ORGANIZATION
Located in the Jefferson School City Center, The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center’s mission is to honor and preserve the rich heritage and legacy of the African-American community of Charlottesville-Albemarle, Virginia and to promote a greater appreciation for, and understanding of, the contributions of African Americans and peoples of the Diaspora.
MENTOR
Jordy Yager, Director of Digital Humanities
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
This internship will prepare interns for careers in any of the following:
- Advocacy and Policy
- Data Science
- Non-profit
- Public History
- Digital Humanities
- Cultural Preservation
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
This internship will provide experiences to develop and polish the following skills:
- Communication (Written and/or verbal)
- Data Literacy and Fluency
- Teamwork and Collaboration
- Knowledge of Sector and Networking
- Problem-solving and Analytical Thinking
- Project Management
- Self and Career Management
- Thought Leadership and Innovation
MENTORING PLAN
The student will work closely with Jordy Yager, the Director of Digital Humanities at the JSAAHC. Together they will work on primary source research that furthers the public understanding of local African American history. Our organization is not very large (3 FT employees), but our network numbers in the thousands, and so through this internship the student may experience the wide array of community partnerships that make our public history efforts possible—this may include municipal and government entities, nonprofit organizations, descendants and residents of historical communities, and other public and lay historians. This may include visits to the courthouses, the historical society, special collections, and city hall. Yager will provide ongoing constructive feedback, either written or verbal, however is best received by the intern.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The student will have the opportunity to learn more about our local history, and to critically examine the ethics and methodology behind historically interpretative narratives. They will learn how to do public history data collection and analysis, as we gather more information about our area from 1865-1965. The student will work with Yager and the JSAAHC to assemble these data sets and then conduct an historical analysis that will result in curriculum, exhibition, and other interpretive outcomes, both digital and physical.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The student will be responsible for working with labor and employment data, property ownership data, health data, tree canopy and climate data, municipal infrastructure data, voting and civil rights data, and legal court data.
DESIRED QUALITIES
Must have an interest in African American history, and a desire to see a more robust public-facing accounting of that history.
MODE OF INTERNSHIP
Willing to consider in-person, virtual or hybrid depending on the intern’s availability/preference
DURATION
Summer 2023 and/or Fall 2023