Join us on Wednesday, February 15th at 7:00 p.m. for a talk and photographic presentation on Rosenwald Schools by Andrew Feiler. This event is in-person at KKBE and will also be streaming on Zoom. The Zoom link will be provided upon registration.

Born to Jewish immigrants, Julius Rosenwald rose to lead Sears, Roebuck & Company and turn it into the world’s largest retailer of its era. Born into slavery, Booker T. Washington became the founding principal of Tuskegee Institute. In 1912 the two men launched an ambitious program to partner with black communities across the segregated South to build public schools for African American children. This watershed moment in the history of philanthropy—one of the earliest collaborations between Jews and African Americans—drove dramatic improvement in African American educational attainment and fostered the generation who became the leaders and foot soldiers of the civil rights movement.

Of the original 4,978 Rosenwald schools, about 500 survive. In creating the first comprehensive photographic account of the program, Andrew Feiler drove 25,000 miles across all fifteen program states and photographed 105 schools.

Life Long Learning is pleased to offer this presentation in anticipation of a day-trip to the newly reconstructed Rosenwald School in St. George, South Carolina. More details about the trip are coming soon.

More of Andrew Feiler's work can be seen at andrewfeiler.com.