Matt Johnson, an eighth-grader at Tennyson Middle School in Waco, will take the first ever Waco-centric project to the National History Fair in suburban Washington, D.C., June 13-18. He took top prize in the state of Texas for Individual Documentary — Junior Division for his work on “Cameras in the Courtroom: The Harry Washburn Trial.”

Work on the documentary began almost a year ago, said his teacher, Mary Duty. Matt’s father is Waco’s 54th State District Court Judge Matt E. Johnson. He is the grandson of G. Derwood Johnson, who was a McLennan County state district judge, justice of the peace and county court-at-law judge for 32 years.

Matt also won the Junior Division Oral History Award — first place.

Through the use of contemporary accounts, historical stills, and interviews with some of the participants in the groundbreaking broadcast (now in their 90s), Matt explored the controversies that sprang from the televised trial.

“Although I think everybody needs to watch ‘justice while it happens,’ televised trials are now conceived as just another TV show by a lot of people in the general public,” he said.

Midway Middle School eighth-grader Veronica Morgan also will be taking a trip to nationals for her 2010 exhibit, titled “Cotton Gin, Friend or Foe? Eli Whitney, Hero or Villain?” She also was awarded a Willie Lee Gay Award for African-American History.