Civil rights leaders’ half-century struggle to get Black students access to all of America’s public schools, culminating in the Brown v. Board of Education decision, is widely known. But the story of how Black people, just a handful of years after slavery ended, managed to grow a solid middle class without access to so many of America’s public schools is not nearly as well known.
This story involves Black ingenuity, an unusual friendship between a Jewish philanthropist and a Black educator, and a widespread desire among Black parents for their children to be provided the same quality of education as white children.
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Historic photos pictured inside the Emory School (also known as the Tunstall School), a Rosenwald school in Cedarville, Ala.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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The Emory School (also known as the Tunstall School), a Rosenwald school in Cedarville, Ala., pictured on March 14, 2021.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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According to The Campaign to Create a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, the one-teacher school was developed in 1915.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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The school has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1998.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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A look inside the Emory School (also known as the Tunstall School), a Rosenwald school in Cedarville, Ala., pictured on March 14, 2021.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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Large windows were a common feature amongst the Rosenwald schools.
— Brooke Saias/Education WeekIn the years following the abolishment of slavery, Black politicians’ number one Reconstruction victory was the establishment of a publicly-funded school system in the South. But soon after states promised in their constitutions that the public would get access to an adequate and equitable education, local politicians promptly banned Black, taxpaying parents from enrolling their children.
Aware of the crucial economic role education can play for the descendants of slaves, Julius Rosenwald, a Chicago philanthropist and Sears, Roebuck president, along with Booker T. Washington, the principal of Tuskeegee Institute, worked with Black communities across the south to build more than 5,000 schools for Black children.
As Republicans and Democrats today debate what public school students should learn about America’s racist past, historians are attempting to archive how Black parents responded when our country’s school system systemically shut Black students out of their public school system.
This story has been largely washed from our nation’s collective memory but some of those 5,000 school houses that Black communities built and staffed, still stand in plain sight. Their graduates, many of whom went on to stage the civil rights movement, are still alive.
Education Week photographed 17 so-called Rosenwald schools across the South. We spoke with scholars and national park leaders about the Rosenwald schools’ history and the fight to preserve their legacy.
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Peake High School (also known as the Arkadelphia Head Start Center), a Rosenwald school in Arkadelphia, Ark., pictured on March 22, 2021.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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According to The Campaign to Create a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, the seven-teacher school was developed between 1928-1929.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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The school has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2005.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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Old Lincoln High (also known as the A. Quinn Jones Building), a Rosenwald school in Gainesville, Fla., pictured on Feb. 16, 2021. The 15-teacher school was developed between 1923-1924 and is currently used as a school.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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The Galesville School (also known as Old Galesville Elementary School and the Galesville Community Center), a Rosenwald school in Galesville, Md., pictured on March 15, 2021. The one-teacher school was developed between 1929-1930.
— Eric Harkleroad/Education Week
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The Ridgely School, a Rosenwald school in Capitol Heights, Md., pictured on March 15, 2021. The two-teacher school was developed between 1926-1927 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2015.
— Eric Harkleroad/Education Week
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Alan Spears, Senior Director for Cultural Resources for the National Parks Conservation Association. Spears helps lead the organization’s campaign to establish a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools national park site.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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The Bay Springs School, a Rosenwald school in Hattiesburg, Miss., pictured on March 14, 2021.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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According to The Campaign to Create a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, the two-teacher school was developed between 1925-1926. It was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina, but later restored.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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The school is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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A glimpse through the window of the Bay Springs School, a Rosenwald school in Hattiesburg, Miss.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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The Canetuck School, a Rosenwald school in Currie, N.C., pictured on Feb. 17, 2021. The two-teacher school was developed between 1921-1922 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2018.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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The Russell School (also known as Cain’s School), a Rosenwald school in Durham, N.C., pictured on Feb. 17, 2021.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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According to The Campaign to Create a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, the two-teacher school was developed between 1926-1927 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2009. The building is now owned by Cain’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, which sits adjacent to it.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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The Mt. Zion School (also known as the Mt. Zion Rosenwald Colored School), a Rosenwald school in Florence, S.C., pictured on Feb. 16, 2021.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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According to The Campaign to Create a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, the three-teacher school was developed between 1925-1926 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2001.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, located across the street, contributes to the preservation and maintenance of the building, which remains largely as it was when it was first built.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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The Pine Grove School (also known as the Pine Grove Rosenwald Colored School), a Rosenwald school in Columbia, S.C., pictured on Feb. 16, 2021.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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According to The Campaign to Create a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, the two-teacher school was developed between 1923-1924.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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The school has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2009.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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It has undergone renovations and restorations over the years and now sits alongside a community center, which is all owned by the Richland County Recreation Commission.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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The Pine Grove School (also known as the Pine Grove Rosenwald Colored School), a Rosenwald school in Columbia, S.C.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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The Pine Grove School (also known as the Pine Grove Rosenwald Colored School), a Rosenwald school in Columbia, S.C., pictured from the side. Large windows were a regular feature of the schools.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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The Loudon School (also known as Dunbar Public School and the Dunbar School Community Center), a Rosenwald school in Loudon, Tenn., pictured on March 13, 2021.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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According to The Campaign to Create a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, the two-teacher school was developed between 1923-1924.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2007.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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The Hopewell School, a Rosenwald school in Cedar Creek, Texas, pictured on March 19, 2021.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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According to The Campaign to Create a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, the one-teacher school was developed between 1921-1922 in the Craftsman style.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2015.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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Dorothy Canter, president of the Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park Campaign.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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The King William County Training School (also known as the Pamunkey Baptist Association Building), a Rosenwald school in King William, Va., pictured on March 17, 2021.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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According to The Campaign to Create a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, the four-teacher school was developed between 1922-1923 and consisted of the school, a home economics building and a shop building, as well as a girls’ privy.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2006.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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The Woodville School (also known as the Scrabble School), a Rosenwald school in Castleton, Va., pictured on March 27, 2021.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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According to The Campaign to Create a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, the two-teacher school was developed between 1921-1922.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2007.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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The Second Union School (also known as the Second Union Colored School), a Rosenwald school in Goochland, Va., has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2006.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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The Second Union School (also known as the Second Union Colored School), a Rosenwald school in Goochland, Va., pictured on March 17, 2021.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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According to The Campaign to Create a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, the two-teacher school was developed in 1918.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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The Shady Grove School, a Rosenwald School in Louisa, Va., pictured on March 17, 2021.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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The Shady Grove School, a Rosenwald School in Louisa, Va., has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2009.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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According to The Campaign to Create a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, the one-teacher school was developed between 1923-1924.
— Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
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Dunbar Junior High School (also known as Dunbar Junior and Senior High School and Junior College), a Rosenwald school in Little Rock, Ark., pictured on March 23, 2021.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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The school, named for Paul Laurence Dunbar – the first Black poet to gain worldwide recognition – is still in use as a middle school. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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According to The Campaign to Create a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, the many-teacher school was developed between 1929-1930 and originally served as a combined junior/senior high school and junior college.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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The Emory School (also known as the Tunstall School), a Rosenwald school in Cedarville, Ala., pictured on March 14, 2021.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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Historic photos pictured inside the Emory School (also known as the Tunstall School), a Rosenwald school in Cedarville, Ala.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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According to The Campaign to Create a Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, the one-teacher school was developed in 1915.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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The school has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1998.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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A look inside the Emory School (also known as the Tunstall School), a Rosenwald school in Cedarville, Ala., pictured on March 14, 2021.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
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Large windows were a common feature amongst the Rosenwald schools.
— Brooke Saias/Education Week
