Position Title: Archival Intern, The WISH Archives Project
Term: September 15, 2009 – May 15, 2010
Hourly commitment: 8-10 hours/week
Compensation: To be determined
Location: Offices of Empower D.C., 1419 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.
Empower D.C., a grassroots community organization in the District of Columbia, is seeking a library science graduate student intern to assist in organizing the archives of Washington Inner-City Self Help, or WISH. WISH was a grassroots housing rights group that organized among District residents from 1978 to 2003. Over the years, WISH took on many different challenges, all geared towards helping low-income District residents gain power over their lives, neighborhoods, and city. WISH represents an important chapter in the history of social movements in Washington, D.C., stemming from the civil rights movement and intertwined with local movements for self-determination. WISH has also played a major role in housing struggles in the District – struggles that continue to be waged to this day.
WISH’s records are currently stored in 20 boxes in the offices of Empower D.C. These boxes are full of fascinating documents, including WISH newsletters, brochures, flyers, board minutes, meeting programs, letters, newspaper clippings, housing cooperative documents, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, and many other materials. The job of the archival intern will be to both devise an appropriate system for cataloguing these materials, and conduct the cataloguing of the materials. The intern will work closely with the project director, and may work with other volunteers, as well. The resulting archives will be housed in the Washingtoniana Division of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Library, and publicly accessible to all. The ultimate goal of the project is to give the general public access to the records and history of WISH, and add to the body of archival materials that cover the history of housing and community organizing in Washington, D.C.
This position is ideal for a library science graduate student who is specializing in archival work and interested in community archiving. Interest in community organizing, housing rights and/or D.C. history is a plus, but not necessary. Compensation may be available, depending on funding. Interested students should contact Amanda Huron, project director, at [log in to unmask] or 202-246-0112.