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| Rosenwald School Building Program in East Texas |
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Through the joint efforts of Dr. Booker T. Washington, President of Tuskegee University, and Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish American philanthropist, more than 200 schools and related buildings were constructed in rural, Black communities in East Texas. Previously, racism severely limited educational opportunities for Black children.
The school program cooperatively brought together Blacks, Whites, and Rosenwald, together building 536 school projects across Texas. The Black community in Texas contributed an estimated $390,000, with $419,376 from Rosenwald.
Tuskegee University provided building plans and helped coordinate the Black efforts. Black communities provided land, money, and labor, as did White School Districts. The Rosenwald Fund provided matching grants. Many of the schools were two-to-four-room buildings. The Rosenwald Fund closed in 1948. It had built 5,388 schools and buildings in the 15 states of the South.
Texas Historically Black Colleges, Texas College, Wiley, Huston-Tillotson, Bishop, Jarvis, Butler, Paul Quinn, Prairie View College, and others educated many of the teachers needed for the schools. Schools and education became the keys to transforming the future.
Erected 2024 by Texas African American Museum, Empowerment Community Development Corporation, Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation.
Side 2 Rosenwald School Building Program in East Texas Marker
Images of representative schools, a school design template and a key to the school construction program in East Texas
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