The Rosenwald School Initiative of Monroe County seeks to collect, preserve, share, and elevate the impact and community experiences of Rosenwald schools in Monroe County, Mississippi.

Our community leadership board will oversee collection and curation of original digital content to include interviews and first-source materials. Through grant funding and fundraising, the board will ensure quality content for ongoing public education.

Contact us: monroecountyrosenwald@gmail.com

Background

The Rosenwald School Initiative of Monroe County partnered with the Amory Regional Museum and the Monroe County Historical Society for its Rosenwald screening. We joined them in seeking funds from the Mississippi Humanities Council for $2,500 for a screening of an Aviva Kempner Film - Rosenwald: The Remarkable Story of a Jewish Partnership with African American Communities. Rosenwald is the story of how Julius Rosenwald, President of Sears, joined forces with Booker T. Washington, President of Tuskegee, to build more than 5,000 schools in the segregated south. There were 550 schools in Mississippi, eight in Monroe County, and two in Prairie. Senator Wendell Hob Bryan has endorsed this project and recommends the partnership with the Amory Regional Museum, the Monroe County Historical Society, Prairie RCDC, former Rosenwald Alumni, family, and friends.

Goals

The goals of the Initiative are: 1) seek stories from the alumni, families, and friends of historic Monroe County Rosenwald Schools; 2) archive the stories shared as a part of Monroe County's African American history; 3) honor and elevate the stories of people who attended, worked, and supported the schools from the 1920s to the1960s and how the legacy continues; 4) stimulate meaningful community dialogue, attract diverse audiences which are participatory, engaging, and apply to humanities in everyday lives; and 5) organize dedication ceremonies at the former school sites.

Members of the Rosenwald School Initiative of Monroe County will be: 1) reaching out to former students; 2) visiting local Black churches to engage church leaders and parishioners; 3) working with the editor of the local newspaper to publish articles and circulate news releases to state, regional, and national news outlets; 4) partnering with the regional museum as a repository of the Monroe County Rosenwald Schools history as well as local historians; 5) engaging local, state, and national stakeholders; 6) involving the state's institutions of higher learning; and 7) seeking advice from humanities experts about the connection between churches, schools, and communities.