The Freedom Summer Fellowship provides MIT graduate students with a unique opportunity to work on the frontlines of transformational change in U.S. cities. Students will be part of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform economically disadvantaged U.S. cities through recent federal legislation focused on rebuilding U.S. infrastructure including transitioning to a clean energy economy. The Fellowship was inspired by the incredible mobilization of more than a thousand college students in the Summer of 1964 by the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) to register African American voters in Mississippi, and was named in honor of Freedom Summer to ground the critical work in racial justice.
The Fellowship, launched in 2023, matches cities and frontline community organizations with graduate students to partner on concrete local and regional development projects with a focus on clean energy and infrastructure. Organized through MIT CoLab and the MIT Priscilla King Gray Center, the Emerald Cities Collaborative and the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University, this program brings institutional technical capacity and the nation’s sharpest minds together in service of helping under resourced cities access and implement federal funding and programs. The Fellowship continues the long standing practice of students and young people leading the nation towards towards greater equity and justice while also bringing specific skills and capabilities to bear on real-world challenges at the local level. Key information includes:
- What: Freedom Summer Fellows will provide capacity building and technical assistance to cities/states across the country
- When: 10 week fellowship (June – August 2024)
- Where: Last year’s participating cities included Birmingham, AL; Cleveland, OH; Brooklyn, NY; others TBD
- Applications: Available in mid-January and accepted through April
As it scales for its second year, the Freedom Summer Fellowship is seeking graduate students who are interested in working in places to deepen community-based solutions and provide technical assistance across the country. Graduate students provide hands-on support to local leaders while also learning more about current U.S. policy paradigms and urban economic development. The Freedom Summer Fellowship application for summer 2024 is now live and accepting applications through April 1, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET. The application can be found here. Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Emilia Charno (emilia99@mit.edu).
