Banner for National History Day <i>in Massachusetts</i>

National History Day in Massachusetts

Celebrating Juneteenth Exhibition

A banner with four b&w photographs of Black men and women: Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglas, Sarah P. Remond, and Charles Lenox Remond. All four photographs look old and show the person profiled from the shoulders up.

Celebrating “Freedom Day” 2025: A Virtual Juneteenth Exhibit with NHD Massachusetts 

Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) celebrates the date in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take control of the state, declaring that according to the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, all enslaved people in Texas are free. Since then, Juneteenth celebrations have honored our country’s second Independence Day and recognized the ongoing fight for human rights and equality.

Though it has long been celebrated among African American communities, Juneteenth is a part of history that has long been largely unknown to the wider public. In 2020, Juneteenth was declared a state holiday in Massachusetts, and the following year was recognized as a federal holiday. 

The Massachusetts Historical Society began an annual NHD Massachusetts Juneteenth exhibition in 2020 with three goals: to promote an understanding of and engagement with the Juneteenth holiday; to highlight select NHD student projects whose work explores topics related to African American history, culture, achievement, and freedom; and to spread awareness of these often-marginalized historical narratives. This year's NHD projects approached history through the theme of "Rights and Responsibilities in History."

The Massachusetts Historical Society invites you to explore this original and extraordinary student work from the 2025 NHD Massachusetts competition season.

2025 National History Day in Massachusetts Projects

Please note: We were given permission to identify some students by their full name, while others are identified only by their first name. 
 

One of the most valuable aspects of NHD is that students have the opportunity to interpret evidence and draw their own conclusions. Therefore, the interpretations and opinions expressed in these projects are the work of the students and are not necessarily shared by the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Documentaries

B&W photo of a steam train with the title, Discrimination on the Eastern Railroad. The image is labeled Group Documentary.Discrimination on the Eastern Railroad
Olivia Disessa, Regan Frayler
St. Mary’s School (Lynn)
Grade 9

“In the Lynn, Massachusetts area, assaults on the Eastern Railroad were a common thing. Many activists, including Frederick Douglass, faced discrimination for refusing to be moved into the segregated train car. This documentary examines the story of how residents of Boston and Lynn, Massachusetts started a movement of nonviolent resistance that inspired future activists.”

Process Paper and Bibliography
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B&W photo showing two dolls with dark and light skin colors being presented to a Black child, whose attention is drawn to the doll with the paler skin. The image is labeled Group Documentary.Dolls for All: How Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark Fought for Racial Equality
Madeleine Accettella, Emma Kelley
Hingham High School (Hingham)
Grade 11
“Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark, the first Black woman to receive a doctorate in psychology from Columbia University, was a groundbreaking psychologist… Under the backdrop of Jim Crow and school segregation she worked to uncover the horrific truth about the detrimental effects inequality and discrimination had on American children.”

Process Paper and Bibliography
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B&W photo of a Black woman in a white collared shirt and wearing glasses. The image is labeled Group Documentary.Katherine Johnson: Hidden No LongerAimee Enejo, Julia Pollack
Pollard Middle School (Needham)
Grade 8“This documentary is about the life and legacy of Katherine Johnson, how she worked at NASA to uphold the United State’s responsibility of winning the Space Race and still fought for and maintained the necessary rights to complete her task effectively.”
Process Paper and Bibliography
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B&W portrait of a Black man wearing a suit and tie. The image is labeled Individual DocumentaryFrederick Douglass
Nana Obeng
Leicester Middle School (Leicester)
Grade 7

“Frederick Douglass played many roles in ending the harsh and unfair systems during his time period. His activism contributed to the 13th Amendment and the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 which declared enslaved people in Confederate states to be free... His fight for racial justice kick-started future movements, including the Civil Rights Movement.”

Process Paper and Bibliography
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Illustrated image of a group of Black soldiers in Civil War uniforms with an American Flag flying behind them. One soldier looks to be a youth and is carrying a drum.Equal Sacrifice, Unequal Rights: How African American Soldiers in the Civil War Fought for their Rights On and Off the Battlefield
Sungsan Park
Middlesex School (Concord)
Grade 11
“This documentary explores the struggles of Black soldiers in the Civil War, focusing on their fight for equal pay, recognition, and dignity. Through the story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, it reveals how their courage on and off the battlefield helped shape the long struggle for racial equality in the U.S. military.”

Process Paper and Bibliography
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Website

B&W portrait of a Black woman with her hair pulled up, labeled Ida B. Wells. The image is labeled Group Website.Advocating for Equal Rights: Ida B. Wells’ Responsibility to Expose Injustice
Tasneem Benhida, Calliope Britz, Manal Khaleel, Rini Rupesh, Sameeha S. 
Marshall Simonds Middle School (Burlington)
Grade 8
  
“Ida B. Wells fought against racial injustice and the violence of lynching in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, demanding the rights of African Americans to live free from fear and oppression. By exposing the brutality of lynching through journalism, Wells highlighted the United States government's failure to fulfill its responsibility to protect its citizens. She was a crucial figure in the anti-lynching movement, advocated for women’s suffrage, and fought for equality in education. This project highlights her courage and how she was a voice for justice at a time when speaking out against racial violence was dangerous.”

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Exhibit

Photo of a three-sided exhibit board titled Chasing Justice: Rights and Responsibility of African American Women in WWII                                        
Yuan (Dora) Mou (10th Grade)Boston University Academy
Grade 10
“‘The contribution [of Black women] is one which this nation would be unwise to forget or evaluate falsely.’ Kathryn Blood (Randle, 2023)

"Despite facing double discrimination for their race and gender, African American women like The Black Rosies, Red Cross Nurses, The 6888th Battalion, and Willa Brown fulfilled their responsibilities and fought for equal rights in both the military and in society during WWII.”

Process Paper and Bibliography
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Papers

Title of Paper against a background of cursive handwriting, labeled PaperLifting as She Climbed: Sarah Mapps Douglass’ Intersectional Empowerment of Free Black Women
Jonathan Bu
Phillips Academy
Grade 11
  
“​​Because of her transformative education, Sarah Mapps Douglass took on the responsibility of empowering free Black women by demanding their right to education and exposing them to upper class perspectives, lifting others as she climbed.”
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Title of Paper against a background of cursive handwriting, labeled PaperSecurity and Freedom: Black Muslim Prisoners’ Fight for Religious Rights in the 1960s
Anouk Shin
St Mark’s School
Grade 11
“In the 1960s, several Black Muslim prisoners across the country began to file legal complaints stating that their right to religion had not been upheld by prisons. These complaints, which eventually became cases, reveal where the responsibility of the government lay in the politically and culturally tumultuous 1960s.”

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