Graduates Fight To Keep Legacy Of Historic Rosenwald Schools Alive

The Rosenwald Schools were first initiated across the Southern United States to educate Black people despite segregation and Jim Crow laws. With the schools less in need, preserving the legacy of buildings such as Lee-Buckner in Tennessee, is the current battle alum and fellow advocates face.

According to CNN, more than 5,000 schools were founded between the years of 1912 and 1932, their namesake being Sears Roebuck president Julius Rosenwald. Rosenwald started the educational nonprofit initiative in partnership with Booker T. Washington, aiding in the academic foundation for Black children across the South.

Although less than 10% of these schools are still around today, Lee-Buckner in Spring Hill, Tennessee, is set to be relocated to a historical site in Franklin, roughly 13 miles north of its original area. Its transition to the Franklin Grove Estate & Gardens will make it part of a $35 million capital campaign by the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County, with plans set to open in 2025 for tour groups and visitors.

“I don’t think you can truly be authentic without telling the whole story,” stated Bari Beasley, president and CEO of the foundation. “And to be able to talk about it and have difficult conversations helps us all understand the world around us and how to make the world a better place.”

Graduates from the school, who are part of a cohort including late congressman John Lewis and poet Maya Angelou, are integral parts of maintaining its legacy in Black history and culture. These buildings are a physical reminder of the fight for one’s education in the midst of strife, one that can be felt as schools in many states face the removal of Black history lessons today.

“These schools became beacons of hope,” expressed Rachael Finch, a historian at the foundation. “One thing that African Americans craved and sought after the Civil War was access to education because access to education meant knowledge and power … to be able to propel oneself into place of prominence through owning a business, having a home, owning land.”

Now with its newest placement in the historic site, Lee-Buckner will forever be enshrined as a fixture that ensured the education of Black students for generations.

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The post Graduates Fight To Keep Legacy Of Historic Rosenwald Schools Alive first appeared on Black Enterprise.