It's Not Just a Day…It's an Experience!
By Larry Rivers, 11th grade student from Leon High School in Tallahassee, Florida
This article appeared in the 1999 summer edition of the newsletter.
As the end of the 1999 National History Day (NHD) awards ceremony approached, I was feeling very pleased. This was my sixth year of participating in NHD and I had accomplished my goal--placing in the top three in my category--and had the second place medal around my neck to prove it. It was a good feeling - so much of who I am has been shaped by my participation in National History Day and the atmosphere of the awards ceremony has always put a smile on my face.
I found myself moving in fast forward toward the conclusion of another NHD awards ceremony. I sat comfortably, listening as the names of the other winners came and passed, focusing my ears in particular for my fellow Florida delegation entries. Before I knew it, it was time to announce the grand prize-the four-year, full-tuition scholarship to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. I had often seen this part of the ceremony come and go, but never thought that I would be the one to receive the award. More than anything else, this mind-set reflected my entire approach to NHD. I saw my participation as the key to furthering my education; the medals and the grand prize had nothing to do with my reasons for partaking in National History Day. For my purposes, National History Day was a way to develop both personal confidence and a plethora of academic skills that would help set me apart from the masses. I know that the abilities I have gained from NHD will be useful beyond the subject of history. The skills I have learned have paved my way to college and will continue to help me in my future studies.
My path to reaping the benefits of NHD began in 1994, when I was in sixth grade. My first NHD project failed to place at the district contest and made me resolve to take my writing efforts more seriously the next time by starting my research much earlier. I focused my next entry on the flood of Haitian refugees who were seeking economic and political asylum in the United States. My paper won second at both the district and state levels, earning me a berth at the national competition. I didn't place at nationals. After looking at my judging sheets, I saw why. While the judges said they liked my effort, my discussion and conclusions were far too superficial. They encouraged me to venture beyond a simple summary of the various events, and instead, to concentrate on finding the more extensive impact and significance of my topic.
During the subsequent year of 1996, I began work on my entry during the summer. Before even thinking of a topic, I sat down and read several books on how to research and write a paper for a college history course. Through this reading, I stumbled across a truth that had escaped me during my previous two years in the contest: in writing history, one should let the actual participants tell the story as much as possible. My role was to simply deliver the story logically and cohesively, shedding light on its overall significance. To do this, I soon found, I would need to use more primary sources in my research.
The next step was to find a manageable topic. So, taking into consideration the theme, Taking a Stand in History, I wrote about someone near and dear to my own community, the Rev. Charles Keenzie Steele, leader of the 1956-58 Tallahassee Bus Boycott. In researching this topic, I interviewed a church deacon who had both known Dr. Steele personally and participated in the boycott. For the first time I reached into the endless treasures of the primary resources that sat untapped in my own city. As a citizen of Tallahassee, I had easy access to the state and university-run libraries and archives. I remember how exciting it was to read newspapers on microfilm from the 1950s detailing the events in the boycott. The boycott participant interviews that I found in FAMU's Black Archives made the story literally replay itself before my very eyes.
My researched paid off and I received critical praise at various levels of competition. I won first at district and state, receiving a special award from the Florida Secretary of State for Best Overall Entry in the Junior Division of the Florida National History Day State Contest. Finally, I was awarded second place at nationals. During my stay at the University of Maryland, I attended a reception at a U.S. Senate Office building where I had a chance to meet Dr.Cathy Gorn, the Executive Director of NHD, Mr. Byron Hollishead, a NHD Trustee, and Dr. David Van Tassel, the founder of NHD. These three, along with the NHD staff and the many others, work year-round to make NHD the success that it is, and I am very grateful to everyone that makes NHD possible.
During the national competition of 1996, I had two of the same judges from the previous year. One, Mr. Dan Jansen, wrote about my "transformation" in the National History Day Newsletter. "It was apparent," he stated, "that in the year since the last contest, Larry had learned to research, think, and write like a historian." Indeed, NHD has changed the very way I look at the world and myself. I now search for deeper meanings in what I observe or read. Learning how to analyze things soon made me a much more critical thinker and problem solver. I had now found something that I could feel proud of -- something I was one of the best at. In sports, I was only average. I was okay in academics, but there were always those several straight "A" students ahead of me. National History Day became a source of strong confidence for me. It merited me more respect among my peers, family, and community. People wanted to hear what I had to say; I was able to share the stories I discovered and the understandings my research revealed. To this day, this to me is the greatest grand prize that comes from studying history--being able to share it with others.
I participated in NHD again in 1997 as a high school freshman with a paper entitled "Every Advancement Comes By the Way of Sacrifice": Harry T. Moore and The Early Civil Rights Movement in Florida. Moore led Florida's National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) branches during the 1940s and 50s; he was, in many respects, the father of the 1960s civil rights movement in Florida. I had learned a great deal from my participation in NHD and my research methods had greatly improved. I used over one hundred primary sources: letters from the 1949-1953 Florida governor's incoming correspondence files, court documents, NAACP letters on microfilm, newspapers, and FBI investigation files. For the second time, I won first at state and the Best Overall Award (only this time, for the Senior Division). For the second time, I won a national award-Outstanding Entry In African-American History.
The experience that year, however, did include an interesting first. I was privileged to be a part of a private tour of National Archives II in College Park. It was a researcher's dream. Upon returning home, I was already making plans to go back and research there the following year. NHD was becoming a regular summer excursion for me. After ninth grade, I could not imagine summer without the annual trip to the University of Maryland, the dorms, the competition, and the explorations of the nation's capital. But, I soon learned. My paper on Black Migration Into Florida's Cities After Slavery and Its Impact on the State's Black Leadership: 1865-1970 placed third at the state competition. As I left for home, I still couldn't believe it--a veteran competitor had failed to reach the next level! After reflecting on the situation for several days, however, I soon realized that I had gotten it all wrong. I remembered that the true benefits from participating in NHD went past a certificate or medal, and that I had reaped them more and more bountifully every year. I remembered that during 1998 alone I had been called on numerous times to speak about my research. I had become a respected authority on Charles K. Steele and Harry T. Moore, and my research lead me to a central role in the creation and success of Leon High School's Black History Program. I must have heard the phrase "Everyone that competes is a winner" a billion times. But now, it finally made sense. I realized that what was truly important was applying the skills and confidence I had gained from NHD in my school and community.
Because of my experience with National History Day the 1999 Black History Month Celebration was one of the best ever for my school and myself. During the second week of February, I co-presented a slide show on Florida's African American Heritage with my former history teacher, Florida NHD coordinator emeritus, and friend Mr. Peter A. Cowdrey. The third week, I emceed a dramatic presentation on Blacks In the Arts. The celebration culminated on Friday of the last week in February when I gave the closing remarks at the Black History Assembly at my school. The interviewing experience I had gained through my NHD participation also proved vital during this month. Using a videotaped version of the Black History Program with participant interviews, I auditioned successfully for the position of Teen Reporter at the local CBS-affiliate television station, WCTV. My interviewing experience also gave me the courage to run for and successfully become the president of my senior class.
I never thought that the NHD grand prize would pave my way to go to college on a "history scholarship." I always thought that it would be a combination of the skills and talents that I had gained from the NHD and not necessarily a high-placing, that would attract interest from a great university -- and I was RIGHT! In selecting me, I have no doubt that Case Western Reserve University looked back on the role National History Day played in helping me make contributions to my school, my community, and to the study of history. I am living proof that National History Day does more than just encourage students to read and write--it prepares young minds for a productive, active, and competitive future.
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