The intern’s work will reveal the underrepresented history of the African American Freedmen’s Colony built on Roanoke Island during the American Civil War. Utilizing over $52,000 in grant money from the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, the National Park Foundation and philanthropic partner Outer Banks Forever, the intern will be a team member expanding the site’s interpretation of this crucial history by developing the Freedom Interpretive Trail. Following a 1.25-mile wooded path onto the ground where the community existed, the project will install interpretive wayside exhibits and shadow structures for an immersive experience.

The intern will design two wayside exhibits during phase one of the project in fiscal year 2023. They will collaborate with a local organization working to preserve and interpret the history of African Americans on Roanoke Island that has strong connections to descendants of the Freedmen’s Colony. Engaging with this community, the intern will empower their voices to be incorporated into the Freedom Interpretive Trail development. 

The intern will have an opportunity to engage with partners and the community in meaningful ways with special events at Somerset Place, a 19th century plantation where over 861 enslaved people worked before some escaped to the Freedmen’s Colony, and by commemorating Juneteenth with descendants of the Freedmen’s Colony. Training and guidance from park staff will be provided allowing the Intern to gain skills presenting interpretive programs and fully function as a member of the interpretive operation.