CCR created the Ella Baker Summer Internship Program in the spring of 1987 in honor of Ella Baker, a hero of the civil rights movement, in order to provide students with legal and other training and a background in movements for social change. The goal of the program is to train the next generation of social justice lawyers.
Students work with teams of lawyers on various legal issues, doing legal and factual research and writing on active CCR cases. They also have the opportunity to work with the Education and Outreach Department on various campaigns and produce documents for public distribution. Ella Baker interns attend weekly discussions with scholars, activists, and clients on such subjects as human rights, racial and economic justice, government misconduct, and corporate accountability. In addition to seminars with prominent litigators and activists, students will have the opportunity to see films and plays about movements for social change.
Application instructions for the summer program are detailed below. CCR strongly recommends that students commit to and take advantage of the internship’s full 10-week program. We will make considerations for split-summer arrangements on a case by case basis.
Why Is The Internship Named After Ella Baker?
Ella Baker devoted her adult life to social change. During the Depression she organized consumer cooperatives and wrote, taught, and lectured on consumer affairs for the Federal Works Progress Administration. In the 1940’s she traveled throughout the South, often alone in dangerous segregated areas, organizing chapters of the NAACP. She was an early executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ella Baker strongly believed that community members and young people could make significant changes in their lives. She said, "My theory is, strong people don’t need strong leaders." She seldom appeared on television or in the news stories, explaining that, "The kind of role that I tried to play was to pick up pieces or put together pieces out of which I hoped organization might come." Many consider her greatest influence to be with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). As an advisor to SNCC members who were generations younger, she rarely intervened, although her advice was often sought. She said, "Most of the youngsters had been trained to believe in or to follow adults if they could. I felt they ought to have a chance to learn to think things through and to make decisions."
The Center for Constitutional Rights is proud to honor her life and memory with the Ella Baker Summer Internship Program. It is our hope that many young people will be inspired to follow in her footsteps.
Cover letters must include why you would like to work for social change in general and for CCR in particular, any experience you might have in community organizing or in movements for social change, and your interests and skills.
Include:
Please note the above schedule when considering offers from other organizations. While we may consider requests for an expedited decision on a case by case basis, we expect all students to respect the above timeline.
CCR annually offers two funded fellowships for law students under the Ella Baker Summer Internship Program.
The Isabel and Alger Hiss Government Misconduct Internship has been made possible through the generous gift of the Estate of Isabel Johnson Hiss. Each summer CCR awards up to $5,000 in stipends to a second year law student with a strong commitment to public interest law, and a demonstrated interest in working on CCR’s broad ranging government misconduct docket. If interested, please submit a separate letter of interest discussing why you are applying for this specific fellowship.
The Millspaugh Catlin International Human Rights Internship has been made possible through the generous gift of the Millspaugh Catlin Family Foundation, honoring the memory of Herman Copelon. Each summer CCR awards up to $5,000 in stipends to a second year law student with demonstrated interest and commitment to advancing international human rights issues. The candidate selected will work on cases under CCR’s international human rights/corporate accountability docket. Preference is given to CUNY law students. If interested, please submit a separate letter of interest discussing why you are applying for this specific fellowship.
Because we have limited resources, CCR strongly advises applicants to make every effort to secure their own funding In addition to the above fellowships; other funding may be available for law students who are unable to secure funding on their own. CCR is committed to recruiting a diverse class of Ella Bakers from all backgrounds and can provide funds when necessary.
If you have any questions please contact An-Tuan Williams, Education and Outreach Assistant, at:
Center for Constitutional Rights
666 Broadway, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10012
Phone: 212-614-6466
Fax (212)614-6422
E-mail: awilliams@ccrjustice.org
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