DID YOU KNOW?
That with Booker T. Washington’s help, Julius Rosenwald built over 5,000 schools for Black students across 15 Southern states between 1912 and 1932?
Julius Rosenwald a business man, based in Chicago, became President, then Chairman of Sears, Roebuck and Company, turning the business into a mail order powerhouse. His initial philanthropic activities took place in Chicago, until a friend gave him Booker T. Washington’s autobiography, “Up From Slavery”. At that time Washington was the head of Alabama’s Tuskegee Institute.
“For both men, their deep religious faith propelled their interest in social change. Washington believed Christ wanted to lift his people up. Rosenthal believed in Tzedakah, or the moral obligation to do what is just, and thought that Jewish citizens, themselves persecuted in Europe, should help their Black brethren who suffered under the yoke of segregation. Rosenwald was passionate about the Jewish value of tikkun olam, meaning ‘repair the world.’” The two men met in Chicago in 1911 when Washington was in town for a speaking engagement. Soon after Rosenwald agreed to serve on Tuskegee’s board.
“Rosenwald’s trips to Alabama for meetings proved transformative. He saw the way Black children lived in the rural South and found the segregation shocking and appalling. He became more keenly aware of a type of racism that he knew existed but had not witnessed in Chicago. Rosenwald recoiled at such hatred, thinking of his own people’s persecution in the pogroms of Europe. He wanted to be part of uplifting the Black community. When Washington proposed a partnership to build schools, Rosenwald agreed, provided that the communities and the school boards become partners in the endeavor. He’d donate seed money, but the community needed to supply labor, land and materials as well as some funds and cover teacher salaries. The matching funds approach would become a new way of giving money away that reinvented philanthropy and is still popular today. The schools were built over a twenty-year period between 1912 and 1932. Rosenwald contributed approximately $800 Million Dollars in today’s terms.
The National Park Service in 2024 recommended a national park site, based in Chicago that would tell the story of Rosenwald’s life and philanthropy; in addition, several restored schoolhouses in the South would become part of the park. The park service proposes making the San Domingo School, located in Sharpstown on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the center piece of the restored schools. To date, there has been no movement on the park service recommendation to establish this new historic park. During the time of Plessy v. Ferguson, the “separate but equal” accommodations were the law of the land. Julius Rosenwald’s faith led him to seek to “repair the world”. Those opportunities still exist today. Where might you see them?
The above story consists of excerpts from the National Park Conservation Association magazine and the full article can be found on their website.
The break is over! Time for us to get back to the study we left off in mid-December. We will again meet at 9:00 am on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, to continue our study of the Great Figures of the New Testament, by Professor Amy-Jill Levine. This Wednesday, we will be viewing lecture # 13, "Pharisees and Sadducees." Attached is the reading material for this lecture. Here is the link to join us via Zoom.
For more information, please contact Vaughn Ouellette.
The Sunday Morning Forum has moved forward in a hybrid format—meeting in person in the library and on Zoom—from 9:30 to 10:15 am. The Zoom link is found in the Sower. This schedule lets choir members participate and still make it to rehearsal before worship.
Beginning on Sunday, January 4, 2026, Dr. Joe Pettit will lead us in discussion over the Introduction to Isaiah by C. L. Crouch and Christopher B. Hays. The authors introduce the Book of Isaiah in its diverse historical contexts, tracing its origins and development over several centuries: beginning with the career of the prophet Isaiah ben Amoz in eighth century Jerusalem, continuing with a late seventh century edition and the further revisions made in the late sixth century, and concluding with final shaping during the Persian Period. The Forum meets at 9:30 am in the Library and a Zoom link is available.
Click Here to join via Zoom or join us in person in the library.
The weekly market is every Wednesday 9:00 am - 12:00 pm in lower parking lot. For more information, including a list of vendors updated weekly, visit https://catonsvillefarmersmarket.com/.
