Newsroom Category: Teacher Education

New school year, new educational resources

As Alabama’s students and teachers return to school this month, they’ve got some dynamic new resources and funding available to them from the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

Among the highlights: A new year of Alabama History Day that all schools and districts can incorporate; $2,000 teacher scholarships to support history- and civics-focused professional development opportunties and classroom projects for K-8 educators; and, as ever, a robust Encyclopedia of Alabama offering rich resources for teacher and student research projects.

 

Alabama History Day 2027

AHA offers Alabama History Day each year as a dynamic project-based learning tool for the classroom and as a chance for students to compete in school, regional, and state contests. For the 2026-2027 school year, the competition’s theme is “Innovation in History: Impact, Influence, Change.”

Teachers statewide are encouraged to incororpate Alabama History Day into their classroom curricuum, and AHA regularly offers workshops to help educators do just that. The experience gives students the chance to become confident and curious learners, as they conduct primary research and engage with history in new and creative ways. Students pick their own topics within the year’s theme and get to present their research creatively as exhibits, documentaries, papers, websites, or dramatic performances.

Alabama History Day is open to all public, private, and home schools. Students compete in teams or individually, with two divisions available for middle schools and high schools. And all have the chance to advance to regional and state contests. After a thrilling “America at 250”-themed Alabama History Day hosted at American Village in 2026, we’re grateful that this year’s state contest will return to Troy University in Montgomery.

Alabama History Day is made possible thanks to generous funding from the state of Alabama, with additional support from local donors around the state and the partnership of National History Day.

 

Jenice Riley Memorial Scholarships

AHA also annually offers teacher scholarships that support K-8 Alabama educators who excel at helping students engage with history and civics. These competitive scholarships award $2,000, which can be used to fund creative classroom projects or support teachers’ professional development opportunities. The scholarship is open to all K-8 educators in public, private, or home schools.

The Riley Scholarships honor the late Jenice Riley, an extraordinary teacher who was the daughter of former Gov. Bob Riley and former First Lady Patsy Riley. Since 2003, these scholarships have awarded more than $114,000 in funding to 112 teachers statewide.

Riley Scholarship proposals should address how funds would be used to enhance teaching and learning about innovation. This year’s theme is inspired by the theme of AHA’s 2027 Alabama History Day competition, “Innovation in History: Influence, Impact, Change.” Not to be confused with invention, innovation is about new ways of seeing, imagining, improving, and organizing society and is key to our state’s (and nation’s) civic life and health.

Applications are now open for this year’s Riley Scholarships.

 

Encyclopedia of Alabama

The Encyclopedia of Alabama is a free, online resource that covers all things Alabama. Developed by Alabama Humanities and Auburn University — in partnership with many other insitutions and organizations across the state — the EOA enlists scholars to present trustworthy and authoritative information on Alabama’s history, people, culture, land, and more.

Students often use the EOA to help them choose their Alabama History Day projects and supplement their primary research. Teachers often use the EOA to support their classroom instruction and generate creative class projects.

The Encyclopedia of Alabama offers easy searching tools, including curated collections, topics by categories, and photo galleries. In 2026, the EOA also developed a special collection of resources related to “Alabama and America’s 250th Birthday.”

 

About the Alabama Humanities Alliance
Founded in 1974, the nonprofit and nonpartisan Alabama Humanities Alliance has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. AHA promotes impactful storytelling, lifelong learning, and civic engagement. Through our programs and grantmaking, we provide Alabamians with opportunities to connect with each other, with our shared history, and with the vibrant and complex communities we call home. Learn more at alabamahumanities.org.

Students become the teachers at Alabama History Day

April 13, 2026 — History is always present at Montevallo’s American Village, where Alabamians learn about America’s founding history and the responsibilities of citizenship. On April 9, a different kind of history was made here — by students who came from across the state to present their own historical research, at AHA’s Alabama History Day 2026.

These middle school and high school students came from Magnolia Springs and Mount Vernon, Athens and Madison, and from Auburn, Tuscaloosa, and many points in between. And they came prepared.

Throughout the 2025-2026 school year, History Day participants chose their own topics and conducted primary research to shape new historical arguments. These students then transformed from historians into artists, filmmakers, actors, writers, and web designers, as they dreamed up creative ways to share their research.

“That’s such a great part of this process,” says Ginger Golson, a history teacher at Fairhope High School. “Students like to be able to choose the things that they want to do and the way that they want to do it. And when they’re interested in what they’re studying, they’re more engaged and they produce better work. It gets them engaged in learning on their terms.”

On April 9, competitors presented exhibits, documentaries, websites, papers, and dramatic performances to judges inside replicas of some of America’s most historic, Colonial-era buildings — such as Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and Williamsburg’s Bruton Parish Church. Once finished, students had the chance to experience all American Village offers — from historical storytelling by Colonial actors to a replica Oval Office, exhibits at the National Veterans Shrine, and much more.

Alabama History Day winners were announced at an exuberant awards ceremony at day’s end. First- and second-place finishers are now eligible to advance to National History Day this summer in Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Walter D. Ward, Ph.D., is a professor and chair of History at UAB. At Alabama History Day, he served as both a judge and as a sponsor presenting UAB’s Civil Rights History Award.

“Alabama History Day is such a positive experience for students,” Dr. Ward says. “Students don’t get many opportunities to be experts, but on Alabama History Day, they were the experts, and I was the student. Experiences like these give students confidence that they can do research and communicate what they learned. These are exactly the kinds of skills that will benefit them no matter what career they eventually seek.”

 

More on Alabama History Day 2026

 

Topics run the gamut of history

Of the 120-some projects that made it to the state contest, topics ran the gamut from local to state, national, and international topics of history. All connected to this year’s theme, inspired by the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence, “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History.”

Some projects hit America’s founding history head on, including “Alexander Hamilton: Architect of America”; “Survival and Sovereignty: Alabama Native Americans through Revolution, Reaction, and Reform”; “The American Revolution and the Boston Tea Party.”

Other projects focused on Alabama history right in students’ own backyards, such as “Mosquitoes, Medicine, and the Man from Mobile: Dr. William Gorgas and the Fight for Global Health”; “The Space Race in the Rocket City’s Engineering Revolution”; “The Republic of West Florida: A Hidden Chapter in American History.”

And some projects explored either American history or global stories from the past. For example: “The Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975”; “The Day the People Took the Bastille”; “The Ghost Girls: How Radium Changed American Businesses Forever.”

No matter the subject, all students had to identify primary sources and then interpret their findings for volunteer judges who work as historians, educators, lawyers, and authors.

“The most important lesson we’re trying to teach is how you go about doing research with integrity,” says Chuck Holmes, executive director of the Alabama Humanities Alliance. “They have to find sources, build a bibliography, and learn how to tell a story — whether that’s through writing, film, performance, or whatever interests them.”

 

Recognizing student and teacher excellence

At Alabama History Day’s awards ceremony, student winners were recognized in a variety of project categories, and some students received special awards given out by historical and educational groups. These special award sponsors include the Interstate Character Council of Alabama, Alabama Public Television, and National Maritime Historical Society, among others.

A pair of educators were also recognized for their work throughout the 2025-2026 Alabama History Day journey. Laura Carter, a social studies teacher at New Century Technology High School in Huntsville, was named Outstanding AHD Teacher of the Year. Matthew Spivey, academic supervisor for social studies at Mobile County Public Schools, was honored as Outstanding AHD Supporter of the Year.

Students and teachers alike are already looking forward to Alabama History Day 2027, which comes with a theme of “Innovation in History: Impact, Influence, Change.”

And everyone left American Village last week with an inspiring charge, given to them by Col. Alan Miller, the CEO of American Village and a Board member with Alabama Humanities. Miller shared that what students accomplished through Alabama History Day is a beginning, not an end. And they have history itself to inspire them to even greater goals in the future.

“If you look, you will find the figures in history who speak to you, those who struggled and failed and got back up,” Miller shared. “Draw strength from them and let them remind you that greatness is not reserved for those who are perfectly prepared. It is earned by those willing to grow.

“Failure is the only thing that comes easily. Everything else, everything worthwhile, requires effort, discipline, and persistence. You have demonstrated that — not just today but in all the work and effort you put into your projects leading up to today.

“Thank you for the work you’ve done to truly engage with history. Because you didn’t just study it. You studied it to understand it. I hope you were able to see yourself in it. And hopefully you recognized that your own moment, ready or not, will come. And when it does, I hope you’ll be willing to do what Washington did, what Lincoln did, what Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks did. I hope you will recognize your moment and step forward into it.”

 

About Alabama History Day
Alabama History Day is a year-long program and the Alabama Humanities Alliance presents it as a state affiliate of National History Day. The program helps students become passionate about the past and become confident, curious learners for the future. History Day also provides teachers with a dynamic project-learning tool for the classroom. The competition is open to all public, private, and homeschool students in grades 6-12. Learn more at alabamahumanities.org/alabama-history-day.

Funding for Alabama History Day comes from the State of Alabama through the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Alabama History Day 2026 was presented in partnership with the American Village Citizenship Trust and the Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission.

Additional research partners and award sponsors include the Alabama Department of Archives & History, Alabama Historical Association, Alabama Public Television, Auburn University at Montgomery, David Mathews Center for Civic Life, Interstate Character Council of Alabama, National Maritime Historical Society, Sons of the American Revolution’s Alabama Society, Troy University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Alabama in Huntsville, University of Montevallo, and William Wayne Smith Foundation.

About the Alabama Humanities Alliance
Founded in 1974, the nonprofit and nonpartisan Alabama Humanities Alliance has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through AHA’s grantmaking and public programming, we promote lifelong learning, impactful storytelling, and civic engagement. We believe the humanities can bring Alabamians together and help us better understand the communities we call home.

Remembering Jo Ann Bland and Bernard LaFayette

Over the past few weeks, Alabama has lost a pair of civil rights icons in Jo Ann Bland and Bernard LaFayette Jr. This loss hits especially hard in Selma, where each left a profound legacy.

Alabama Humanities mourns their passing, too, as both Bland and LaFayette often served as AHA project scholars. Most prominently, they each served as speakers and mentors for educators from across Alabama, and nationwide, who participated in AHA’s summer residency, Stony the Road We Trod: Exploring Alabama’s Civil Rights Legacy.

Jo Ann Bland, giving a tour of Selma civil rights history.

Jo Ann Bland, from Selma, joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) at just eight years old. By the time she was 11, she’d already been arrested at least 13 times for nonviolent demonstrations challenging Jim Crow laws and racial segregation. In 1965, she participated in Bloody Sunday, a march that helped lead to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Bland would become the co-founder of the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute. She passed away in her beloved Selma, on February 19.

For Bernard LaFafayette Jr., Ed.D., his ties to Alabama began in the early 1960s, too. Back then, he and John Lewis, of Troy, were roommates at American Baptist Theological Seminary, in Nashville. Through their leadership roles in SNCC, LaFayette and Lewis would help lead the Freedom Rides of 1961. LaFayette’s leadership was critical as director of SNCC’s Alabama voter registration project in Selma. He would continue to work closely with Martin Luther King Jr., including as national coordinator of the Poor People’s Campaign at the time of King’s assassination. LaFayette passed away on March 5, in Tuskegee.

Below, AHA friends Martha Bouyer, D.Min., Mark Wilson, Ph.D.; and Dorothy Walker share memories of these two titans of Alabama’s civil rights history.

 

Martha Bouyer on Jo Ann Bland

Dr. Bouyer is an educator, civil rights scholar, and an AHA Alabama Humanities Fellow. She has led various versions of ‘Stony’ for AHA through the years, drawing on her experience as executive director of the Historic Bethel Baptist Church Community Restoration Fund.

“What a fellowship, what a joy divine!”

Jo Ann Bland, speaking to teachers in AHA’s Stony the Road institute.

When I think of Jo Ann Bland, words from this song come to mind. Jo Ann and I first met at a meeting with Priscilla Hancock-Cooper at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. At the time, she was working with Rose Sanders at the National Voting Rights Museum. At first, I thought she was so quiet and reserved. Was I ever wrong about her!

Jo Ann, master teacher, storyteller, historian, and friend. I remember when she met with over 20 teachers through the “Stony” teacher project I developed with AHA. Jo Ann and I worked with teachers from across the nation and around the world to help them understand the complexities of living life in a Jim Crow society.

She challenged all of us to take this story of ordinary people standing up in the face of certain danger for the right to vote. Jo Ann emphasized the importance of saying “I have a Dream.” Even if the dreamer had been murdered, the dream was still alive. Words mattered and she wanted the children who lived in George Washington Carver Homes, as well as the thousands of people who came to literally sit at her feet, to learn the history and get it right.

I am so glad that I got to work with this amazing woman on the National Park Service documentary Never Lose Sight of Freedom. Through the magic of technology, her voice will continue to ring out and bring hope to the hopeless. Countless students will understand what it means to take a stand for the right and to do something to correct a wrong.

I was so sad to hear of Jo Ann’s death, but I thank God that she lived. During our Stony institute, as we stood with her on the steps of Brown Chapel or scurried around to find a rock in the playground, she commanded our attention and encouraged us to teach the history of Selma. To stand for right, freedom, justice, and equality. I thank God that I got to call her my friend.

 

Mark Wilson on Bernard Lafayette

Dr. Wilson is an author, historian, and director of the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities at Auburn University. A frequent AHA project scholar, he also serves as secretary of the Alabama Historical Association.

Bernard LaFafayette, meeting with Auburn University students. Mark Wilson is at center.

For several years starting in 2017, Dr. LaFayette worked with the Draughon Center as a Breeden Eminent Visiting Scholar, and he co-taught courses on leadership and civic engagement. He also made countless class visits to share his unique life experiences related to the civil rights movement, teaching nonviolence around the world, and adventures galore.

Bernard modeled reflection on the human experience better than anyone else, and his commitment to nonviolence and Martin Luther King’s final words to him (“…to institutionalize and internationalize nonviolence”) resonate as much today as they did in 1968.

As we mourn his passing, I hope people who haven’t heard his stories will find them online, considering what the power of nonviolence might mean in our lives and nation today. (You can also read Dr. LaFayette’s story directly in his own words, through his book, In Peace and Freedom: My Journey in Selma.)

 

Dorothy Walker on Bernard Lafayette

Walker retired from the Alabama Historical Commission in 2024 as site director for Montgomery’s Freedom Rides Museum. She now is a program officer the U.S. Department of the Interior and is on the board of the David Mathews Center for Civic Engagement. This memory comes from her story in AHA’s Mosaic magazine in 2021, on the Freedom Rides of 1961: “The power of place, memory, song.”

My favorite thing to do is to humanize the Freedom Riders. If people know the story at all, they usually come with this visual in their head of this large group of people. Freedom Riders who are mostly nameless and faceless. So, I tell visitors the names and their stories. I show them faces. I remind them that a lot of the Freedom Riders were 18-, 19-, 20-year-old kids…

Bernard LaFayette’s mug shot following an arrest during a 1961 Freedom Ride.

I tell them about Dr. Bernard Lafayette, a Freedom Rider who also organized sit-ins during the Nashville Student Movement. He tells a story of a sit-in at a lunch counter where this guy holds up a lighter to the hair of a female student. Dr. Lafayette could smell it smoldering. He doesn’t get violent, but he puts his hand over her head and tries to put it out.

Dr. Lafayette recalls the student turning to him, giving him this very serious look, and saying: “Please do not interfere with my suffering. My suffering is what people have to see for change to happen.”

…The few times that Freedom Riders were asked if they wanted to press charges against their assailants, they said: “No, that’s my brother, that’s my sister.”

 

For more on this era of Alabama history, listen to AHA’s 2021 podcast series, Black Alabamians and the Vote.

Supporting history and civics in the classroom

October 1, 2025 — A children’s literature project for students with learning disabilities. A living history wax museum and City Hall field trip. A storytelling series. And a class-created book of civic rights and responsibilities.

These are the winning project ideas submitted by Alabama educators chosen as AHA’s 2025 Riley Scholars. This year’s winners are Abby Crews (Geneva), Jordan Franck (Florence), Amanda Ridge (Russellville), and Ashlie-Nicole Wehner (Huntsville).

The competitive Jenice Riley Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to K-8 educators who excel at helping students engage with history and civics. Riley Scholars receive $2,000 in support of history- and civics-related classroom projects or for professional development opportunities.

Funded through the W. Edgar Welden Fund for Education, this scholarship is a tribute to the late Jenice Riley — a passionate educator and daughter of former Alabama governor and first lady Bob and Patsy Riley. Edgar Welden is a former AHA board member and a steadfast supporter of educational initiatives in Alabama. Since 2003, the Alabama Humanities Alliance has named 110 Riley Scholars and funded more than $114,000 in teacher scholarships.

If you’d like to help AHA continue supporting Alabama’s teachers and students, consider making a gift to support the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

 

Applications open for 2026!

Applications are now being accepted for AHA’s 2026 Jenice Riley Memorial Scholarships. Alabama educators are encouraged to apply by April 30, 2026.

The 2026 proposal theme is “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History.” All Riley Scholarship proposals should address how funds would be used to enhance teaching and learning about historical events and movements connected to different revolutions, reactions, and reforms in our history.

This year’s theme is inspired by (but not limited to) the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence in 2026. This is also the theme of AHA’s 2026 Alabama History Day competition.

 

Meet our 2025 Riley Scholars

Abby Crews, Mulkey Elementary (Geneva County)
Geneva City Schools | Fifth Grade

PROJECT: City Hall Field Trip and Living History Wax Museum
This multi-pronged project will take students on a field trip to Geneva’s new City Hall, which will include a city council simulation. Back at school, Crews will help students create a voting booth for school elections. Finally, students will participate in a Living History Wax Museum that gives them a chance to study history while enhancing their writing, reading, public speaking, and critical thinking skills.

 

Jordan Franck, Forest Hills Elementary (Lauderdale County)
Florence City Schools | Fifth Grade

PROJECT: Rights and Responsibilities Storytelling Series
One of the most common ways that students learn about the history of our country is through the art of storytelling. The goal of Franck’s project is to help students learn about history and civics through a new and robust library of history books. Novel studies will also be incorporated into the reading curriculum to help students personally connect with history and civics, to inspire them as future leaders.

 

Amanda Ridge, Russellville Middle (Franklin County)
Russellville City Schools | Sixth Grade

PROJECT: How Can I be a Golden Patriot?
Around 60 percent of students in Ridge’s classroom come from families that immigrated to the United States. This has inspired a hands-on idea for learning about U.S. history and civics. Students will begin by studying the book, For Which We Stand, a book that explains the origins of U.S. government, how it works, and how to engage with it. Students will then create their own book of civic rights and responsibilities, making copies to keep and copies to donate to local libraries.

 

Ashlie-Nichole Wehner, Jones Valley Elementary (Madison County)
Huntsville City Schools | Special Education, Grades 4-6

PROJECT: Three Bears Den
Can children’s literature help foster an understanding of rights and responsibilities among students with special needs? Wehner will lead a civics classroom project centered around Goldilocks and the Three Bears, leading discussions on the “Goldilocks Theory” of what is “just right” – our daily decisions to make the right choices and be responsible for our own actions. Scholarship support will enable Wehner to create a “Three Bears Den,” with resources and equipment to make learning more accessible for her students with a variety of learning disabilities.

 

About the Alabama Humanities Alliance
Founded in 1974, the nonprofit and nonpartisan Alabama Humanities Alliance has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through our grantmaking and public programming, we promote lifelong learning, impactful storytelling, and civic engagement. We believe the humanities can bring Alabamians together and help us better understand the communities we call home.

Stony the Road We Trod

Last Wednesday, educator Cynthia Jackson sat in a pew at Birmingham’s historic Bethel Baptist Church, speaking quietly with Rev. Carolyn McKinstry, D.Div., a beloved author and minister who, as a teenager, had survived the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.

McKinstry had just spoken before a group of Alabama teachers, sharing about her childhood in Birmingham during the civil rights movement. Now, Jackson was talking directly with this inspiring foot soldier, a conversation swirling around Alabama’s past, present, and future.

“When my kids, my students, get to asking questions, how wonderful will it be when I can tell them, ‘well, I actually got to talk with Dr. Carolyn McKinstry, who survived the 16th Street Church bombing, and here’s what she told me,’” says Jackson, who teaches at W.F. Burns Middle School in Chambers County. “This is a living experience that I’ll be able to draw on when I’m back in the classroom. This is incredible.”

Stony the Road

Jackson was one of the educators participating in the Alabama Humanities Alliance’s summer field study, Stony the Road We Trod: Exploring Alabama’s Civil Rights Legacy. The immersive, residential experience enables Alabama K-12 teachers to visit sites of conscience, meet foot soldiers of the movement, and discover new resources and ideas for the classroom. Teachers selected for the workshop came from cities big and small — from Huntsville to Northport, Parrish to Opelika, and points in between.

View a photo album from Stony 2025.

 

Highlights of Stony 2025 included visits to:

 

Along the way, teachers visited archives to identify primary resources they could use in the classroom. On the final day of the residency, teachers even crafted potential new lesson plans and then presented them to each other for peer feedback.

“Stony the Road is a professional learning treasure for our state educators,” says W. Blake Busbin, Ph.D., Course of Study Administrator and Social Studies Education Specialist for the Alabama State Department of Education.

“The life-changing experiences it offers to its participants reveal the stories of people, places, and events that not only shaped local communities and Alabama but furthered America’s commitment to its 1776 promises contained in the Declaration of Independence,” Busbin notes. “The combination of content knowledge and pedagogy provided in the learning experience equips Alabama teachers to be leaders in teaching this integral history.”

Stony’s project director is Martha Bouyer, D.Min., an educator and civil rights scholar who was named an AHA Alabama Humanities Fellow in 2018. Dr. Bouyer has led various versions of Stony for AHA through the years, drawing on her experience as executive director of the Historic Bethel Baptist Church Community Restoration Fund.

“This kind of story-sharing is sort of the art of showing people why they should care about a thing,” Bouyer says. “That is where the humanities live, helping us to be in touch with the things that impact our lives.”

 

Bringing Stony back to the classroom

Teachers selected to participate in Stony received a stipend, professional development credits, and new resources for the classroom — including a half-dozen new books.

Participant Cynthia Jackson noted that each teacher received those books far in advance of the workshop, preparing her for what she’d see up close during Stony — and providing a rare chance to then speak with a few of those authors in person during the week.

Jackson even made a personal connection with scholar Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Ph.D., a history professor and author who gave a presentation on expanding the stories of the civil rights movement. Dr. Jeffries wrote Bloody Lowndes, about the 1960s freedom movement in Alabama’s Black Belt.

“When I was reading his book, one of the names I saw jumped off the page,” Jackson says. “Dr. Jeffries had actually interviewed one of my relatives, who lives in Lowndes County. So, I had the chance to talk with Dr. Jeffries about that and to share stories with each other about our Lowndes County connections. Getting to interact with authors like that is wild. It’s such an invaluable part of this experience.”

Stony indeed dives deeply into Alabama’s civil rights legacy. The residency isn’t just a primer for newer teachers of this history. It’s also a boost for the most experienced of educators.

Kristina Godsey, of Parrish, Alabama, teaches at Fairfield High Preparatory School. She’s taught for 20 years and serves as her school’s social studies chair.

“I signed up for this because there’s always something new you can learn,” she says. “The more I immerse myself in something, the more I’m going to understand it. What we’re doing here makes civil rights history personal, human. And when you look at it that way, and can teach it that way, it really resonates.”

 

Making Stony 2025 possible

The Alabama Humanities Alliance has now presented Stony at least a half-dozen times. This year, the nonprofit and nonpartisan organization is more appreciative than ever for all who made the experience possible.

Back in April, the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency terminated AHA’s 50-year partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities — and, with it, two-thirds of our annual budget. For more than half a century, AHA had used federal dollars appropriated by a bipartisan Congress to support statewide grantmaking and programming such as Stony and AHA’s beloved Road Scholars Speakers Bureau.

“This spring, we feared we would have to cancel this unique opportunity for Alabama’s teachers,” says Chuck Holmes, AHA’s executive director. “Thankfully, we didn’t have to do that because of generous contributions from individuals and institutional donors statewide, who value Alabama’s history and Alabama’s educators. We are so grateful to them all for ensuring Stony could proceed.”

The Alabama Humanities Alliance still has a long way to go to find sustainable funding that will ensure its grantmaking and public programming continue beyond 2025. To support the future of Alabama Humanities, donate at alabamahumanities.org/support.

 

About the Alabama Humanities Alliance
Founded in 1974, the nonprofit and nonpartisan Alabama Humanities Alliance has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through our grantmaking and public programming, we promote lifelong learning, impactful storytelling, and civic engagement. We believe the humanities can bring Alabamians together and help us better understand the communities we call home. Learn more at alabamahumanities.org.

The Smithsonian arrives in Alabama

On a warm summer evening in Sylacauga, Alabama, more than 200 residents gathered to celebrate a momentous occasion — the opening of SPARK! Places of Innovation, a Smithsonian traveling exhibit, right there in Sylacauga’s Isabel Anderson Comer Museum and Arts Center.

The evening of June 26 represented nearly a year of preparation for the Comer Museum. It also offered a unique opportunity for Sylacauga to come together as a community and consider their shared past and future.

“The Comer Museum had such a clear vision for hosting this exhibit,” says Laura Anderson, director of partnerships and outcomes for the Alabama Humanities Alliance. “They have gathered Sylacauga-area residents around the notion that innovation is at the heart of their community’s shared future — not imagining whether they will encourage innovation, but in how many ways.”

From now through spring 2026, SPARK! Places of Innovation will tour six towns across the state — Sylacauga, Dothan, Brewton, Uniontown, Athens, and Fort Payne. Each host venue will make the exhibit its own — complementing SPARK!’s national perspective with local programming and conversations that reflect their towns.

The idea is to explore the people, places, and ideas that have always ignited innovation in our rural communities — and inspire us all to consider how we can shape our communities moving forward.

SPARK! comes to Alabama courtesy of a longtime partnership between the Alabama Humanities Alliance (AHA) and the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street. The exhibit’s statewide tour is made possible thanks to the generous support of a pair of sponsors, Innovate Alabama and The Daniel Foundation of Alabama.

“At Innovate Alabama, we believe innovation isn’t limited to city centers or tech corridors — it’s rooted in every corner of our state, including rural communities,” says Cynthia Crutchfield, CEO of Innovate Alabama. “That’s why we’re proud to support SPARK! as it travels across Alabama, highlighting the creativity and problem-solving that have long shaped our state’s story. This exhibit reflects our mission to foster innovation and entrepreneurship statewide and shows what’s possible when we invest in local ideas and talent.”

Learn more about SPARK!: alabamahumanities.org/spark.

 

SPARK! 2025-2026 Tour Dates

 

SYLACAUGA: THROUGH JULY 19, 2025
Isabel Anderson Comer Museum & Arts Center

DOTHAN: Aug. 1-31, 2025
Landmark Park

BREWTON: Sept.23-Oct. 23, 2025
Brewton City Hall

UNIONTOWN: Nov. 11-Dec. 13, 2025
Renaissance Center (C.H.O.I.C.E. Uniontown)

ATHENS: Jan. 3-Feb. 10, 2026
Athens-Limestone County Public Library

FORT PAYNE: Feb. 20-March 25, 2026
Fort Payne Coal & Iron Building (Landmarks of DeKalb County)

As SPARK! tours the state, the Alabama Humanities Alliance will offer a public info session at each stop, promoting local humanities programming and grantmaking opportunities. In Sylacauga, AHA presents “Get the Scoop” on July 16 at the B.B. Comer Memorial Library.

 

SPARK!-inspired teacher workshop and community reception

AHA also offered a SPARK!-inspired teacher workshop in Sylacauga, June 24-25, presented in partnership with Design Alabama. More than 30 educators came from across Alabama to consider new ways to ignite their own students’ imaginations.

“One of the reasons this workshop was so fantastic is that it was community-centered, locally connected to the place where it was offered,” says LaVerne McDonald, an educator in Talladega County. “Sylacauga and its mill village are where I grew up. Six generations of my family over time sharecropped, worked at the mill, experienced the loss of the mill and the loss of community that comes with it, and continued to call this area home. Innovations highlighted in this workshop make me optimistic for the future of the community and its youth.”

Indeed, highlighting local community-building was core to the Comer Museum and Arts Center’s plan for hosting SPARK!. During the exhibit’s opening reception, attendees didn’t just view the Smithsonian traveling exhibit — they also got a tour of the town’s former Avondale Mill’s site to consider its past, present, and future.

For more than a century, the mill was central to The Marble City’s identity and economy. In 2006, Avondale closed its doors; five years later, a lightning strike burned down the deserted plants. Residents wondered if the town could survive the loss.

Today, the former Avondale Mills site is transforming into the home of the East Alabama Rural Innovation and Training Hub (EARTH). This transformative and innovative workforce development program, physically rooted in the town’s rich history, will help East Alabamians prepare for careers and industries that might not even exist yet.

“SPARK! is such a wonderful exhibit for us to host right now,” says Judy Green, director of the Comer Museum and Arts Center. “Everyone who came to SPARK!’s opening reception got to tour the new site and see 3-D renderings of what could rise from the ashes there. This is an exciting time and SPARK! helps us all continue to consider new ideas and solutions for our shared future here in Sylacauga.”

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About the AHA-Smithsonian partnership
Since 1997, the Alabama Humanities Alliance has brought more than a dozen Smithsonian traveling exhibits to smaller towns statewide — nearly 70 communities, and counting. Alabamians who might never have the chance to visit Smithsonian museums in our nation’s capital are treated to museum-quality exhibits right here in their home communities. AHA works in partnership with the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street and Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. alabamahumanities.org/spark

About Innovate Alabama
Innovate Alabama is Alabama’s first statewide public-private partnership focused on entrepreneurship, technology, and innovation, with a mission to help innovators grow roots here in Alabama. Innovate Alabama was established to implement the initiatives and recommendations set forth in the Alabama Innovation Commission’s report, including smart policy solutions that will create a more resilient, inclusive, and robust economy to remain competitive in a 21st-century world. With founding CEO Cynthia Crutchfield leading the charge, Innovate Alabama includes a board of 11 innovation leaders appointed by Gov. Kay Ivey, collaborating across sectors to advance industries, drive technology, and facilitate an environment where innovation and entrepreneurship thrive. innovatealabama.org

About The Daniel Foundation of Alabama
The Daniel Foundation of Alabama’s mission is to strengthen communities within Alabama and improve the quality of life for citizens from all regions of Alabama. We believe this can be achieved through support of effective organizations that are focused on building a healthy and well-educated population, living in a vibrant community. danielfoundationofalabama.com

 

AHA names two new Riley Scholars

The Alabama Humanities Alliance has named Madison County educators Shatia Howard and Alana McNeil as AHA’s 2024 Riley Scholars. The competitive Jenice Riley Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to K-8 educators who excel in teaching history, civics, and geography. Since its origins, Riley Scholars have received funding to support creative history- and civics-related classroom projects.

Funded through the W. Edgar Welden Fund for Education, this scholarship is a tribute to the late Jenice Riley — a passionate educator and daughter of former Alabama governor and first lady Bob and Patsy Riley. Edgar Welden is a former AHA board member and a steadfast supporter of educational initiatives in Alabama. Since 2003, the Alabama Humanities Alliance has named 106 Riley Scholars and funded more than $100,000 in teacher scholarships.

Applications are now being accepted for AHA’s 2025 Jenice Riley Memorial Scholarships. Alabama educators are encouraged to apply by April 30, 2025.

More info

Riley Scholars flyer

Application form for 2025

 

About our 2024 Jenice Riley Scholars
AHA Executive Director Chuck Holmes presents educator Shatia Howard with her Riley Scholarship, at Lakewood Elementary in Huntsville. 

 

Shatia Howard, Lakewood Elementary School
Huntsville City Schools | Kindergarten

Project: Diverse Friends, Happy Hearts

Student enrichment through promoting a deeper appreciation for diversity through literature. By introducing students to a range of cultures and backgrounds, students will enhance their social-emotional learning, empowering them to become more empathetic and compassionate individuals. By cultivating empathy, Howard aims to shape a more harmonious and inclusive future adult. Funding will help support purchasing books, supplies, and a buddy bench.

 

Alana McNeil, Farley Elementary School
Huntsville City Schools | 3rd Grade

Map reading is an essential life skill that modern students may need help with. In this project, students will learn how to read and use maps. Participants will integrate their math, reading, language, cooperative learning, and critical thinking skills. Funding will help support the purchase of maps, learning center supplies, and map puzzles.

 

Help us award more Riley Scholarships

Beginning in 2025, AHA will double the scholarship amount that Riley Scholars receive to support their efforts in the classroom and beyond. If you’d like to help us reward excellent Alabama educators, consider making a gift to AHA.

Learn more about AHA’s Riley Scholarships. Or contact Laura Anderson, AHA director of partnerships and outcomes: landerson@alabamahumanities.org or 205.558.3992.

 

About the Alabama Humanities Alliance
Founded in 1974, the nonprofit Alabama Humanities Alliance serves as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through our grantmaking and public programming, we connect Alabamians to impactful storytelling, lifelong learning, and civic engagement. We believe the humanities can bring our communities together and help us all see each other as fully human. Learn more at alabamahumanities.org.

History Day at Mt. Meigs

“Alabama History Day has given me light in this dark part of my life. It gave me an example of how throughout history, people have made a way in spite of hard times.” 
—G.M., a student at L.B. Wallace School for adjudicated youth, Mt. Meigs, Alabama 

 

G.M. was one of 30 students at the L.B. Wallace School who participated in a first-of-its-kind Alabama History Day program. Students had the chance to research topics of their own choosing — and then creatively share their findings — just as all other Alabama students do at school, regional, and statewide History Day contests each year.

This barrier-breaking program for adjudicated youth at Mt. Meigs — an Alabama Department of Youth Services (DYS) campus mostly comprised of 16-to-19-year-old boys — was the result of a collaboration between the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the Alabama Writers’ Forum, and DYS.

Over a 10-week program this school year, students at Mt. Meigs participated in a Writing Our Histories program, led by Susan R. DuBose, Ph.D., a leading historian and educator in Alabama. Dr. DuBose and the school’s teachers helped students learn the core principles of primary research and how to develop speaking skills to present their research to a panel of judges.

“The dedicated DYS teachers and staff, along with Dr. DuBose, created an environment where our students could connect with history and learn in ways they had never experienced before this program,” says Tracy Smitherman, Ed.D., superintendent of the Alabama DYS School District. “The students enjoyed it, the exceptional teachers and staff loved it, and as the superintendent, I love that this program inspired them to love learning.”

The Alabama Humanities Alliance and Alabama Writers’ Forum collaboratively developed the Writing Our Histories curriculum — building on the AWF’s well-established Writing Our Stories program, which also takes place on DYS youth campuses. Over the program’s first 25 years, 63 anthologies and 19 chapbooks have been published, showcasing the work of approximately 1,500 students.

The 10-week Writing Our Histories pilot program culminated in an Alabama History Day contest on October 4, on the Mt. Meigs campus. Students presented their research as exhibits that colorfully highlighted what they’d learned on topics ranging from World War II and the Civil War to Alabama athletes and the civil rights movement. Students confidently and enthusiastically talked about what they’d learned, answering questions from Alabama History Day judges who work professionally as educators, historians, and authors. Teachers from other DYS campuses also attended to observe and bring the experience back to their own classrooms.

“Alabama History Day has brought me to the perception to always move forward and to keep your focus on the right opportunity,” one student, K.M., shared. “As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, ’The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’ These words hold true through all times, for there have been occasions when good things during hard times have been accomplished through perseverance and hope. I want to thank everyone for providing me with a chance to advance my growth as an independent individual.”

Alabama History Day will “move forward” at Mt. Meigs, too. The pilot program had such a significant and positive impact on participating youth this fall that an agreement is already in place to carry Alabama History Day into 2025 and beyond with the Alabama Department of Youth Services.

Idrissa N. Snider, Ph.D., at the Awards Ceremony for Alabama History Day 2024 at Mt. Meigs.

“We take great joy in offering programs that empower all Alabamians to be storytellers and humanities champions, at every stage in life,” says Idrissa N. Snider, Ph.D., Alabama History Day coordinator at the Alabama Humanities Alliance. “We want every child to succeed, no matter their circumstances, and we have seen firsthand how empowering and transformational the History Day program can be to students from different backgrounds and parts of our state.”

Alabama History Day is the state contest of National History Day, a history competition that engages middle school and high school students in robust and creative historical research. To learn more about History Day — and how your school, classroom, or student can participate, visit alabamahumanities.org/alabama-history-day.

Learn more about the partnering organizations for Alabama History Day at Mt. Meigs:

AHA names three new Riley Scholars

BIRMINGHAM / November 14, 2023 — The Alabama Humanities Alliance has named educators Lexia Banks, Abby Crews, and Willie Davis III as its 2023 Riley Scholars. The competitive Jenice Riley Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to K-8 educators who excel in teaching history, civics, and geography. Each Riley Scholar receives $1,000 to support creative history- and civics-related classroom projects.

Funded through the W. Edgar Welden Fund for Education, this scholarship is named in memory of the late Jenice Riley — a passionate educator and daughter of former Alabama governor and first lady Bob and Patsy Riley.

Since 2003, the Alabama Humanities Alliance has named 104 Riley Scholars and funded more than $100,000 in teacher scholarships. In 2023, at least 162 Alabamian students will benefit from these scholarship their teachers have received.

 

About our 2023 Riley Scholars

Lexia Banks, Magic City Acceptance Academy (Birmingham)
7th Grade, Charter School

Project: 7th Grade Trip to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
The trip will elevate the school’s Social Movements unit by commemorating the 60th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing through a tour of the BCRI. Students will leave with a better understanding of Alabama’s history and how it impacts their future.

 

Abby Crews, Mulkey Elementary School (Geneva)
5th Grade, Social Studies

Project: Living History Wax Museum
Students will select a person of positive influence who has significantly contributed to society from the Living History Wax Museum exhibits. After researching, learners will prepare biographical presentation boards, dress as their selected icon, and present a short speech to family and community members. Participants will increase their proficiency and skills in reading, writing, public speaking, and critical thinking.

 

Willie Davis III, Charles F. Hard Elementary (Bessemer)
Kindergarten 

Project: A Community of Helpers
Students will listen to “read-alouds” and receive visits from community helpers to inform them about public service occupations. Learners will increase their appreciation for civil servants through art, literature, and more as community helpers inspire them.

 

Support our teacher scholarships

Alabamians are invited to support these Riley Scholarships through our W. Edgar Welden Fund for Education.

To contribute:

To learn more about the Riley Scholarships, visit alabamahumanities.org/jenice-riley-memorial-scholarship. Or contact Laura Anderson, AHA’s director of partnerships and outcomes, at landerson@alabamahumanities.org or 205.558.3992.

 

About the Alabama Humanities Alliance

Founded in 1974, the nonprofit Alabama Humanities Alliance serves as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through our grantmaking and public programming, we connect Alabamians to impactful storytelling, lifelong learning, and civic engagement. We believe the humanities can bring our communities together and help us all see each other as fully human. Learn more at alabamahumanities.org.

Introducing Alabama History Day teacher ambassadors

BIRMINGHAM / November 9, 2023 — The Alabama Humanities Alliance proudly announces the appointment of Rebecca Heaton and Cheryl Burch as Alabama History Day teacher ambassadors for North and South Alabama. In their roles, Heaton and Burch will serve as key points of contact for teachers and educators interested in participating in Alabama History Day.

Rebecca Heaton, teacher ambassador, North AL.

Heaton and Burch will support the efforts of Alabama History Day coordinator Idrissa N. Snider, Ph.D., in expanding outreach to both rural and urban areas across the state. Their collaborative outreach includes Alabama History Day and Donuts — a new initiative providing accessible school visits to facilitate helpful discussions about Alabama History Day.

Rebecca Heaton, AHA’s teacher ambassador for North Alabama, brings a wealth of experience to her role. Her involvement with History Day dates to 2008, when she covered stories about the competition as a journalist in Fairbanks, Alaska.

In 2018, Heaton directed the Alaska History Day Competition and served as a program coordinator for the Western History Association. She lives in Huntsville, where she’s pursuing a public history and architecture degree.

Cheryl Burch, teacher ambassador, South AL.

Cheryl Burch, AHA’s teacher ambassador for South Alabama, has a strong background in education. Her journey with History Day began as an 8th-grade Ancient World History teacher at Phillips Preparatory Academy. Burch’s dedication led her to sponsor History Day at Phillips, where she earned Alabama’s Patricia Behring Middle School Teacher of the Year award.

Building upon her expertise, Burch assumed the role of National History Day Master Teacher, conducting training workshops for NHD educators. Burch is enjoying her recent retirement, splitting her time between Mobile and Simpsonville, South Carolina.

This dynamic duo will play a crucial role in strengthening the impact of Alabama History Day, increasing engagement in broader communities, and bringing history to life for students across the state.

To learn more, visit alabamahumanities.org/alabama-history-day. Or contact AHD program coordinator Dr. Snider at isnider@alabamahumanities.org or 205.558.3996.

About the Alabama Humanities Alliance
Founded in 1974, the nonprofit Alabama Humanities Alliance serves as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through our grantmaking and public programming, we connect Alabamians to impactful storytelling, lifelong learning, and civic engagement. We believe the humanities can bring our communities together and help us all see each other as fully human. Learn more at alabamahumanities.org.