Schools of Hope by Norman H. Finkelstein

Author:Norman H. Finkelstein [Finkelstein, Norman H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-62979-213-2
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
Published: 2015-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Teachers at a Rosenwald school in Ashley County, Arkansas, 1924. In Southern rural communities, the teachers in Rosenwald schools served as positive role models for students. Some of these men and women were poorly educated,but they did their best to ensure brighter futures for the children they taught.

6

EVERYONE WAS SO PROUD

“When this building was finished, it was a state of the art. We were very proud of it.”

—Dr. Penny Perry, student

The Rosenwald School built in Drew County, Arkansas, in 1924 was a typical building. The two classrooms were divided by a movable wall that could be opened for community events. The industrial room was outfitted with a sewing machine, washtubs, and ironing boards and irons to teach girls homemaking skills. With no inside plumbing, the children used two outhouses. One student recalled that without toilet paper, they relied on cutout pages from old Sears, Roebuck catalogs. The schools had a positive effect not only on the students but also on their parents and their communities. A student later said, “At least if you got educated, you could fight for yourself and start applying for jobs that were reserved for whites.”

In many schools, a portrait of Julius Rosenwald was prominently displayed, even though Rosenwald did not want his name attached to the buildings. Despite his wish, all the schools he funded, even those named after others, were simply called Rosenwald schools.

Along with the usual classes in reading and writing, some schools provided extra activities such as sports and drama for their students. After performing a play with a Spanish theme, these students pose in front of the Rosenwald School in Manchester, Tennessee, in 1929. The community was proud of the school’s drama program and raised money to purchase the school’s stage curtain.

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