expand her skill set to serve her clients better.

    As a senior research fellow and Bass family relative, Morgan will help locate and connect more branches of the Charlotta Bass family tree. She will also host events about her great-great-grand aunt’s influence in Los Angeles, and beyond.

  • “The Mothers” by Britt Bennett

  • “Up from a Dream” by HAIM

  • Historian, educator and archivist of 20th- and 21st-century pop culture.

Paul Robinson

Marketing Associate

  • Morgan Fykes is a storyteller, experience creator, connector, yogi, visual artist, teacher, and impact investor — a true Jill of many trades! With a passion for people, places, and occasional things, this native Washingtonian believes in the power of collective success to improve the world.

    Morgan is a strategist and coach with a keen eye for business, branding, storytelling, and events that drive results at the intersection of people and experiences.

    Morgan holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's in Counseling, and she continues to expand her skill set to serve her clients better.

    As a senior research fellow and Bass family relative, Morgan will help locate and connect more branches of the Charlotta Bass family tree. She will also host events about her great-great-grand aunt’s influence in Los Angeles, and beyond.

  • “The Taking of Jake Livingston” by Ryan Douglass

  • “Aura” by Mariah the Scientist

  • I want to be a personal publicist or talent manager for a musician, actor, influencer, or athlete. I hope to one day open my own PR agency that specializes in entertainment.

Rafiq Taylor

Public Relations Fellow

  • Rafiq Taylor is a chronic storyteller with a special interest in spotlighting unseen perspectives. This purpose has followed him in every endeavor and is central to the ideas behind his stories and his work. Rafiq’s work as an inaugural fellow of the Bass Lab actively activates his skills as a digital content creator, historian, journalist, cultural analyst, and public relations professional. As a personal goal, he feels his purpose on this planet is to make the world more curious, one story at a time.

  • “Oh the Places You’ll Go!” by Dr. Seuss

  • “Alfonso Muskedunder” by Todd Terje

  • I want to be an expert creative consultant with a specialty in addressing the intersectionality of historical pain, joy, and art.

Check out the Fellows’ Bearing Witness zine.