Abolitionist Sanctuary serves as a host field education placement site for our Student Training Abolition Ambassador Research (STAAR) internship program.

We work with undergraduate and graduate (including doctoral) students across colleges, universities, and theological schools in the United States.

Interns can specialize in various learning or expertise areas including: community organizing, education, law, media, public policy,  political science, religion, marketing, anthropology, sociology, history, women and gender studies, justice or abolition studies, technology. 

FREQUENT ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ):

1. How do I get paid?

This is an unpaid internship opportunity.

However, we work with career offices in higher education to offer academic credit and stipends through the educational institution of the intern’s enrollment. All interns receive supervised support from our Executive Director—a practicing abolitionist and academic scholar.

2. How long is the internship?

The internship duration is a minimum of eight weeks and can span a semester, or 1-year (renewable).

3. What are my responsibilities?

Interns meet weekly with the Executive Director to complete 1)  day-to-day operational deliverables, 2) supervised research aligned with the organization’s mission, and 3) a community project. 

Day-to-day tasks depend on intern’s strengths to help with the operational needs of Abolitionist Sanctuary. These responsibilities can include social media management and content creation, supporting our Program Director with special projects, client relationship management or base building, communications, data entry, abolition curriculum development, and other adhoc requests to assist the Executive Director.

The research component of the internship is supervised by the Executive Director, an academic and public scholar.  Research projects should align with the organization’s mission and focus on topics at the intersection of mass incarceration, religion, and Black motherhood. At the end of the internship, interns produce a research paper and receive feedback with the expectations of publication.

In addition to day-to-day tactical tasks and research, interns will work together as a team to produce a group project that communities can use in real-life. Past projects have included a community asset mapping guide, public education, zine, and social media campaign.

The STAAR program is an exciting opportunity to make an impact! Learn from a leading scholar in the areas of religion, law, and public policy with an emphasis on the criminalization and incarceration of Black women, mothers, and femmes. This internship is a unique opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge with on-the-ground experience to activate restorative and transformative justice strategies through community organizing and advancing a faith-based abolitionist movement!