Class is in Session: The Legacy of Rosenwald Schools

Connecting the Docs: True Stories from the Old North State

Welcome to Season 5 of Connecting the Docs! We start this season with a trip to the classroom as we focus on three topics relating to North Carolina schools and education history. In our first episode of the series, we take a look at the history of Rosenwald Schools in North Carolina. Join host John Horan, podcast intern Lawanda McCullor, and producer Josh Hager as we learn how the Julius Rosenwald Fund spearheaded the construction of numerous schools across North Carolina for African American students, particularly in rural areas. The Rosenwald Schools became centers of community, starting from their onset in the 1920s until many of them fell out of use at the time of school integration. We’ll also learn about the Anna T. Jeanes Foundation and how that organization funded training for new African American teachers. The Rosenwald Fund and the Jeanes Foundation were key factors in building a community of teachers, parents, and supporters dedicated to educating African American youth in North Carolina during the years of Jim Crow.

Collections Used for Research:

Department of Public Instruction Record Group. State Superintendent’s Office: Correspondence File. SR.104.3.

Department of Public Instruction Record Group. Division of Negro Education: Special Subject File. SR.104.339.

Department of Public Instruction Record Group. Division of Negro Education: General Correspondence of the Director. SR.104.335.

Department of Public Instruction Record Group. Division of Negro Education: Correspondence of the Supervisor, Rosenwald Fund. SR.104.338.

Department of Public Instruction Record Group. Division of Negro Education: Articles and Speeches by N.C. Newbold. SR.104.336.

Secondary historical information source: NCPedia (State Library of North Carolina).