Inspiration Academy: Activism Aboard, Change Abroad   

During the Vietnam War, racial violence surfaced on Intrepid and the Navy fleet in the early 1970s in response to persistent discrimination and lack of opportunity. In response, the Human Relations Council was created on Intrepid to support the crew’s well-being and address issues of racial discrimination.

Join the Intrepid Museum for the second session of our Virtual Inspiration Academy Summer Institute, which explores the Cold War through the lens of the Vietnam War. Learn how military service members utilized their civic responsibility to advocate for change or demonstrate the need for change through oral history accounts and former crew artifacts. Explore the social and civic impact of art as an activist tool during a hands-on workshop focused on various social movements.

Hear from Kevin K. Gaines, the Julian Bond Professor of Civil Rights and Social Justice at the University of Virginia, with a joint appointment in the Corcoran Department of History and the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies. 

All participants will complete a final project using an artifact from the Museum collection and share how they will integrate that object into their teaching.  

This program is open to 25 participants who will be eligible for a $300 stipend upon completion of the session and post-program assignment. Participants will be selected on an application basis. An application does not guarantee acceptance into the program.

Participants in this program agree to be:

• Active and engaged participants.
• Open-minded to new ideas and show kindness through responses.
• Respectful to fellow participants and staff members.

This program provides 3 CTLE credits. Space is limited.

Applications close on June 19, 2026, at 5:00pm ET. Selected participants will be notified of their acceptance by June 26, 2026.

If you have any questions, please contact: schoolprograms@intrepidmuseum.org

Apply Now! 

These programs are open to all New York State educators, including paraprofessionals.
 

Kevin K. Gaines is author of Uplifting the Race: Black Leadership, Politics, and Culture During the Twentieth Century (University of North Carolina Press, 1996), and American Africans in Ghana: Black Expatriates and the Civil Rights Era (UNC Press, 2006). His forthcoming book is The African American Journey: A Global History (Oxford University Press). He is a past president of the American Studies Association (2009–10).

The Intrepid Inspiration Academy has been made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.