What are the responsibilities and job description for the Summer 2026 Archives Internship position at NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.?
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, and digitize 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 Summer 2026 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.
The deadline for submissions is Monday, February 23, 2026.
Work schedule: Interns are required to be onsite on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Qualifications
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, and digitize 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 Summer 2026 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.
The deadline for submissions is Monday, February 23, 2026.
Work schedule: Interns are required to be onsite on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
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.