The Frederick Douglass Museum and Cultural Center is looking for an undergraduate intern to support their Preserving Freedom’s Shore: The Frederick Douglass and Chesapeake Heritage Collections Project.
Position Description
Project Overview:
Twin Oaks, the summer cottage built for Frederick Douglass, is home to the Frederick Douglass Museum and Cultural Center (FDMCC). This three bedroom home that faces east with a spectacular view of the Chesapeake Bay was designed by Frederick Douglass. For him, one of the most important features was a second-floor balcony. He wanted that view, he said, "so that as a free man I could look across the Bay to the Eastern Shore where I was born a slave."
In February 1996, Twin Oaks was deeded to the town of Highland Beach at a ceremony held at the state capitol building in Annapolis. It was officially named the Frederick Douglass Museum and
Cultural Center. The museum today has an extensive collection of artifacts, documents, photographs, furniture, and more related to the life of Frederick Douglass,
Mary Church Terrell, Paul Robeson, Robert Weaver, Harriet Tubman, W.E.B Dubois, Dr. Charles R. Drew, poets Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Langston Hughes, and the history of the communities of Highland Beach and Venice Beach. The museum will be undergoing extensive structural renovations through an African American Heritage Preservation Program (AAHPP) grant. The FDMCC operates without paid staff. All operations, including collections stewardship, programming, and visitor engagement, are supported by volunteer board members and docents. Many items have not yet been fully catalogued or digitized, limiting access and increasing vulnerability during renovation.
Position Summary:
The Undergraduate Intern will play a central role in the preservation, cataloging, anddigitization of the collections of the FDMCC as part of the Preserving Freedom’s Shore project. Working collaboratively with museum leadership, volunteers, graduate interns, and professionals from the Maryland State Archives, the intern will assist with collections surveys, archival cataloging, condition assessment, digital documentation, and the safe preparation and relocation of materials during a major renovation project.
This position provides hands-on experience in public history, archives, museum collections management, digital humanities, and cultural heritage preservation. The intern will contribute to the development of sustainable archival workflows and public facing digital access initiatives that preserve and expand access to the histories of Frederick Douglass, Highland Beach, Venice Beach, and African American life along Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay. The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, collaborative, and interested in archival practice, museum studies, African American history, public humanities, digital preservation, or related fields.
Full position responsibilities, time frame, and application instructions are in the attachment. Deadline to submit your application is June 15th, 2026.