Rosenwald School Centennial Project

For most of this country’s history, Black children in the South were educated in legally segregated institutions and denied access to the resources accorded to white children. 

With the government refusing to step in, individuals stood up. Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish-American entrepreneur, and Booker T. Washington, the famed Black leader and educator, established a partnership to create the Rosenwald School project. The project built more than 5,000 schools, shops, and homes for teachers; its work benefited over 600,000 Black children across 15 states. 

Today, Rosenwald School Acres still stands on the site of the first primary school for Black children in Huntsville, Texas. It provides community programming, like its popular Earth Day festival, sustains the town’s only Black museum, and works to keep the memory of Rosenwald and Washington’s brave collaboration alive. 

Our grant will not only help support its mission, but allow its stewards to renovate the road and cemetery behind the school grounds so that people can continue to access the spaces and learn from them. We think knowing your history is awesome, and we’re glad to celebrate this important legacy.