Adaline Adams, a sixth grade student at the Brown County Middle School, won the National History Day State Competition in Indianapolis on April 22 hosted by Marian University.
Adaline Adams, a sixth grade student at Brown County Middle School, won the National History Day State Competition in Indianapolis on April 22, 2023 at Marian University. Adaline was one of four students from Brown County Middle School and three students from Brown County High School who qualified from a regional competition held at Franklin College on March 4, 2023. At the state competition, these students competed against hundreds of other students from across Indiana. Adaline was the only student from Brown County to win at the state competition, qualifying her to compete at the national level in Washington D.C. during the week of June 12th at the University of Maryland. Adaline will compete against thousands of students from across the United States along with international students from countries such as China, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Adaline intends to have her parents drive her out to Washington D.C. and to stay with her aunt in order to defray costs. She is also preparing a fundraising letter to help cover the costs of the competition.
Adaline chose to write an essay on the United States’ first female and African American millionaire: Madam C.J. Walker entitled, “Madam C.J. Walker: Creating New Frontiers for African-Americans and Women During the Jim Crow Era.” Adaline was first interested in Walker after visiting the Indiana Historical Museum with her family and seeing a display featuring Walker. National History Day judges also awarded Adaline a special monetary award for winning the William Henry Smith Memorial Library Prize for utilizing the collection of the William Henry Smith Memorial Library at the Indiana Historical Society and the Madam C.J. Walker Prize for “featuring an outstanding project about Madam C.J. Walker’s time in Indiana.” For the special awards, Adaline’s essay competed against all students, high school and middle school alike. Adaline was coached by Brown County High School Teacher Emily Lewellen, who also won a special monetary award for Adaline’s paper.
Adaline Adams interviewed Dr. Tyrone McKinley Freeman, author of Madam C.J. Walker’s Gospel of Giving.
Adaline also met and spoke with Dr. Tyrone McKinley Freeman, a professor of philanthropic studies and noted researcher of Walker, as well as the author of Madam C.J. Walker’s Gospel of Giving. Adaline had the opportunity to interview Freeman on her topic — he clarified her questions, noted specific resources that would enhance her research and shared stories he has gathered from Walker’s family.
Every year, students at Brown County Middle School and Brown County High School create projects for the National History Day competition. The competition takes place across the nation with students conducting original research on a topic that fits into a yearly theme. This year the theme was “Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas.” Students dug into digital archives, went to public libraries and museums, and analyzed primary and secondary sources. Students then take their research and create an exhibit board, a documentary, a website or write a historical paper.
