Building Community, Continuing the Legacy:

Article and pictures courtesy of Tennessee State Museum

Rosenwald School alumni, historians and the general public came together for a free two-day event on September 15 and 16 to explore the history and legacy of the schools and the communities that built and preserved them. Presented in partnership by both the Tennessee State Museum and Fisk University, with support from the Tennessee State Museum Foundation and a grant from Humanities Tennessee, the event was offered in conjunction with the current museum exhibition, Building a Bright Future: Black Communities and Rosenwald School in Tennessee, currently on view until February 25, 2024.

What are commonly referred to as Rosenwald Schools were the result of an initial partnership between Sears Roebuck and Co. president Julius Rosenwald, Tuskegee Institute president Booker T. Washington, and the black communities throughout the south. Between 1912-1937, that partnership resulted in the construction of almost 5,000 schools for black children across 15 southern states, including 354 in Tennessee. Rosenwald schools drove improvement in black education attainment and helped educate the generation who became leaders of the Civil Rights movement.

Alumni and Rosenwald community members from across the state came together for this two-day symposium. Fisk University hosted the symposium on Friday. Speakers from the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Trust for Public Land and the John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library shared their knowledge and resources with symposium attendees. On Saturday, the Tennessee State Museum hosted the group. Additional speakers from MTSU, the African American Heritage Society of Maury County, the Tennessee Division of Archaeology, the Tennessee Historical Commission and the Center for Historic Preservation presented research and opportunities for additional resources. The final session of the symposium was a powerful interactive panel between alumni and guests in the audience.

Alumni members from the Hohenwald Rosenwald school worked with staff from the Tennessee State Museum on the Rosenwald exhibit currently on display. They provided the history of the school, the teachers and the students. Many images in the exhibit were provided by Hohenwald alumni. Several of these alumni traveled to Nashville to represent Hohenwald at the symposium.

Alumni from the Hohenwald Rosenwald School who attended the symposium were Deborah Griffin McGill, Linda Mitchell, Frankie Mitchell and Lillie Mitchell. Joining them were Wilma York, Nelia Vaden, and Barbara J. Hinson.