Jorie has gone above and beyond with her History Fair project this year! Jorie wanted research an African American who made a contribution to our country as it pertains to communication, and she wanted combine her interests and love for fashion, entertainment, and pop culture magazines. Once she saw Ebony and JET magazines featuring famous African Americans, her decision to research Johnson Publishing Company was confirmed. Jorie conducted an interview with Kyra Kyles, the former Editor-in-Chief & Senior Vice President for Ebony and the Senior Editor for Jet. We can’t wait to see your documentary – congratulations, Jorie!

Zadie’s interest in the missteps of the government led her to focus on the Red Scare because of all the shady things the United States government had done in the 1920s. When she discovered the Palmer Raids, she was fascinated by the many reasons this could have happened and wanted to understand Palmer’s motives. Zadie found political comics from that time that depict Palmer as America’s savior from the horrors of unions, immigrants, and communism as well as Palmer’s speeches that were created to incite fear into the American people. We salute your independence and determination, Zadie! Keep making history!

Teddy has combined his passion for filmmaking with his interest in crime stories to uncover the hidden history in his own backyard! His research into how organized crime affected the people in his neighborhood during Prohibition has led him to some amazing sources. From the local grocery store on the site of a former speakeasy to the house down the street with secret rooms used as distilleries, Teddy has embraced the role of historian to communicate these hidden stories of life in his neighborhood 100 years ago. We can’t wait to learn more about this chapter of Chicago’s history from Teddy’s documentary!

Congratulations to Teddy on his hard work and dedication this year! Keep on Making History!

As a 6th grader and first time History Fair participant, Morgan has gone above and beyond the requirements for her History Fair Research Paper. Morgan initiated the outreach and conducted an interview with Mrs. Dyanna Lewis, Vice President of the Chicago Defender.
Along with her interviews, Morgan found this book: “The Defender: How the Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America: from the Age of the Pullman Porters to the Age of Obama,” which helped her to understand the impact of the Chicago Defender. Keep making history Morgan!

Evelyn is a hardworking student who always gives her best in every assignment. She has found some great History Fair sources including quotes, images, and documents. Evelyn chose to make an exhibit about the Boston Tea Party, she feels connected to it because she is fascinated with British history. Keep making history, Evelyn!

Even while juggling the demands of remote learning and AP classes, Marwa has created a fascinating History Fair project while sharing her excitement about her topic with others. Marwa says that she chose her topic, the impact of carrier pigeons’ on US success in WWI, in memory of her family’s pet birds.

Marwa’s topic is a great example of finding connections to history all around us! We can’t wait to read more about how she arrived at her powerful conclusion: “While some service animals could sniff out bombs, others toxic solutions, and some used for transportation, America’s victory during WW1 resulted from one shared goal between humans and birds: to go home.” Congratulations, Marwa!

Marisol’s English/American History class has been working on the theme “Protests Throughout History.” Marisol chose to focus on the Delano Grape Strike and how the leaders used protest to successfully communicated their ideas to create more equitable and fairer work environment for migrant farm workers in the Central Valley of California.

Marisol has been working on her project since November and she has collected an impressive number of primary and secondary sources. She has already written her essay for English and is now taking her information to create a website for her History Fair Project. We can’t wait to see her website — great work, Marisol!

This group has nominated each other. They both admire the hard work and effort they have put into their projects and are clearly working well as a group.
They are working on a project about the Navajo Code Talkers while finding primary sources has been challenging, they are both very excited about an interview they found. We are excited to see their final project! Keep making history Jack and Alice!

Amira has put an impressive amount of time and effort into their History Fair project this year! While researching communication during McCarthyism, Amira has found a wealth of great historical sources, like digitized newspapers from the era. Amira is thoroughly enjoying operating the hot glue gun to assemble their exhibit! We can’t wait to see how everything turns out – congrats, Amira!

Aili, Olivia, Julianna, and Alyssa have collaborated while working remotely and in different class periods. They’ve been a model of communication and teamwork as they’ve dug up sources from the local public library, newspaper archives, and found interviews online. Congratulations to this group on their great example of working together to overcome obstacles together!

Nadia has demonstrated perseverance and tenacity in searching for primary sources that illustrate the hardships faced by African Americans in the early 20th century seeking to become doctors. With sources like a 1949 newspaper article on the opening of a Black medical school in Houston, Nadia has dived deeply into the history of African Americans and their entrance into medical schools in the United States. Congratulations, Nadia!

The ‘twin historians’ are looking at the work and literary communications of Vivian Harsh, Chicago’s First Black Librarian. They’ve partnered with local historical communities such as Bronzeville to locate artifacts including telegrams, notes and a very old set of eye glasses – so far! Congrats to Vallierie and Aaron on their undying dive into finding out more about major contributors on Chicago communications!

Sofi’s research for her History Fair project on the League of Women Voters is extensive. In addition to locating plenty of images and documents, she is in the process of interviewing local League of Women Voter groups in both Park Ridge and Deerfield. Her research extends beyond the book and internet and into modern day effects of the organization on a local, state, and national level. We can’t wait to learn from her project – congrats to Sofi!

School: Bogan High School

Steve’s dedication towards keeping the contributions of influential African Americans in Chicago History has been his passion since 7th grade. He’s seen the struggles stemming from reconstruction until now with African Americans solidify his quest in keeping history alive! This year’s theme has enabled him to take a deeper dive into the history of Chicago and connect it on a global level.

School: Lakeview Junior High

This group’s interest in environmental activism has led them to study Erin Brockovich and her impact on public awareness about environmental issues. Despite being remote, they’ve joined together for movie nights and have raised the bar for the classmates, being enthusiastic in their pursuit of resources.

School: Lakeview Junior High

Even though Emily and Ava are in different classes, they manage to communicate daily and collect valuable sources across the web as part of their research into the tragic fire at Our Lady of Angels. Their best source is an interview with a survivor of this awful but important event!

School: Lakeview Junior High

Amelia and Aubrey are studying Women’s Swimming, which was an early venue for women to champion equality. Both students are competitive swimmers and have successfully tied their passion for the pool into a meaningful topic with a significant impact for women across sport.

School: Lenart RGC

Hana has dived right into her topic, Our Lady of the Angels School fire, to research how the disaster was communicated around the world and the impact on fire safety laws. Working both on her own and together with the research librarians at Northeastern Illinois University, Hana is showing that smart research is the key to understanding your topic this year! Congratulations to Hana for Making History this year!

School: St. Giles School

If anyone ever says that history is boring, Sophia might have a movie recommendation for them! Among other sources, she has viewed and analyzed roughly ten different zombie films for her project which makes connections to the social events that were occurring at the time of each film’s production, from Haitian Vodou to the Civil Rights Movement. Congratulations to Sophia on her dedication!

School: St. Giles School

Charlie has demonstrated his genuine passion for learning history has been evident throughout the process of History Fair. His meticulous research into the antiwar protests of the 1960s has led him to some great sources including publications from the Smithsonian, Yale University, etc. Most notably, Charlie analyzed the official transcript for the Trial of the Chicago Seven. Congrats to Charlie for his excellent work ethic and willingness to tackle complex source material!

Click here to nominate yourself or someone else as CMHF Student of the week! Winners receive a digital gift card and are featured here on the CMHF website!