A School in
Every County
J
luliiis Ros€n wald
•:. mm
American Blacks
JEFFREY SOSLAND AND
LARRY GOLDMUNTZ
A
t a time w h e n m u c h of
A m e r i c a still lived by J i m
C r o w laws a n d t h e K u
Klux Klan was p o w e r f u l ,
l y n c h i n g p e o p l e a n d b u r n i n g crosses
t h r o u g h o u t t h e south, t h e Jewish busi­
nessman and philanthropist Julius
Rosenwald s t o o d against racial preju­
d i c e a n d t h e effects of s e g r e g a t i o n .
F r o m 1911 u n t i l his d e a t h in 1932,
Rosenwald, president of the pioneering
mail-order catalog giant, Sears,
R o e b u c k , d o n a t e d t h e e q u i v a l e n t in
today's dollars of a p p r o x i m a t e l y $ 7 5 0
million t o s u p p o r t B l a c k — o r N e g r o ,
as h e k n e w it—causes.
A l m o s t f o r g o t t e n today, Rosenwald's c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o Black e d u c a ­
tion p r o v i d e d t h e s e e d m o n e y for
5,357 public schools, shops, a n d
t e a c h e r s ' h o m e s in 8 8 3 c o u n t i e s of
15 s o u t h e r n states. Rosenwald's offer
of m a t c h i n g f u n d s t r i g g e r e d n a t i o n ­
w i d e fund-raising c a m p a i g n s for t h e
c o n s t r u c t i o n of 2 4 YMCA b u i l d i n g s
in o r n e a r Black b u s i n e s s districts.
In addition to b u i l d i n g schools
a n d YMCAs, R o s e n w a l d c o n t r i b u t e d
to m e d i c a l c a r e a n d t r a i n i n g for
Black doctors a n d nurses a n d b u s
t r a n s p o r t a t i o n for Black s t u d e n t s t o
a t t e n d r u r a l schools. H e m a d e m a j o r
c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o Black i n s t i t u t i o n s ,
s u c h as t h e T u s k e g e e I n s t i t u t e a n d
H o w a r d , Fisk, a n d D i l l a r d U n i ­
versities, a n d s u p p o r t e d libraries in
s c h o o l s , c o l l e g e s , a n d c o u n t y seats.
T h e R o s e n w a l d F u n d , established in
1917,
helped create the United
N e g r o College F u n d in 1944 a n d
p r o v i d e d m o r e t h a n 1,500 R o s e n ­
wald fellowships for a d v a n c e d study
by Black l e a d e r s , s u c h as s c h o l a r a n d
e d i t o r W.E.B. D u Bois, s t a t e s m a n
R a l p h B u n c h e , writer R a l p h Ellison,
a n d singer Marian Anderson.
William Gray III, f o r m e r chair­
m a n of t h e Black C o n g r e s s i o n a l
Caucus, president of the U n i t e d
N e g r o College Fund, a n d f o u n d e r
a l o n g with G e o r g e Ross of t h e
American Jewish
Committee's
O p e r a t i o n U n d e r s t a n d i n g , an orga­
nization bringing together Jewish
a n d Black s t u d e n t s , said recently:
"Mr. R o s e n w a l d u n d e r s t o o d a h e a d
of his t i m e t h a t t h e future of
A m e r i c a was i n e x t r i c a b l y b o u n d by
t h e e d u c a t i o n a l f u t u r e o f its m o s t
d i s a d v a n t a g e d citizens."
T h e s o n of G e r m a n J e w i s h i m m i ­
g r a n t s , R o s e n w a l d was b o r n in 1862
in Springfield, Illinois, t h e b i r t h ­
place
of
Abraham
Lincoln.
S e v e n t e e n years later, w i t h o u t c o m ­
pleting high school, Rosenwald
e n t e r e d t h e c l o t h i n g b u s i n e s s as a n
a p p r e n t i c e t o his u n c l e s in N e w York
City. H e o p e n e d his o w n successful
c l o t h i n g s t o r e a n d t h e n r e t u r n e d to
Illinois t o m a n u f a c t u r e g a r m e n t s in
C h i c a g o . In 1895 t h e 33-year-old
Rosenwald bought a one-quarter
i n t e r e s t in t h e newly e s t a b l i s h e d
m a i l - o r d e r firm o f S e a r s , R o e b u c k
a n d C o m p a n y for $ 3 7 , 5 0 0 a n d
b e c a m e its vice p r e s i d e n t . H e quickly
established h i g h e r s t a n d a r d s of
quality control that e n h a n c e d the
f i r m ' s r e p u t a t i o n a n d profitability.
R o s e n w a l d o r i g i n a t e d t h e t h e n rad­
ical p o l i c y o f ' Y o u r m o n e y b a c k if
n o t satisfied." By 1909 h e was c o m ­
p a n y p r e s i d e n t , a n d by 1925, c h a i r ­
m a n of t h e b o a r d .
R o s e n w a l d a t t r i b u t e d m u c h of his
social vision t o active m e m b e r s h i p in
the Chicago Sinai C o n g r e g a t i o n ,
w h e r e h e was p r o f o u n d l y i n f l u e n c e d
by R a b b i E m i l G. H i r s c h , s p o k e s m a n
for t h e radical w i n g of R e f o r m
J u d a i s m in t h e U n i t e d States. H i r s c h
saw social j u s t i c e as t h e p r i m a r y mis­
s i o n of J e w s . H e c h a m p i o n e d o r g a ­
nized labor a n d s u p p o r t e d p i o n e e r i n g
welfare r e f o r m s in C h i c a g o . H i r s c h
t u r n e d Rosenwald's attention to the
p l i g h t of B l a c k s in A m e r i c a . T w o
books galvanized Rosenwald's con­
c e r n : t h e b i o g r a p h y of William
B a l d w i n , Jr., f o u n d e r of t h e U r b a n
L e a g u e , a n d Up From Slavery, t h e
a u t o b i o g r a p h y of Black e d u c a t o r
B o o k e r T. W a s h i n g t o n . R o s e n w a l d
later said:
Whet her it is because I belong to a
people who have known centuries
of persecution, or whether it is
because I am naturally inclined
to sympathize with the oppressed,
I have always felt keenly for the
colored race. I...am particular­
ly...impressed with Baldwin's
contention...that the two races
must occupy o n e country. They
have to learn probably the high­
est a n d hardest of all arts, the art
of living together with decency
a n d forbearance...
Rosenwald became a partner
of B o o k e r T. W a s h i n g t o n a n d a
The partnership between philan­
thropist Julius Rosenwald (left) and
educator Booker T. Washington,
shown here touring the grounds of
Washington's Tuskegee Institute in
Alabama in 1915, was a milestone in
the history of African-American educa­
tion and Black-Jewish relations. A map
of the southern states (above left)
reveals the extent of Rosenwald's
influence beyond his support of
Tuskegee: Each of the 5,295 dots rep­
resents a school for Blacks built
between 1912 and 1931 with
Rosenwald's seed money.
t r u s t e e of t h e T u s k e g e e Institute, t h e
industrial a n d agricultural training
c e n t e r f o u n d e d by W a s h i n g t o n in
A l a b a m a in 1881. In 1911 Rosen­
wald i n t r o d u c e d Washington to
b u s i n e s s m e n a n d p u b l i c officials a t
a C h i c a g o fund-raiser, praising
W a s h i n g t o n for his e m p h a s i s o n rec­
onciliation b e t w e e n Blacks a n d
W h i t e s a n d t h e n e e d for self-help
strategies a m o n g Blacks. Wash­
i n g t o n "is h e l p i n g t h e W h i t e r a c e t o
learn that o p p o r t u n i t y a n d obliga­
tion g o h a n d in h a n d , " said
R o s e n w a l d , " a n d t h a t t h e r e is n o
e n d u r i n g s u p e r i o r i t y save t h a t w h i c h
c o m e s f r o m t h e r e s u l t of serving."
N o t all B l a c k s a g r e e d w i t h Dr.
W a s h i n g t o n . In t h e early 1900s
W.E.B. D u Bois b e g a n r e b e l l i n g
a g a i n s t h i s l e a d e r s h i p . D u Bois was
raised in Massachusetts a n d e d u c a t e d
a t Fisk a n d H a r v a r d , w h e r e h e
received his P h . D . in 1895 a n d w h e r e
h e was d i s m a y e d by racial slurs. H e
joined others d e m a n d i n g immediate
equality. W a s h i n g t o n ' s m e t h o d s w e r e
t o o passive for D u Bois, w h o cof o u n d e d t h e N A A C P in 1 9 0 5 . T h e
interracial NAACP did n g t d e m a n d
social m i x i n g o f W h i t e s a n d Blacks
o r total i n t e g r a t i o n , b u t t h e y s o u g h t
t o o v e r t u r n legal a n d e c o n o m i c b a r ­
riers to equal opportunity. Wash­
i n g t o n , w h o lived in t h e difficult
s o u t h , insisted t h a t " t h e a g i t a t i o n of
q u e s t i o n s o f s o c i a l e q u a l i t y is t h e
e x t r e m i s t ' s folly, a n d p r o g r e s s in t h e
e n j o y m e n t of all t h e privileges t h a t
will c o m e t o u s m u s t b e t h e result of
severe c o n s t a n t s t r u g g l e r a t h e r t h a n
of artificial forcing."
By 1912, w h e n R o s e n w a l d b e g a n
h i s f a r - r e a c h i n g efforts t o b u i l d a n d
i m p r o v e Black s c h o o l s , e d u c a t i o n a l
c o n d i t i o n s a m o n g r u r a l Blacks w e r e
shocking. School buildings were
often ramshackle huts. In A l a b a m a
a l o n e , w h e r e Blacks w e r e half t h e
p o p u l a t i o n , o n l y 2 0 p e r c e n t of t h e
Black c h i l d r e n were e n r o l l e d in
s c h o o l s , as c o m p a r e d w i t h 6 0 p e r ­
c e n t of t h e W h i t e c h i l d r e n . N o
Black rural schools o p e r a t e d for
l o n g e r t h a n five m o n t h s d u r i n g t h e
year; t h e a v e r a g e was a b o u t f o u r
m o n t h s , as c o m p a r e d w i t h a sevenm o n t h t e r m for W h i t e c h i l d r e n . O f
t h i s , B o o k e r T. W a s h i n g t o n
pointedly remarked:
The Negro boy is smart, but
White folks expect too much of
him if they think he can leam as
much in three months of school
as their boys can in eight
Rosenwald stimulated local
philanthropy and investment
by a s k i n g c o m m u n i t i e s a n d t h e
beneficiaries t h e m s e l v e s to c o n ­
t r i b u t e t o w a r d t h e i r schools a n d
institutions. Poor rural com­
m u n i t i e s m a d e g r e a t sacrifices.
M o n e y was r a i s e d by selling
eggs, h e n s , c o r n , c o t t o n , b e r r i e s
and other produce. Some peo­
ple p l e d g e d t h e i r cows a n d
calves, a n d c h i l d r e n p l e d g e d
t h e i r saved p e n n i e s . I n o n e vil­
l a g e f a r m e r s called o n e s e c t i o n
o f a c o t t o n field " T h e R o s e n ­
wald Patch," a n d d o n a t e d the
continued on page 89
Mourning
Rosenwald
continued from page
59
proceeds to the school fund. In another
Alabama town, a former slave d o n a t e d
his life's savings of $38 ($567 in today's
dollars) in nickels, dimes, a n d pennies.
T h e school building drive spearhead­
ed by Rosenwald directly affected m o r e
than 650,000 Black students. By 1932,
only 10 percent of the Black population
in t h e south did n o t have at least o n e
Rosenwald school in their county. Often
local c o m m u n i t i e s felt so i n d e b t e d to
Rosenwald t h a t they d e c l a r e d p u b l i c
o b s e r v a n c e of a Rosenwald Day.
Built m o r e t h a n 60 years a g o , few
Rosenwald schools survive in their orig­
inal f o r m . B u t t h e i r legacies a r e t h e
Black graduates now in leadership posi­
tions, such as Professor Russell Adams,
Chairman of Afro-American studies at
H o w a r d University, a n d R e p . Alcee
Hastings, m e m b e r of t h e Black Con­
gressional C a u c u s , r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e
23rd District of Florida. "Julius
Rosenwald's philanthropy educated
half a g e n e r a t i o n of s o u t h e r n Black
schoolchildren a n d a Who's W h o of the
Black i n t e l l e c t u a l elite earlier," said
J u l i a n B o n d , civil rights l e a d e r a n d
adjunct professor of government at t h e
American University.
At a time when the KKK was carrying
out a campaign of political a n d physical
terror against Blacks (not to mention its
virulent anti-Semitism), Rosenwald was
criticized by some Whites for "wasting"
his money o n a race that could not pos­
sibly be educated a n d for not using it for
better causes, such as "building m o r e
courthouses and jails." T h e KKK leader­
ship accused t h e m e r c h a n d i s i n g titan
Rosenwald of being a communist.
Yet by t h e t i m e h e d i e d in 1 9 3 2 ,
Rosenwald's place in t h e history of phil­
anthropy was secure. In its coverage of
the dedication of a Rosenwald YMCA,
the NAACP j o u r n a l The Crisis q u o t e d a
Chicago banker:
Mr. Rosenwald's gift will stimulate the
race throughout the country. It will
furnish many centers from which will
radiate not only fresh hope but pow­
erful educative and uplifting forces. I
d o not hesitate to say that Mr. Rosen­
wald's gift will prove to be the most
important benefaction the colored
race has received since the
Emancipation Proclamation."®
continued from page
62
cemetery office, the graves in this baby
section could n o t be marked. Nothing
could be placed o n t h e m , not a bush,
not a petal. And, there was n o record kept
of where any of the babies were buried. It
was left to the gravediggers to remember
where the last o n e was placed. And what
h a p p e n s w h e n time passes a n d those
same people are n o t the ones opening
the ground? Well then, it was explained
to m e , by that time the body-would have
disintegrated, a n d it won't matter.
Itwon'tmatttr. Itwon'tmattertowhom?
As this child's m o t h e r , it will always
matter to m e if his grave is disturbed, his
remains pushed aside to bury another.
How could that not matter?
And so we consulted a n o t h e r rabbi
a b o u t moving o u r son's body to a dif­
ferent cemetery, since most cemeteries
do keep a record of these burials and d o
allow t h e graves to b e m a r k e d . T h i s
continued on page 92