Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Romare Bearden was known as one of the most creative and original visual artists of the twentieth century because he encompassed a wide range of intellectual and scholarly interests, including music, performing arts, history and literature. In 2012, the Mint Museum welcomed home their native son in an exhibit on Bearden's narrative and thematic exploration of his native south.  
Inspired by Romare Bearden's collage art where he integrates different mediums and seeks complexity when he explores his Southern roots, the twenty-one documents selected from The Oxford Book of the American South: Testimony, Memory, and Fiction are analyzed using the 2016 National History Day Theme: 
Explore                              Encounter                     Exchange
The analysis of each document was disaggregated by textual evidence and categorized using the theme: Explore, Encounter, Exchange. At each stop on the Interactive Google Map, Explore, Encounter, Exchange: Documents in Southern History are referenced and parts of the textual evidence is used. For reference or cross reference, use the PDF at the right.
Explore, Encounter, Exchange: Documents of Southern History
INTERACTIVE GOOGLE MAP
The twenty-one "document stops" from the Oxford Book of the American South: Testimony, Memory and Fiction on the Google Interactive Map have the theme words, explore, encounter, exchange in quotation marks within the stop. There is also a concluding comment that ends each stop titled NHD Idea. This means "National History Day" Idea and include five categories for presentation at a competition which are documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, and website. My student may use the Google interactive map for next year's National History Day competition. 
                                Non-Fiction                        Fiction
The kinds of primary sources, non-fiction and fiction, are distinguished using two Bearden paintings:  
 Picture
Why teach with themes? The National History Day theme provides a focused way to increase students’ historical understanding by developing a lens to read history, an organizational structure that helps students place information in the correct context and finally, the ability to see connections over time. The themes that are chosen are broad, allowing students to research topics on all levels from local history to ancient history. In order to draw a connection to the theme, students must understand the historical significance of their topic and answer questions about time, place, and context. Understanding the impact and significance of the topic will help define why the topic is important and draw this connection to the theme.  In 2016, students will use primary documents to explore the theme: Exploration, Encounter and Exchange.