# Understanding the Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park Act

This bill creates a new national historical park dedicated to Julius Rosenwald, a wealthy businessman and philanthropist who used his fortune to transform education in the segregated South. The park will tell the story of Rosenwald's life and his partnership with educator Booker T. Washington to build thousands of schools for African American children during a time when they had almost no educational opportunities.

Here's what actually happens: The federal government will establish a national park with a main visitor center located in Chicago at the historic Sears complex where Rosenwald made his fortune. The park will also include specific Rosenwald School buildings, starting with the San Domingo School in Maryland and the St. George School in South Carolina, with the possibility of adding more schools later. The National Park Service will manage these sites and tell visitors about Rosenwald's legacy—not just the schools, but also his support for civil rights causes and his funding of fellowships that helped talented artists and scholars, many of them African American, pursue their dreams. Famous people like Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and Marian Anderson received support from Rosenwald's foundation.

Beyond the main park, the bill creates a "network" connecting remaining Rosenwald Schools across the country so their stories can be shared more widely. The Park Service will produce educational materials, conduct research, and help preserve these historic buildings. The bill also directs the Park Service to add information about Rosenwald's life at two existing national historic sites—one in Illinois where his home is located and one in Alabama where Booker T. Washington founded Tuskegee Institute. For most Americans, this means a new way to learn about an important but often overlooked figure in American history and how private philanthropy helped advance education and civil rights during one of the nation's most difficult periods.