I am hugely grateful to have received the 2026 Rosamund Davies Research Travel Fellowship. Receiving this award meant I had the opportunity to spend six weeks in the United States, travelling between New York, Massachusetts and Washington, DC. As a self-funded PhD student researching American political history, the chance to work with archival material in person was incredibly exciting, and it is something I would have unlikely been able to do without the support of this fellowship. The trip has been invaluable to my thesis, but it was also great fun and helped me grow in confidence as an early career researcher.

My first stop was the University of Buffalo, where I spent two weeks in the Special Collections looking through material relating to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. These archives are crucial to the final chapter of my thesis and will help me to begin to understand the significance of RFK within the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

From Buffalo I travelled to Boston, Massachusetts, to attend the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) annual conference. APSA was a fantastic opportunity to hear current research on American politics and to make connections with scholars working in areas similar to my own. I also found time to visit the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, something I had wanted to do since the beginning of my PhD.

I then spent a few days in New York City at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, where I viewed the James Baldwin Papers. These papers are particularly important to my thesis as they offer valuable insight into the Robert Kenendy’s relationship with Black activists.

Finally, I spent time in Washington, DC, working with several collections at the Library of Congress. There I was able to examine material from members of the Kennedy administration’s staff and from figures within the Civil Rights Movement. The Library also houses many oral history collections, which are important to my research given that a central aim of the thesis is to centralise the voices of Black Americans.

Alongside the archival research, I had a brilliant time visiting DC and being fully immersed in the centre of American Politics. I attended a memorial ceremony at the Capitol to honour former members of Congress which gave me the opportunity to hear former Speaker Nancy Pelosi speak. I also visited many of the Smithsonian museums, which deepened my understanding of American history and culture. I particularly enjoyed the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which served as a powerful reminder as to why this area of research continues to matter today.

Throughout my travels I had the absolute pleasure of meeting many different people, in both professional and friendly contexts. Those conversations and the generosity of the people who hosted and welcomed me made the trip as rewarding personally as it was academically.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Professor Phil Davies for his generosity in funding the fellowship, and to the American Politics Group for its continued support of early career researchers. This trip has shaped my research in lasting ways, and I am very grateful for the opportunity.