Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park Campaign

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN

Two important events provided the impetus for the Campaign to create the Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park-- the addition of the Rosenwald Schools to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of most endangered historic places in America in 2002, and the release in 2015 of the documentary film “Rosenwald,” by filmmaker Aviva Kempner.

Inspired by the film, representatives of the National Parks Conservation Association and the National Trust began meeting in 2016 to explore a way to honor the legacy of Julius Rosenwald and protect the Rosenwald schools. Other highly dedicated volunteers soon joined in to form the Rosenwald Park Campaign, a 501(c)(3)non-profit organization.

The Campaign envisions a National Historical Park with a visitor center in Chicago that would interpret Rosenwald’s overall legacy. The National Historical Park would also include a number of Rosenwald School sites throughout the south, all to be selected by the National Park Service (NPS).

To help make this vision a reality, the Campaign solicited recommendations in 2017 of up to five Rosenwald Schools from the State Historic Preservation Officers in each of the 15 states in which they were constructed. All states responded, with 14 states recommending 55 Rosenwald Schools and one teacher’s home for evaluation for possible inclusion in the park.

Campaign representatives visited 33 Schools and the teacher home in 12 states. In 2021 the Campaign issued a report on the 56 recommended Rosenwald School facilities, which contains multipage summaries of the 34 we visited.

The Campaign prepared two other reports. The first, the October 2018 historic context study report, concluded that Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Schools are of national historic significance and that a National Historical Park would be an important enhancement to the National Park System. The second, the August 2020 report, evaluated five sites in Chicago associated with Julius Rosenwald that may be candidates for the planned visitor center for the park. All three reports are available on the Campaign website.

In June 2019 Senator Richard Durbin and Congressman Danny Davis, both of Illinois, jointly introduced The Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools Study Act, directing the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct a special resource study (SRS) of the sites associated with the life and legacy of Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Schools. It quickly developed bipartisan support. In December 2020 the final bill passed overwhelmingly in both Houses and was signed into law (Public Law 116–336 ) on January 13, 2021.

Since then the Campaign has maintained ongoing contact with NPS staff, submitting its reports and background material and keeping them apprised of its activities. The NPS commenced the SRS in April 2022 and held a public engagement period that July. The Campaign and nearly 2,000 other individuals and organizations submitted comments. The NPS estimates that it will complete the SRS in April 2024. It will be a critical step towards the ultimate legislation establishing the National Historical Park.

In 2019 the Campaign started receiving letters of support for creating the National Historical Park from nonprofit organizations. By the end of 2020 it had received 41 letters; at the end of 2021 the number had risen to 109 and reached 180 by the end of 2022. The organizations represent a wide range of constituencies, both national and local, throughout the nation.

In March 2020 the Covid pandemic brought a temporary halt to in-person events at Rosenwald Schools and other venues. Early in 2021 the Campaign began participating in virtual events to promote the creation of the National Park. Later in the year, Campaign representatives started visiting Rosenwald Schools again. The pace of both types of events picked up in 2022 and included presentations at Rosenwald Schools and university lectures. These events are continuing in 2023.

August 2022 marked the 160th anniversary of Julius Rosenwald’s birth and the 110th anniversary of the launch of the Rosenwald Schools Building Program. We commemorated these milestones by cosponsoring programs with other nonprofit organizations at Rosenwald Schools in Maryland and South Carolina. Campaign representatives visited Rosenwald Schools in multiple states and gave 12 virtual and in-person programs that reached new audiences and brought in new supporters. We also started production of a 10-minute introductory video that was completed in the spring of 2023 and has been accepted for screening at a number of film festivals.

In 2020 the Campaign began collecting memorabilia to donate to the visitor center of the ultimate National Historical Park. The collection has grown to include an oil portrait of Julius Rosenwald, his desk and strongbox from his office at Sears, Roebuck, four original Sears catalogs from his time as President, vintage postcards of the Sears, Roebuck merchandising facility, first edition books by notable Rosenwald Fund Fellows, vintage newspapers documenting his life and death and other artifacts.

Guiding the Campaign is its highly accomplished and diverse Board of Directors, with support from its Advisory Council.

For more information on how you can contribute to the Campaign and receive all the latest updates on our efforts, click here.

May 2023