Internship/Independent Study of Frederick Douglass Program
Welcome to our newest Independent Study!
Registration is extended until May 5, 11:59 pm EST
This Summer program is an excellent alternative to our STEM focus. And it doesn’t take the precious time you want to dedicate to summer paid work! It's a great volunteering experience with many perks! Do you think you can make a difference in this World? Well, start your Tikkun Olam Journey here.
The program is around the Frederick Douglas “Fourth of July” speech.
"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" is a famous speech delivered by Frederick Douglass on July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York. Douglass, a former slave who became a prominent abolitionist leader and orator, gave the speech when the United States celebrated its independence from British rule. In his address, Douglass questioned the hypocrisy of celebrating freedom and independence while millions of African Americans remained enslaved and oppressed. He challenged his audience to reflect on the stark contrast between the ideals of liberty and equality proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence and the reality of slavery and racial injustice endured by Black Americans. Douglass's speech remains a powerful condemnation of slavery and a reminder of the ongoing struggle for civil rights and equality in America.
Your job will be to research US history and find everything you can about Mr. Douglass, his biography, his political views, his understanding of Human and Women's rights, and how it all resembles today’s picture and resonates with your identity. In addition, for those who want to earn a stipend on this program (determined after all paperwork at the end of the study is completed), the challenge will be to draw parallels between his work against slavery and the contemporary fight against rising antisemitism. Hence, we understand that both underscore the importance of confronting injustice, promoting solidarity, and advocating for equality and human rights for all individuals and communities.
If you’re a young educator or a soon-to-be one, you may focus your study on the speech and how to present this topic to your future students.
The deliverable can be presented in many ways. You may choose to write a paper/research or create a slide show, make a video or design a poster/series of posters, put together an art project, or prepare a website/social media page that helps us to understand your point. You may record an interview or create a podcast, collect pre-immigration stories, and match them to the slavery in the United States, or compare slavery in America with the one that happened at the same time in Africa, targeting people of Asian origins.
You will have 4 Zoom meetings along your summer journey.
The first one is where all students meet and greet each other and where we explain the work we’re expecting from you in greater detail. It’s a great time to ask all questions. This meeting will occur via Zoom on Tuesday, May 14th, 2024, at 8:30 p.m. EST.
At the second meeting, we will read the speech together and discuss it. This meeting, which will be open to the students in this program and the General Public, will occur via Zoom on Wednesday, June 19th, 2024, at 8:30 p.m. EST.
The third meeting will be via Zoom on Thursday, July 18th, at 8:30 p.m. EST, to review your drafts midterm work and answer any questions you might have.
The fourth and last meeting will occur after we receive all your deliverables (in electronic format or shipped to our Framingham office – Jookender @ 650 Worcester Rd. Unit 102, Framingham, MA 01702) and all work is processed and graded – will occur via Zoom on Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Deadlines:
- Application for the Summer Study Program and payment – due April 30, 2024
- The Acceptation letter will be forwarded to you via email – by May 6, 2024
- Confirming the type of deliverables – due May 19, 2024
- First Draft submission in electronic format – due July 10, 2024
- Final Project submission - due August 10, 2024
- The end-of-program Survey is due as soon as the project is completed and is in direct correlation with the certificate of completion and letter of recommendation provided.
After the survey is completed, the certificate of completion, the number of hours served, and the Letter of Recommendation will be issued and sent electronically by August 19, 2024.
Eligibility: You must be a legal resident or refugee in the United States from the time you submit your application until the time you graduate from the program.
Participation Cost: $500 per student. The payment must be made together with the application submission. In the rare case of not being accepted to the program based on further eligibility, the amount will be fully refunded. The amount is not refundable if a student changes his mind on participation. The amount paid is considered a donation to our organization and the Teen programs and is tax-deductible. Our 501 c(3) nonprofit EIN is 82-3470470.
Stipend: This will be given backward to the three best works that successfully implement and expand on the parallels between US Slavery History, Frederick Douglass's work, and the current issue of rising antisemitism ($750 first place, $500 second place, and $250 third place). Note: The monetary compensation may only be given to a person with proof of being able to work for any US employer and only after he has filled out and sent the w-9 form back to us). Note 2. We reserve the right not to extend a stipend if we don’t receive a worthy entry for that.