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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 20, 2005
Contact:
, Austin Public Library, (512) 974-7528
Fax: (512) 974-7442
Historians, Activists and Preservationists Meet to Save Historic
African
American Schools in Texas
Rosenwald Schools on list of Most Endangered Historic Places.
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Photo Caption:
Lockhart Vocational High (Carver) as it appeared in 1925. Before desegregation, Rosenwald schools educated rural
Blacks in Texas and throughout the South. Photo courtesy of Karen Riles.
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Karen Riles, Austin History Center Neighborhood Liaison and the state’s leading expert on the
topic of Rosenwald Schools, will join grassroots activists, preservation professionals, historians and alumni groups to
explore strategies for preserving and reusing these schools. At the turn of the 20th century, one in five schools in Texas
was a Rosenwald. From 1915 through 1930 Julius Rosenwald - then Sears, Roebuck and Co. president - funded the construction
of over 5300 of these schools for African American children in the rural South. Texas had 527 of these schools with five
located in Travis County. Today only two of the historic structures remain. In her presentation, Riles will discuss the
many archived records documenting local Rosenwald Schools located at the Austin History Center.
WHO:
Karen Riles and Herman Wright, Documentary Filmmaker
WHAT:
Texas Rosenwald Schools Workshop brings together grassroots activists, preservation
professionals, historians, and alumni groups to explore strategies for preserving and reusing Rosenwald Schools.
WHERE:
The George Washington Carver Cultural Center, 1165 Angelina Street, Austin, Texas 78702
WHEN:
Friday, July 22, 2005
9:00 am –3:00 pm
WHY:
“These architectural resources that remain are essential to the telling of the whole story
of education in America. It’s not just the philanthropy of Julius Rosenwald and his foundation, but also the philanthropy of
thousands of poor African Americans in the rural South, who gave of their meager resources, their time, their labor, their
land and their skills to insure that the next generations of black children had a proper building in which to learn.” Karen
Riles, Preservationist.
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