Interested in deepening your understanding of US history and the effects of institutional racism?
Consider doing a self-guided internship or student project with us!
The purpose of the Uncovering History: Walking the Path of Repair program is to bring African Americans together with European Americans to study erased history, understand the historical basis for the current racial wealth gap, and deconstruct the bootstrap and meritocracy arguments. In addition, we hope to facilitate a change in European Americans’ attitudes, replacing the passive understanding of history with a sense of personal accountability and responsibility for righting the wrongs of the past. Finally, we hope to build support for the movement for reparations. It is our hope that this program brings about racial healing through the fulfillment of justice.
The program is offered on-line as a self-study opportunity; each curriculum was beta-tested in 2021 and 2022 with multiple cohorts of reparationists.
Intern Spotlight
Caleigh Grogan is a Masters of Divinity student at Harvard Divinity School, where she is preparing for Unitarian Universalist ordination. Caleigh has had the honor of learning about and beginning her journey in the work of reparations through the course "Reparations as Spiritual Practice" taught by Dr. David Ragland co-founder of the Truth Telling Project.
As part of her work with Dr. Ragland, Caleigh interned with Reparations4slavery and helped update our Faith Communities: Designing a Plan of Repair, adding a curriculum for Unitarian Universalist congregations walking the path of repair.
"Only by acknowledging the full extent of slavery's grip on U.S. Society - its intimate connections to present day wealth and power, the depth of its injury to black Americans, the shocking nearness in time of its true end - can we reconcile the paradoxes of current American life.”
Douglas A. Blackmon
Basic Information
The purpose of the Independent Study program is threefold – to expose students to erased history, provide them with research projects to uncover more erased history, as well as to help them “metabolize” what they discover, connecting this history to their own family history. Students will then critically examine the movement for reparations, deciding for themselves whether the argument for reparations is merited and just.
Initial Tasks:
Intern will:
- select a topic from one of the curricula as a focus area;
- develop systematic research proposal;
- meet with R4S team weekly or bi-weekly to discuss progress, ask questions, seek guidance, etc.
Final product:
The final product will demonstrate the student's research findings on the selected curriculum of erased history in the following ways:
- Submit a document with feedback on which existing materials are most effective and which additional source documents could be added to the curriculum
- Evaluate and suggest additions and edits to the summary section for the R4S portal curriculum or write or rewrite the questions for reflection sections
Sample Deliverables and timetable:
The student will develop their own schedule of deliverables and timetable:
- Detailed work plan
- Systematic research proposal
- Draft report outline
- Draft report
- Revisions
- Final report and presentation of key findings and recommendations
Students with University of the District of Columbia, in collaboration with the African American Redress Network worked on the "Land" curriculum and did interviews with African Americans experiencing land loss:
Oral History in Black & White Podcast — Reparations 4 Slavery
FAQ
R4S's self-guided internship is ideal for students of any age who are disciplined, well-organized, and motivated to learn about American history and its intersection with our family histories in a new way.
At a minimum, students will need 40 hours over 4 - 8 weeks to complete readings and basic research for each topic chosen. Students are encouraged to discern whether they have capacity to complete the research before committing to the internship.
Students may request a weekly 30-minute meeting to review their plan of research, discuss progress, and pose questions. Longer meetings are available for students doing a longer-term research project.
Available Curricula Expansion Projects
History of Slavery and Institutional Racism, State by State — Reparations 4 Slavery
A self-study internship is available for work on these materials. This project involves:
- Reading and studying existing materials
- Determining which materials are the highest quality and which could be replaced with more current or better quality materials
- Researching online for additional materials to include
- Evaluating which sections need updating or completing.
- Each section includes:
- Historical summary
- Personal narratives
- Slavery, Black codes, and Jim Crow laws
- Black history timeline
- Articles
- Books
- Podcasts
- Film/video
- List of plantations, if appropriate
- Genealogical research sites
- Questions for reflection
The Racial Wealth Gap: Understanding The Economic Basis For Repair — Reparations 4 Slavery
A self-study internship is available for work on these materials. This project involves:
- Choosing a single topic
- Reading and studying existing materials
- Determining which materials are the highest quality and which could be replaced with more current or better quality materials
- Researching online for additional materials to include
- Evaluating which sections need updating or completing.
- Each section includes:
- Historical summary
- Articles
- Books
- Podcasts
- Film/video
- Questions for reflection
Modern Vectors of Economic Racism — Reparations 4 Slavery
A self-study internship is available for work on these materials. This project involves:
- Choosing a single topic
- Reading and studying existing materials
- Determining which materials are the highest quality and which could be replaced with more current or better quality materials
- Researching online for additional materials to include
- Evaluating which sections need updating or completing.
- Each section includes:
- Historical summary
- Quote
- Personal narratives
- Methods of discrimination
- Timelines of disparity
- Metrics
- Articles
- Books
- Podcasts
- Film/video
- Questions for reflection
Modern Vectors of Economic Liberation — Reparations 4 Slavery
A self-study internship is available for work on these materials. This project involves:
- Choosing a single topic
- Reading and studying existing materials
- Determining which materials are the highest quality and which could be replaced with more current or better quality materials
- Researching online for additional materials to include
- Evaluating which sections need updating or completing.
- Each section includes:
- Vision of an equitable future
- Summary of efforts toward equity
- Quotes
- Metrics
- Methods of liberation
- Timelines of equity
- Changemakers
- Articles
- Books
- Podcasts
- Film/video
- Questions for reflection
Faith Communities: Designing a Plan of Repair — Reparations 4 Slavery
A self-study internship is available for updating and expanding these materials. This project involves:
- Reading and studying existing materials
- Determining which materials are the highest quality and which could be replaced with more current or better quality materials
- Researching online for additional materials to include
- Evaluating which sections need updating or completing.
- Interviewing folks who have brought reparations programs to their predominantly white faith communities to distill what methods work best
- Producing a written narrative on the nature of hope and faith on the path of repair.
White Trauma / White Supremacy — Reparations 4 Slavery
A self-study internship is available for work on these materials. This project involves:
- Choosing a single topic
- Reading and studying existing materials
- Determining which materials are the highest quality and which could be replaced with more current or better quality materials
- Researching online for additional materials to include
- Evaluating which sections need updating or completing.
- Each section includes:
- Summary
- Quote
- Timeline
- Articles
- Books
- Podcasts
- Film/video
- Questions for research and reflection
Single Projects
History of Slavery and Institutional Racism, State by State — Reparations 4 Slavery
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- Have just 5 - 10 hours?
- Help us add materials to each state's resource guide.
Municipal Reparations — Reparations 4 Slavery
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- Have just 5 - 10 hours?
- Help us summarize recommendations each commission has made