Alabama Humanities Alliance sends 35 students to National History Day

Birmingham / August 14, 2024 — This June, 35 student winners from Alabama History Day traveled to the University of Maryland to compete in National History Day, alongside peers from across the United States. Alabama’s student-scholars presented their historical research on the 2024 theme “Turning Points in History” to well-respected historians, professors, and other judges. Several Alabama students’ projects were selected for showcases at Smithsonian museums.  

The Alabama Humanities Alliance (AHA) offers Alabama History Day to schools, teachers, and students statewide in its role as a state affiliate of National History Day. The program’s legacy is beginning to take shape as a competition that transcends background and opens opportunities for all who are curious to learn more about our past. In 2023, The Bezos Family Foundation selected AHA and Alabama History Day as one of four states in the country to pilot their Inclusive History Initiative designed to increase outreach to rural and urban communities.  

Here’s how the competition works: National History Day establishes a new theme each year; in 2025, the theme is “Rights and Responsibilities.” Students choose their own topic of interest within the broader theme. Then, they work either individually or with teammates to conduct research, find primary sources, and creatively present their findings as exhibits, websites, papers, documentary films, or dramatic performances. The program also provides educators (grades 6-12) with a dynamic, project-based learning tool they can incorporate into their lesson plans year long.  

In the spring of 2025, Alabama History Day will take place at Troy University in Montgomery. Eligible first- and second-place winners of the state competition are selected to represent Alabama at National History Day in Maryland and Washington, D.C. 

Meet Alabama’s 2024 National History Day Qualifiers 

View our NHD Albums 

Student Success Stories 

At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, all eyes were on emerging student filmmakers Ddwayne Lockett James and Ethan Gwin (Murphy High School, Mobile) and their documentary, Rediscovering Roots in the Harlem Renaissance: How Zora Neale Hurston’s Barracoon Contributed to Clarifying African American Ancestry. The screening was held at the museum’s Oprah Winfrey Theatre and the students’ work was acknowledged by the museum’s deputy director, Dr. Michelle D. Commander, who presented outstanding documentaries with a Certificate of Achievement during the ceremony.   

A timely exhibit by Kristian Pittman (Alabama School of Fine Arts, Birmingham), “The Other Side of the Tracks: The Legacy of Redlining,” also set him apart from his peers. Pittman’s tabletop exhibit was displayed at the National Museum of American History. Back home, Pittman also had the chance to present his research at a forum hosted by Birmingham’s Coalition for True History’s, as part of a conversation exploring ideas for teaching about redlining and housing discrimination in a K-12 setting.  

And Isaac Livingston’s research (Westminster Christian Academy, Huntsville) took him to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. There, he had the chance to meet with both U.S. Rep. Dale Strong and U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville about his research and website on “The Tennessee Valley Authority: A Turning Point in Southern History.” He also had the opportunity to share with Alabama’s elected officials about what Alabama History Day meant to him in learning more about his past and his region’s history.  

Finally, budding historical researchers Nakeria Woods (Murphy High School, Mobile) and Ashton Dunklin (Clark-Shaw Magnet School, Mobile) won “Outstanding Affiliate Entry” awards at National History Day. Judges select only two exceptional projects from each state to receive the honor. Woods, a senior, was recognized for her paper, “Zora Neale Hurston’s Anthropological Eyes: An Examination of the Anthropological Work and Impact of Zora Neale Hurston.” Dunklin’s junior documentary, The NBA and ABA Merger, was praised for its stand-out research.  

Educator Spotlight  

Educators make our program possible, and National History Day’s 2024 Patricia Behring Teacher Award nominees represent the best in history education. Alabama’s nominee, Kathy Paschal, a social studies teacher at Stanhope Elmore High School since 1999, is emblematic of excellent educators who give students the skills they need to succeed. Her mentorship helped cultivate the talent of 2023’s “Outstanding Affiliate” award winner, Maleah Beaufort, for Beaufort’s dramatic performance of, “Stonewall: Are We Moving Forwards or Backwards?” Paschal’s gift for teaching was also recently recognized by Alabama Public Television’s Excellence in Education, program honoring K-12 educators across Alabama.  

Alabama History Day 2025 

Do you want to join the fun? Research for the “Rights and Responsibilities” theme can begin as soon as fall of 2024. Contact Alabama History Day Coordinator Idrissa N. Snider, Ph.D., to learn how you can bring Alabama’s premier history research competition to your schools, classrooms, and communities. 

Alabama History Day sponsors and partners 

Alabama History Day is made possible thanks to AHA’s partnership with National History Day. Support for the program comes from the National Endowment for the Humanities’ “A More Perfect Union” initiative and from Alabama Power. The Alabama Humanities Alliance also awards special topic prizes of excellence thanks to partnerships with the Alabama Department of Archives and History, Alabama Historical Association, Alabama Public Television, David Mathews Center for Civic Life, Interstate Character Council, National Maritime Historical Society, and Sons of the American Revolution. Learn more at alabamahumanities.org/alabama-history-day. 

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. AHA promotes impactful storytelling, lifelong learning and civic engagement. We provide Alabamians with opportunities to connect with our shared cultures and to see each other as fully human. Through our grantmaking, we help scholars, communities and cultural nonprofits create humanities-rich projects that are accessible to all Alabamians — from literary festivals and documentary films to museum exhibitions and research collections. Learn more at alabamahumanities.org.