Beacons for Black Education in the American South
From the 1910s into the early 1930s, more than 5300 school buildings were constructed in African American communities throughout 15 southern states. Seed money came from Chicago philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, CEO of Sears, Roebuck and Company. Black communities put up cash, and local school boards agreed to operate the facilities.
Today a new Rosenwald Initiative sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation seeks to help preserve these beacons of African American education.