By james art 
After winning an award for his documentary on the history of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Greely eighth-grader David Gilbert, left, had the chance to meet documentarian Ken Burns. Contributed / Lisa Gilbert
For David Gilbert, an aspiring filmmaker and eighth-grader at Greely Middle School, the Americans with Disabilities Act is more than just an abstract policy. Tthe landmark 1990 law ensured that Gilbert, who has severe dyslexia, had reasonable accommodations at school – such as the ability to use text-to-speech technology. “My brother is also autistic, so the ADA meant a lot to us,” Gilbert said.
As a tribute to the law and the disability rights movement, Gilbert produced a film — “The ADA: A Turning Point in Ensuring Access to Civil Rights” — for the National History Day contest. A nonprofit educational organization, National History Day promotes the study of history through research projects that enter a competition.
His 10-minute film won the acclaim and praise of none other than Ken Burns, one of America’s foremost documentarians.
Gilbert’s film won third place in the youth division (grades 6-8) at the 2024 Next Generation Angels Awards. The Better Angels Society, an organization that promotes education and civic engagement through documentary film, is partnering with the Day of the national history to set the awards. The awards are designed to recognize “well-researched historical filmmaking in the vein of renowned documentarian Ken Burns.”
Gilbert was able to fly to Washington, D.C., for a ceremony at the Library of Congress, where he met Burns in person. The ceremony was “definitely the most elegant thing I’ve ever been to,” he said. “They had hors d’oeuvres and you’d look up and see the beautiful artwork above you.”
Later, the honorees also had the chance to have a Zoom session with Burns to talk about their films. Gilbert said it was “amazing” to have “the greatest documentary filmmaker of all time talking to you about your documentary and knowing he’s seen it.”
Gilbert said he was struck by Burns’ insight. “I was just looking at him after he figured out exactly what you had a problem with. Something I’ve had trouble with… is that it’s really hard to tell a story when there’s no person or really an event, just a slow, gradual effort by ordinary people. He knew it was hard,” he said.
Gilbert’s documentary also recounts a 1990 rally in which Americans with Disabilities got out of their wheelchairs and climbed the steps of the Capitol to highlight the need for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Contributed / David Gilbert
The film opens with a newscast from July 1990 announcing that the Senate had passed its version of the ADA. President George HW Bush will sign the law, which bans discrimination against America’s largest minority in everyday activities, later that month.
Gilbert’s narration guides the viewer through how we got to this point in 1990. “Throughout history, disability has been seen as a problem requiring a solution rather than an integral part of identity,” according to Gilbert. The film discusses the forced sterilization of disabled people in the early 20th century and other laws that effectively excluded disabled people from society.
Later, activists with disabilities and people began organizing, adopting the tactics of the Civil Rights Movement, such as sit-ins and rallies, including a March 1990 rally in support of the ADA, where protesters got out of their wheelchairs and climbed the the steps to the US Capitol. “The so-called silent minority wasn’t so silent anymore,” Gilbert says in the film.
The film then focuses on the successful fight to remove the Chapman Amendment from the ADA prior to passage. The Chapman Amendment would have allowed restaurant owners and other employers to move workers with communicable diseases such as AIDS to non-food-related positions, despite the lack of evidence that AIDS can be transmitted through food handling.
Jesse Jackson shakes hands with disability advocate Justin Dart Jr. in 1989 during a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on a bill that became the Americans with Disabilities Act. Contributed / R. Michael Jenkins, Library of Congress
Across the country, students who participate in National History Day have the chance to work on projects like these. Students can participate in projects within five creative categories in two divisions (one for grades 6-8 and the other for grades 9-12). A student can make a documentary film, exhibit, performance, website, or write a paper exploring a specific theme from history. Students can participate in the competitions as a group or individually.
Gilbert participated in a National History Day club at her school, led by teacher Katie Cassese, where she was able to get feedback and support for her project.
This wasn’t his first year making a film for NHD – he made one last year for Arctic explorer Matthew Henson – which is how he picked up his video editing skills.
While trying to learn to use video editing programs, he said the actual research of history came naturally to him.
“I’ve always loved history … so I really enjoyed it. You know, just reading books, finding sources online. Something the NHD taught me is that you always want to go to the primary source because I can put the secondary and primary sources right next to each other and see the difference and the inaccuracies in the secondary source,” he said. Conducting interviews — such as with a well-known disability activist — was nerve-wracking but ultimately rewarding, he said.
So the million dollar question: Does Gilbert want to be the next Ken Burns one day?
“I have my sights set more on the medical field, but it’s too early to tell,” he said. “I have time.”
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