Historic Rosenwald Schools

Floor Speech

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Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, for recently freed African Americans, education denied to them under slavery was a critical component of understanding freedom.

In the wake of the Civil War, with the widespread awareness that education was essential to the advancement of a free people in this society, African Americans flocked to schools established by the Freedmen's Bureau.

The recognition of this relationship between schools, community, and the broader ideal of the American Dream led African American parents and teachers to be among the first Southerners to advocate for universal public education.

However, the dual education system that arose, determined by race and based on the fiction of separate but equal, brought about a hand-me- down approach to Black education in the South. This flawed duality resulted in the perpetuation and exacerbation of institutional inequity.

In the face of such obstacles, leaders like Booker T. Washington, founder of the Tuskegee Institute, embraced and expanded on the early belief in education as the great hope of a truly democratic society.

Washington's vision inspired many, including philanthropist and president of Sears, Roebuck, Julius Rosenwald.

The philanthropic and educational partnership between these two men led to the construction of 5,000 Rosenwald schools across 15 Southern States. In Arkansas, 389 school buildings were constructed in 45 of our 75 counties, with communities pooling their often meager resources to fulfill Rosenwald's pledge to match their contribution.

For many, these buildings were not simply schools but monuments to Black achievement and symbols for an ardent hope in a better future. Rosenwald schools contributed to the education of thousands of African American students across the American South, including notable figures like Arkansas poet Maya Angelou and our own esteemed colleague and friend, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis).

In 1954, with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, to which Julius Rosenwald contributed one-third of the litigation costs, his carefully crafted schools became obsolete. In Arkansas, the tensions behind this great achievement played out in the tumultuous 1957 Little Rock Central High crisis. The courageous determination of the Little Rock Nine hearkens back to that fundamental belief in education equals freedom.

This is the continuing legacy of Washington, of Rosenwald, and the countless parents and teachers who were determined to give future generations the means of mobility, economic advancement, opportunity.

In 2002, the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Rosenwald schools as one of America's most 11 endangered places. Today in Arkansas, only 18 of those original school buildings remain. One of those remaining buildings is in the Second Congressional District. The only Rosenwald school to be built in Perry County, the Bigelow Rosenwald School, was constructed in 1926.

After 38 years of service toward education, the Bigelow Rosenwald School was transformed into a community center. With a revival of interest in and knowledge about the schools, efforts are being formed around the country to restore these embodiments of our history.

Aviva Kempner's documentary ``Rosenwald'' pays tribute to the man, his work, and the rippling impact on the evolution of African American education in our country.

As we celebrate Black History Month, I rise to recognize how far we have come, how far we still must traverse, and pay a special salute to Julius Rosenwald and his contributions to the advancement of education.

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