This effort, sponsored by the Galesville Community Center (located in a Rosenwald school built in 1925) will expand upon existing research and revisit a wealth of oral history interviews in order to share the legacy of all 23 Rosenwald Schools that were built County-wide.
The project will result in a documentary film. The film will include oral interviews with former students, teachers and school staff; former administrators; civil rights activists, landowners, and community members with connections to the twenty-three Rosenwald schools built in Anne Arundel County between 1921 and 1932.
Rosenwald schools were established to educate African American children during the Jim Crow era. In 1912, businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, part-owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Co., connected with Booker T. Washington to assist in funding a program in line with Washington's belief of self-help for African American southerners that emphasized economic advancement through vocational education. Together they joined with African American communities in the South, including the State of Maryland, to build schools during the early part of the 20th century.
In the National Register of Historic Places
Explore the National Register Multi-Property Documentation Form and learn more about their important history.
Rosenwald Schools in Anne Arundel County
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Queenstown Rosenwald SchoolBuilt in 1932, the Queenstown School (a.k.a. Sunnyside School) sits on the north/northeast side of Queenstown Road. Click here to learn more about this school and to read its National Register Form.
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Galesville Rosenwald SchoolNow known as the Galesville Community Center, this structure was buit as an elementary school in 1929 and expanded to two rooms in 1931 as a part of the Julius Rosenwald School program.
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Freetown Rosenwald SchoolBuilt in 1924-1925 and located in Freetown, this structure is among the few remaining Rosenwald schools standing in the County. Learn more here and read its National Register form.
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Ralph Bunche SchoolThe Ralph Bunche Rosenwald School, als known as the Mill Swamp School, was constructed in Edgewater on Mill Swamp Rd. in ca. 1930 .
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Marley Neck Rosenwald SchoolBuilt in 1927, this school stands on the side of Solley Rd. in Glen Burnie.
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Lula G. Scott Community CenterThe Churchton Rosenwald School was constructed in 1921. The school's structure was moved to stand adjacent to the Shady Side (c. 1926) Rosenwald School in the 1950s, where both structures still stand today.
Project Partners
