After receiving a grant proposal prepared by Start Here, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History recently awarded the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation $146,000 for the restoration of a historic Mississippi building.
The project involves a Rosenwald School, one of some 5000 built in the early 20th century throughout the South in African-American communities. An early example of interracial cooperation in the South, funding came from both the Rosenwald Fund, founded by Julius Rosenwald, former president of Sears, Roebuck, and local communities.
The majority of Rosenwald Schools have deteriorated in the face of decades of neglect. In Mississippi, nearly 600 Rosenwald Schools were built; the Drew Rosenwald School, called “Lil’ Red” by the community, is one of only 11 that remain.
To learn more about the many great goings-on at the Winter Institute, click here. To learn more about Rosenwald Schools via the National Trust, click here.
