The Woodville Rosenwald School in Virginia.
Preserving a legacy of learning and courage.
A national effort is taking shape to honor the Rosenwald Schools, the places where thousands of Black children once gathered to learn, grow, and imagine wider futures during the long years of Jim Crow. The plan, now moving through Congress, would create a multi‑state Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National Historic Park, a network of restored schoolhouses and community spaces that carry the memory of a remarkable partnership between Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington.
The vision is simple and powerful. Instead of one single park, the proposal calls for a constellation of sites across the South. Because the proposed park is designed as a multi‑site network, the National Park Service could recognize Rosenwald Schools across many states, including North Carolina. Schools that are already restored, or have active community support, stand the best chance of being included in future phases of the park’s plan.
More than 5,000 Rosenwald Schools were built between 1912 and 1932. They served an estimated 600,000 students, offering dignity and possibility at a time when both were deliberately withheld. Only a fraction of those buildings remain. Preservationists estimate that around 662 still stand, some lovingly restored, others waiting for care.
The proposed park would begin with a few “ambassador” sites, including the St. George Rosenwald School in South Carolina, the San Domingo School in Maryland, and the Woodville School in Virginia. A visitor center in Chicago, Rosenwald’s home and the headquarters of his philanthropy, would anchor the network.
The heart of this effort is not nostalgia. It is recognition. Rosenwald Schools were built through cooperation: Black families raised money, donated land, and organized labor; Rosenwald matched their contributions; and communities created places where children could learn without shame. These schools were acts of collective courage. They were declarations that education mattered, that Black children deserved safe and sturdy classrooms, and that communities could build what the world refused to give them.
A national park would help protect these stories. It would offer a place for reflection, for learning, and for honoring the generations who carried hope forward even when the road was steep. It would also remind us that public memory is a choice. We decide what we preserve. We decide what we teach. We decide which histories deserve sunlight.
The legislation is still moving, and the park is not yet official. But the momentum is real, carried by educators, historians, descendants, and neighbors who understand the value of keeping these places alive. Their work asks us to look closely at the past and to recognize how much of our present was shaped inside those modest schoolrooms.
The Rosenwald Park Campaign
Julius Rosenwald helped create over 5,000 schools in the Jim Crow South for Black youth. He deserves a park!
Meet Dorothy Canter, president of the Campaign to Create the Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park. The campaign would create a brand new US National Park honoring the contributions of Julius Rosenwald and the 5,000 schools he helped create that educated African American youths.
For more information, please visit www.rosenwaldpark.org.