SMS Student Documentary Showcase

Seaman Middle School Student Filmmakers Selected for Smithsonian Documentary Showcase
Posted on 06/17/2020
Seaman Middle School Student Filmmakers Selected for  Smithsonian Documentary ShowcaseA documentary by Seaman Middle School students Adyson Cashman and Allie Jones has been selected for the 2020 Digital Documentary Showcase hosted by the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Documentary Title: "Either You Print It Just the Way I Draw It or I Quit"

https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/national-history-day-at-nmaahc-student-documentary-showcase-2020/JEhuVjMaEqt1tRxR#r/820194

Their documentary illustrates how Charles Schulz, with inspiration from Harriet Glickman, broke the racial barriers in comics by adding a new character named Franklin to his well-known strip the "Peanuts."

National History Day® (NHD), the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), and the Smithsonian Learning Lab announced 35 documentary films, produced by middle and high school students competing in the 2020 NHD National Contest, to be featured in an online showcase. The films were screened and selected by NMAAHC staff, and will premier Wednesday, June 17, as a special collection of the Smithsonian Learning Lab.

To be selected for the showcase, students needed to address topics and stories in their documentaries consistent with the mission of the NMAAHC. The ten-minute films also reflect the 2020 NHD theme, Breaking Barriers in History.

The documentary showcase was originally planned to be screened in the Oprah Winfrey Theater of the NMAAHC, but will now take place online because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is an incredible honor for these students and their Breaking Barriers in History films to have been selected by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, a barrier-breaking institution in its own right,” said National History Day Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “Months and years from now, they will think back fondly on this week when their documentaries were viewed and experienced by people around the world visiting the Smithsonian Learning Lab and the documentary showcase.”

The 35 student films will be available to stream online for one week via the Smithsonian Learning Lab at s.si.edu/NHDShowcase2020, Wednesday, June 17 through next Wednesday, June 24.