Summer 2022 Fellow: L’Hussen Toure, ’25
Office Description
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by an Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans. To date, the Museum has collected more than 40,000 artifacts and nearly 100,000 individuals have become members. The Museum opened to the public on September 24, 2016, as the 19th museum of the Smithsonian Institution.
Potential Projects
Fellow will assist in various research projects, writing assignments related to exhibition work, and will also work with museum’s public affairs team to develop content. Specific projects and exhibits are still to be determined for Summer 2023, although past fellows have worked in the Office of Curatorial Affairs (OCA) which facilitates the intellectual work of the Museum by collecting artifacts, ensuring collection preservation and stewardship, conducting research and scholarship, and sharing the rich history and culture of African Americans and all people of African descent with a diverse public in accessible, multifaceted ways including exhibition, digitization, and publication. Previous fellows have also worked as a research assistant for an exhibit on Afrofuturism. The intern researched assorted topics, objects, and online archives for exhibit materials.
Duties Include (but are not limited to):
- Online and archival research
- Research using The Museum System (TMS) software
- Image research
- Draft writing
Desired Skills
- Strong research and writing skills and experience
- Coursework on American and African American history and culture
- Ability to creatively pursue research through a variety of online and physical archives
- Self-motivated and able to work independently
- Curious
- Attentive to detail
- Interested in African American history and culture, museums, public history, education
