Voice Up Public Health & Human Rights Internship
An 8-Week Practicum Guide — General Track. Anchored in the Voice Up Case Study: "Dr. Opal Lee — The Walk That Never Ends"
Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free
Written by Alice Faye Duncan · Art by Keturah A. Bobo · Week 1 Required Reading
Program Overview
This 8-week internship trains students to connect historical human-rights analysis to present-day public health action. The anchor case study, Dr. Opal Lee: The Walk That Never Ends, follows the "Grandmother of Juneteenth" — a 99-year-old civil rights icon, breast cancer survivor, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient — who is now lending her voice to the American Cancer Society's VOICES of Black Women study, the largest research effort ever dedicated to closing the health-data gap facing Black women.
Interns use Dr. Lee's life as a blueprint for sustained purpose while developing real, transferable skills: historical and disparities analysis, community-based participatory research literacy, trust-building, campaign design, and grassroots advocacy. The internship culminates in a two-part capstone: an active outreach/enrollment project supporting the VOICES of Black Women study, and a written analysis connecting the historical, public-health, and economic dimensions of the case.
Duration
8 Weeks
Track
General
Competencies
10 Areas
Capstone
2-Part Final
Voice Up Principles
Interns are expected to explicitly connect at least one Voice Up Principle to their work each week, and to integrate this framework throughout the capstone written analysis.
Collaboration
All are welcome
Humility
We all have much to learn
Precision
All the details matter
Patience
We all need forgiveness
Empathy
We must understand your why
Dr. Opal Lee: The Walk That Never Ends
Born in Marshall, Texas, in 1926, Dr. Lee survived a mob that destroyed her family's home on Juneteenth 1939. She spent 24 years as a teacher and counselor, walked from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C. at age 89, stood beside President Biden as he signed Juneteenth into law, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Now approaching 100, she champions the VOICES of Black Women cancer research study.
Begin Case StudyCompetencies Developed
8-Week Curriculum
Tap any week to expand its full details, reflection prompts, and deliverable.
Capstone Requirements
A. Outreach & Enrollment Project
Directly support the VOICES of Black Women study's goal of enrolling 100,000 participants by raising awareness and facilitating enrollment within the intern's own community and network.
- Outreach plan (Week 4 deliverable, refined)
- Campaign asset package (Week 5 deliverable)
- Outreach log (Week 6 deliverable, continued through Week 8)
- Final outreach report — summarizing channels used, people reached, partners engaged, and referrals/enrollments where known
Ethical Guardrails
No personal health information is collected or stored by interns at any point. All enrollment is completed by the individual directly through the official ACS portal. Interns serve strictly as awareness and navigation support.
B. Written Analysis Paper (6–10 pages)
- The historical research gap — from Tuskegee-era exploitation through today
- Dr. Opal Lee as a case study in sustained purpose and civic freedom
- The current public health crisis facing Black women (e.g., cancer and maternal health disparities)
- The economic/ownership dimension (the Byron Allen framework) — how economic exclusion compounds health exclusion
- Recommendations — what closing the gap requires from public health systems, communities, and the intern's own field
Each section must explicitly name and apply at least one Voice Up Principle.
Evaluation & Time Tracking
- Interns log weekly hours and submit each week's deliverable on the Voice Up learning platform.
- A weekly 1:1 check-in with a Voice Up supervisor reviews progress, surfaces connections to other students' projects, and troubleshoots outreach challenges.
- Final evaluation considers: completion and quality of all eight weekly deliverables, depth and integrity of the outreach project, rigor and integration of Voice Up Principles in the written analysis, and overall growth in the competencies listed above.
- A complete portfolio (all deliverables plus the final capstone) is submitted in Week 8 for practicum/credit documentation.
Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free
Written by Alice Faye Duncan · Art by Keturah A. Bobo
Buy on AmazonResources & Contacts
VOICES of Black Women — American Cancer Society
Free, observational, online study. No drugs or tests. Open to Black women ages 20–60.
Video Sources
- NBC DFW — Dr. Opal Lee profile (5:13), published June 19, 2026
- The Don Lemon Show — "Juneteenth Special | Byron Allen" (47:36), published June 19, 2026
Prepared for the Voice Up Purpose Driven Practicum, Public Health & Human Rights Series.