Liberty Bell sophomores Leki Albright, left, and Ayla Belsby are representing Washington in the National History Day finals with their documentaries.
Documentaries explore Northern Ireland, evolution
Two Liberty Bell High School sophomores are representing Washington in the individual documentary category of the National History Day contest with thought-provoking, in-depth documentaries.
Leki Albright and Ayla Belsby took first and second place in the state competition. They’ll compete against 98 students in that category from across the country at the national contest in June.
“It is fairly uncommon at the state contest level for both nationals qualifiers in a category to come from the same school, and the folks at Liberty Bell should be very proud of this accomplishment by their hardworking student documentarians and History Day coach,” Washington contest coordinator Hannah Tofte said.
The contest has two divisions: junior (grades six to eight) and senior (grades nine to 12). Students can create an exhibit, documentary, performance, paper or website, which amounts to 18 categories in all. The contest draws half a million students each year.
Albright and Belsby also finished in the top two spots for individual documentary at the regional competition in March, although Belsby came in first at that level.
This year’s theme is “Debate & Diplomacy in History.” Albright’s documentary, “Troubled Beyond Repair? The Endless Spiral of Debate and Diplomacy in the Northern Ireland Conflict,” goes back to the 12th century to understand the roots of the conflict. Albright traces the impacts of the Protestant Reformation, the famine in the mid-19th century, and Brexit.
Belsby’s documentary, “The American Divergence: How Darwin’s Theory of Evolution Changed American Culture through the Education System,” reviews the history of public education in the 17th century. Belsby explores scientific discoveries, religious beliefs, child labor laws, and the reaction to the Soviet launch of Sputnik.
Albright didn’t know anything about the long-running conflict in Northern Ireland when she was searching for a subject. “It was fascinating to see a topic that went back to the 12th century that people are still talking about today,” she said. Belsby was initially interested in investigating the earliest roots of religious beliefs and ultimately decided to focus on debates around evolution and religion.
Belsby created a documentary for the history contest two years ago, but this was Albright’s first film. Although she’s more comfortable with writing, being able to include photography and images from Northern Ireland carried an emotional power that writing alone wouldn’t convey, Albright said.
“It’s interesting to see how past events came together and led to the state of the world,” Belsby said. It’s significant who gets to tell history, and that has implications for our understanding of historic and current events, she said.
Multiple iterations
Both students have put in countless hours since November, including streamlining their scripts to include important events and a coherent story line in just 10 minutes.
In addition to learning the technology for creating the documentary, they had to locate copyright-free historic imagery. “It was a crazy internet search for photos and other material,” Belsby said. “You just go down all these little rabbit holes and find these amazing things,” Albright said.
Creating a high-quality video wasn’t without its technical challenges. Albright recorded her first video under a comforter to blot out extraneous noise, but was able to borrow equipment for the final recording.
The judges want to see that you can remain unbiased and present two sides of a heated debate, Belsby said. “You’re not trying to convince people, but to analyze what happened,” Albright said.
Both Albright and Belsby credit history teacher Scott Barber for his support, including driving them to Seattle for the state contest. Over the years, he’s taught them to explore historical context and its modern significance, Albright said.
The class watched the winning films from past contests and analyzed what made them strong, but otherwise students worked quite independently, Barber said.
Belsby and Albright noted that both of their topics are still significant today. “It’s interesting to see how history never goes away,” Albright said.
Both the regional and state competitions were in-person this year. The national contest will be conducted remotely from June 12 to 16.
The documentaries can be viewed on YouTube. Links are on the Methow Valley News website.
Want a better understanding of the history of Northern Ireland or debates over evolution? You can watch Albright’s and Belsby’s videos on YouTube. “Troubled Beyond Repair?” is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW9CbG8UnUs and The American Divergence is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw4Erdd0q_E.
