Our congratulations to Valencia Abbott of Wentworth, North Carolina, selected as 2025 National History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
We have seen first hand Abbott’s dedication to her students. She is a regular participant in our Teach the Black Freedom Struggle classes, often volunteering as a breakout group facilitator; created a 4H Center program using a class set we provided of The Sum of Us; hosted an event with historian Matthew Delmont on his book Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad; and much more.
As described on the award website, Abbott is an educator with over two decades of experience and serves as the Social Studies Department chair and a civics teacher at Rockingham Early College High School in Wentworth, North Carolina. She holds a BA in Political Science-Pre Law, an MA in Liberal Studies, and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in African American Studies from UNC Greensboro.
Abbott said of the award,
Being named the 2025 National History Teacher of the Year is a tremendous honor and a reflection of the power of storytelling in education. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to inspire students to see themselves in history, to amplify voices that have long been overlooked and undertold, and to remind every young scholar that their story matters.
While this award carries my name, it truly belongs to every student who has crossed my classroom threshold, starting with my first students, my daughters, with whom I experienced the perfect combination of motherhood and being a history nerd.
Here are just a few examples of our engagement with Abbott and her dedication to teaching history, outside the textbook.
Griggs v. Duke Power Company Supreme Court
Valencia Abbott engaged her students in research and documentation about the Griggs v. Duke Power Company Supreme Court case. In 1966, 14 Black employees filed a complaint with the EEOC claiming that they were discriminated against in hiring and promotion at a power plant in North Carolina. Five years later, the Supreme Court delivered its landmark unanimous ruling prohibiting discriminatory practices by employers. There will now be a marker placed to teach others about that historic case. Abbott selected historic locations related to the case for #TeachTruth Day of Action. Read more.
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks
Valencia Abbott reported: I initially placed the the YA copies you sent of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks on my classroom shelf. I use books to decorate my class and inform students.
I switch out the display every month, so for March, the focus was Women’s History Month.
The History Club officers decided that we would view the documentary, based on the book The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, for our monthly meeting. It fit this year’s theme, “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.”
As with every program that we do, our community service element was to collect donations for Help, Inc., the only domestic abuse center in our county. We have been doing it for seven years now.
And the other element of our program involves member-created posters that document the stories of varied female voices that were placed around campus.
Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad
Valencia Abbott reported: We used the Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad books as the basis for our NCHE Rural Experience Project. Students spent six months researching, starting with the book Half American and culminating in the March program: Two Front: WWII Veterans of the Griggs Supreme Court Case.
The Museum & Archives of Rockingham County (MARC) hosted our annual program celebrating the landmark 1971 U.S. Supreme Court case, Griggs v. Duke Power Co. with a focus on the experiences of African Americans during WWII and how those experiences influenced the Civil Rights Movement. It dove into Half American with its distinguished author Matthew Delmont, as our main speaker. We also shed light on research uncovered by Griggs Project local student interns.
For the first time in my teaching career, I had students enter the National History Day Project contest, and the point of reference came from the book Half American! Thank you Zinn Education Project for helping me teach my students. And now I have another book to add to my class collection of teaching about WWI and WWII.
The Sum of Us: How Racism Hurts Everyone
And More
When Abbott was in Washington, D.C. for the 2024 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Teacher Fellowship, she visited our office with a colleague. They met with our summer interns, providing valuable advice for these future teachers. Then they visited the African American Civil War Memorial which is just a few blocks from our office.
We look forward to many more collaborations with and visits by the award-winning history teacher, Valencia Abbott.
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