National History Day 2023
National History Day 2023

The 400 Years of African American History Commission is proud to present a set of documentaries produced by students as one of the categories of the National History Day™ Contest under the theme “Frontiers in History: People, Ideas, and Events.” This June, over 2,600 students and teachers from the entire United States and its territories attended the annual competition at the University of Maryland, College Park, where students spent months researching their chosen topic’s significance in history and communicating their ideas in creative formats. Check out the work done on activism, the arts, social justice, and landmark dates in the civil rights movement by these incredible students below!

“What happens when students delve into history with a view toward finding meaning and making art? Something extraordinary.”

Hannibal Johnson Profile Photo
Hannibal Johnson, Esq.
Commissioner and Author
400 Years of African American History Commission

“We are especially proud of our students who have shown not only an interest in African American History, but also who have researched many such stories not found in textbooks or classroom curricula and have had the courage to tell them.”

Cathy Gorn Profile Image
Cathy Gorn, Ph.D.
Executive Director
National History Day

Part 1: 

  1. The 54th Massachusetts: Pride Over Prejudice and a New Frontier of Freedom (10:00)
    Julia Kilrady, Juior Division, Pennsylvania
  2. The Frontier of Richmond: Battleground for Segregation (9:57)
    Michael Trownsell Senior Division, Virginia
  3. The Port Royal Experiment: Crossing the Frontier from Slave to Freedman (9:59)
    Josh Baird, Thomas Cripe, Anthony Herndon, South Carolina
  4. How Did Alabama Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Company Help Shape the Future of Mobile, Alabama (7:09)
    Ddwayne Lockett-James, Senior Division, Alabama

Part 2:

  1. The Langston Blues (8:35)
    Camryn Carr, Junior Division, South Carolina
  2. Kansas City Jazz: A Frontier For Black Success (9:59)
    Mia Rasmussen, Senior Division, Kansas
  3. Idlewild Black Eden: The Town That Segregation Built (10:00)
    Temple Lester, Senior Division, Georgia

Part 3: 

  1. Unbought and Unbossed: Shirly Chisolm, Crossing a Political Frontier (9:59)
    Molly Budhiraja, Senior Division, Arizona
  2. Ella Baker: A Pioneer of Grassroots Movements (9:59)
    Esteban Pierrend, Michael Makhoulm, Sunmit Hallur, Senior Division, Arizona
  3. Althea Gibson: The Big Swing to Cross Colour Frontiers in Tennis (10:00)
    Aditi Chakravati, Junior Division, International

Part 4: 

  1. Masterminds Behind the Movement: How Tougaloo College Advanced Civil Rights in Mississippi (7:55)
    Kierston Burk, Grace Short, Jermarius Everett, Senior Division, Mississippi
  2. A Frontier In Litigation: Charles Houston, Thurgood Marshall, Nathan Margold and the Fight to End Segregation in Education (10:00)
    Kevin Coale Ian Morgan, Senior Division, Missouri
  3. Ruby Bridges: How One Six Year Old Became a Frontier in History (9:39)
    Sara Newitt, Junior, South Dakota
  4. Little Rock: A Frontier of the Global Cold War (10:00)
    Lawson Wright, Senior Division, New York

Part 5: 

  1. Wade in the Water: How African Americans Got Back Into the Pool (10:00)
    S. Abigail Giroux, Senior Division, Maryland
  2. Loving v Virginia: Frontiers in Civil Rights & Social Justice (9:59)
    Maya Hugg, Ashea Angel, Aubrey Ventura, Junior Division, Hawaii
  3. The Height of the Fight: Bill Russell as a Trailblazer for Activism in the NB (9:59)
    Sam Luther, Malachai Shulman Wyatt Roth, Keyshawn Ragin Senior Div. Ohio