Civil Rights History America is a student-led initiative that empowers high school students across the country to research, document, and share the stories of America’s civil rights movements.

The program was created by Logan Dorton, a high school junior from Bethesda, Maryland, who serves as National Student Director. Logan launched the Civil Rights History America high school program to connect students nationwide through storytelling, civic engagement, and history. Under his leadership, students form state chapters at their schools, research local civil rights sites, and create original audio stories to share on the Civil Rights History America app — helping preserve the voices and places that shaped the fight for justice in their own communities.

The project began with Logan’s older sisters, Lily and Eliza Dorton, who co-founded the app while they were in high school and college. Growing up in Washington, D.C., the Dorton siblings spent countless days visiting the National Mall, Smithsonian museums, and historic landmarks. Yet, despite years of learning about American history, they realized they had never explored the local story of the Civil Rights Movement in their own hometown.

That discovery sparked the creation of the first version of the app, a digital guide that mapped and narrated the little-known stories of D.C.’s role in the Civil Rights Movement. What began as a family project has now grown into a national platform led by students who are keeping America’s history alive, one story at a time.