Should Sites Associated With Julius Rosenwald Be Studied For Inclusion as a Unit of the National Park System? (H.R. 3250)

What is H.R. 3250?

(Updated January 10, 2021)

This bill would direct the Dept. of the Interior to study sites associated with the life and legacy of Julius Rosenwald, a part owner and president of Sears, Roebuck and Company and noted philanthropist. Rosenwald helped finance construction of 5,357 schools in 15 Southern states from 1912 and 1932. The study would evaluate the national significance of the sites with particular emphasis on certain Rosenwald Schools, and determine the feasibility of designating the sites as a unit of the National Park System, including an interpretive center in or near Chicago, Illinois.

Argument in favor

Julius Rosenwald was a part owner of Sears, Roebuck and Company who used his wealth to help build over 5,000 schools in the Southern U.S. in the Jim Crow era. The Dept. of the Interior should study whether some of those sites could be included as a unit of the National Park System.

Argument opposed

While Julius Rosenwald clearly enjoyed great success as a businessman and helped further equality by building schools for Blacks in the South during Jim Crow, his legacy doesn’t need to be honored through the creation of a unit of the National Park System that recognizes those accomplishments.

Impact

The legacy of Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Schools; and the Dept. of the Interior.

Cost of H.R. 3250

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) offered a statement on his introduction of this bill to study the feasibility of a National Park System unit honoring the legacy of Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Schools when it received a subcommittee hearing. Davis’s statement read in part:

“It is reported that President Lincoln used to quote Henry Peter Brougham by saying, “Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.” I know the importance of Mr. Rosenwald’s work to bring education to African Americans in the rural South, embodying the spirit of Lincoln’s words. Many of the small towns where African Americans lived during his time had no school at all, and, if they had one, it only went to the sixth or eighth grade. Although I did not attend a Rosenwald School, I know the impact of their presence for African Americans in the segregated south in the post-Reconstruction era.  As one who has lived in and represents the area where Sears Roebuck was headquartered, I also understand the importance of Mr. Rosenwald’s influence on the cultural and economic development of Chicago and this nation.”

This legislation passed the House Natural Resources Committee by unanimous consent and has the support of 43 bipartisan cosponsors, including 35 Democrats and eight Republicans. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) sponsored this bill’s Senate companion, which is cosponsored by eight Democrats and one Republican.

Of Note: Booker T. Washington encouraged Julius Rosenwald to try to improve the state of African-American education in the U.S., which was hampered by buildings and books that were inadequate during the early 1900s. Rosenwald and the fund he established donated millions of dollars toward the construction of public schools and higher education facilities for African-Americans, in addition to several other endeavors aimed at lessening the impact of anti-black and anti-Jewish racism.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) Statement