Virginia’s Rosenwald Schools

In 2007 a new grant opportunity was designed to give greater insight into one aspect of African American education and document the history of this experience and the history of Rosenwald Schools in Virginia.

Rosenwald School History

These schools, when implemented during the early 20th century, attempted to address the complex social issues surrounding public education that faced many southern communities. Today, a small number of Rosenwald buildings remain in existence and continue to serve as local public schools. However, many of the former Rosenwald school buildings have suffered from neglect, have been abandoned, or have been destroyed. The history of these schools and the communities they served are just one facet of the southern African American educational experience. In seventy-nine of Virginia’s ninety-five counties there were Rosenwald schools. Therefore, this grant initiative aided in the collection, documentation, preservation, and understanding of Virginia’s Rosenwald Schools to the Commonwealth.

Grant Details

Virginia's Rosenwald Schools was the specific AAHV mini-grant initiative for February 2007 however; this does not limit current proposals on the subjects of Rosenwald Schools. Grants for projects on African American history and culture, which could involve projects focusing on Virginia's Rosenwald Schools, are also made through the Open and Discretionary Grant Programs.

To date, VFH has funded several Rosenwald School projects, including the following:

• The Scrabble School Preservation Foundation received an AAHV mini- grant to start a community mapping project. This project was the first step in a long term effort to interpret the history of the Scrabble School in Rappahannock County.
• Rosenwald High School Alumni, in Northumberland County, received a discretionary grant to support a public event, including a lecture focusing on the history of Rosenwald Schools in the Northern Neck region and included the testimonies of former students and teachers from the community.
• Wytheville Training School, in Wytheville Virginia received an open grant to support the development of a strategic plan for the creation of an African American history museum in Wytheville. (School building was a Rosenwald School)