New Beginnings Educational Center Hosts Media Event Ahead of National History Day Competition

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Four students from Montgomery County are preparing to represent Montgomery and the state of Alabama on a national stage.

Makayla Davis, rising 10th grader at Carver High School; Semeriah Gordon, rising 10th grader at Carver High School; Keliyah Hicks, rising 9th grader at Carver High School; and Nehemiah Austin, rising 12th grader at Valiant Cross Academy, are the only students representing the City of Montgomery and Montgomery County at the 2026 National History Day Competition.

The competition will be held at the University of Maryland, College Park, where the students will compete against nearly 3,000 students from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and international schools in China, Korea, South Asia, and Central America.

New Beginnings Educational Center will host a media event on Friday, June 12, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. at 806 S. Decatur Street, Montgomery, AL 36104, directly across from Paterson Court. Due to limited space, the event is reserved for media, family, and friends of the competitors. Elected officials and community leaders are warmly invited to attend.

The students earned their place at nationals by winning First Place in the Senior Group Performance category at the Alabama History Day competition. Out of more than half a million students who begin this process each year nationwide, only the top two entries per category at the state level advance to nationals.

Their award-winning presentation, “Here’s History: The Women of the Montgomery Bus Boycott,” highlights the often-overlooked women whose leadership, sacrifice, and determination sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped ignite the modern Civil Rights Movement. The presentation spotlights the courageous contributions of Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin, Jo Ann Robinson, and Georgia Gilmore.

Over several months, the students conducted extensive historical research, visited local civil rights landmarks, analyzed primary sources, developed original scripts, and designed costumes and props.

The full trip runs June 14 through June 19, 2026. In addition to competing at nationals, the students will reside on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park. They will also participate in tours of Howard University and Georgetown University, visit the Lincoln Memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and other Washington, D.C. monuments, tour the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and visit the United States Capitol with the opportunity to meet members of Congress.

New Beginnings Educational Center, a Montgomery-based nonprofit dedicated to youth education and community development, has supported the students throughout their National History Day journey.

“These students have done something extraordinary. They took the history of their own community, brought it to life, and won the right to represent Alabama on a national stage,” said Dr. Michelle Mallard, Executive Director of New Beginnings Educational Center.

The 2026 National History Day theme is Revolution, Reaction, and Reform in History.

About New Beginnings Educational Center

New Beginnings Educational Center is a nonprofit organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, committed to empowering youth through education, mentoring, and community engagement.

For more information, visit www.nbedcenter.org or contact outreach@nbedcenter.org.