“In 1911, Booker T. Washington, head of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, asked Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish Philanthropist, to serve on the board of directors at Tuskegee. Washington shared his vision with Rosenwald; lifting the veil of ignorance would point the way to progress and industry. Black-American children in the rural South were severely discriminated against and largely denied educational opportunities. Rosenwald’s desire to help, nurtured by Dr. Washington, led to the creation of the Rosenwald Fund. Between 1917 and 1932, the Rosenwald Fund built 5,340 schools for Black-American children. One hundred and ninety-nine Rosenwald schools were built in Oklahoma; fourteen schools and three teacher’s homes were in Okfuskee County. Boley High School, a beneficiary of Rosenwald funding, provided generations of young people opportunities to better lives.
Working through mutuality, commonality, and respect, the Rosenwald Fund linked local communities of Blacks and Whites to reach Dr. Washington’s vision of good for all Americans.”
