About LDF and the LDF Archives:

The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Using the power of law, narrative, research, and people, we defend and advance the full dignity and citizenship of Black people in America. The Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multidisciplinary center within LDF that complements the organization’s traditional litigation, strengthening it through innovative research and publications, targeted advocacy, and public education campaigns.

Housed within the Thurgood Marshall Institute, the Archives and Records Department serves three major functions: building and managing an archival repository of LDF’s historic records, providing library services including research support, and coordinating the process by which records become part of the LDF Archives. LDF is undertaking a major effort to organize, preserve, digitize, and create a website featuring a substantial portion of our 8,000 boxes of rich historical case files and institutional records.

LDF Archives Internship:

LDF is seeking a current or recent graduate student in Library and Information Studies for a Fall 2023 Archives Internship. Working closely with LDF archivists, the Archives Intern will primarily assist with surveying, arranging, and describing physical and digital records related to the ongoing fight for racial justice. The intern may also assist with tasks such as research for the LDF Oral History Project, curating content for the Archives website, ingesting files into Preservica, assisting with developing or updating archives policies and procedures, general research and writing about LDF’s history, and other projects. This internship will be a great fit for a collaborative and detail-oriented student interested in legal history and archival program development at a dynamic nonprofit organization.

This is a paid internship, at a rate of $20/hr, for a minimum of 120 hours over one semester. The Archives Intern will primarily work onsite in LDF’s New York office, with potential for a hybrid schedule alternating between onsite and remote work. The intern’s onsite work must be scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Fridays.

Intern Qualifications:

• Current or recent Master of Science in Library and Information Studies student with a specialization in archives;
• Understanding of basic principles of archival appraisal, arrangement, and description;
• Strong project management skills; and
• Commitment to the racial justice mission of LDF.

To Apply:

Send a resume and cover letter to archivesteam@naacpldf.org with “Internship Application” in the subject line. Please include the following in the cover letter: relevant coursework, work experience, and why you want to work in the LDF Archives.

Application deadline is August 28, 2023.

Please note that LDF requires all employees to be fully vaccinated, including a booster shot against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Accordingly, successful candidates must be fully vaccinated, including the booster shot against COVID-19, and submit proof of vaccination prior to the commencement of employment unless they qualify for a reasonable accommodation for bona fide medical or religious reasons.

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to you without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, age, veteran status, medical condition or disability, genetic information, gender identity, or any other protected status under federal, state, or local law.

Submit specified application materials to archivesteam@naacpldf.org.