Terrell, Mary Church. Mary Church Terrell Papers: Speeches and Writings, -1953;1935, Mar. , "What the Julius Rosenwald Fund is Doing". 1935. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/mss425490463/. https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss42549.mss42549-022_00304_00307/?st=gallery
This document speaks of community partners, youth determination, community uplift, and parental involvement in education. It provides a window into educational access during a particular American time period: the Great Depression. It also speaks of the importance of philanthropy and contributing to all types of community building. It underscores the importance of community empowerment and engagement.
This manuscript by Black writer and educational activist Mary Church Terrell was written during the Great Depression. In outlining the work of the Rosenwald Foundation in building schools for Black children in the segregated South, she offers a historical window into what education was like during this time period and the limited resources that were available to all children. She also notes the dedication of educators who continued to teach without receiving compensation due to a lack of funding.
Mary Church Terrell was a formidable educational advocate, particularly for Black children. This text praises Julius Rosenwald for creating the Rosenwald Fund that was dedicated to educating Black children and young adults during the Jim Crow era. It also provides a historical overview of the state of education in general during the Great Depression. She details the lack of resources that were available to educate all children during this period.
The manuscript provides a clear historical basis for the creation of the federal Department of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Eisenhower in 1953. It also provides a window into the hardships of segregated education for Black children while demonstrating the determination Black children had in obtaining an education. This source demonstrates the importance this community has historically placed on educating its children.
The Rosenwald Fund manuscript also demonstrates three facets of promoting freedom: through education, empowerment, and engagement.
- How might this text be viewed in today’s world by students attending various types of schools, primarily public schools?
- In reading this speech, what other aspects of the Great Depression become clear?
- When considering various forms of government, what does this speech reveal about our founding documents that include language such as “of the people, by the people, for the people”?
- Mary Church Terrell speaks of “partnerships.” What does she mean by this, and why are they important to her?
- Why is the concept of philanthropy so important?
Common Core State Standards
RI.11-12.3: Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.
- Teachers and students can read and annotate the manuscript in various modalities: small groups, whole class, or in pairs. Then debrief to discuss the time and place in which the manuscript was written and its impact on the author’s audience.
RI.11-12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
- After annotating and discussing the text as a class, have students determine Terrell’s purpose for “updating” her audience on the educational “progress” the fund is making as well as the state of education in America during the Great Depression for all children, regardless of their race or class.
- What does she want to persuade her audience to do or understand?
- Because educational access and importance have been front and center as political and social issues for the Black community, this primary source document can be used to demonstrate the commitment and determination of the Black community to educate its children. The document can be used with texts listed below that address aspects of education for Black children.
- Warriors Don’t Cry: Discusses the Little Rock Nine’s struggle for educational equity.
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Maya Angelou discusses her experiences with a lack of educational resources as a student.
- The Watsons Go to Birmingham: Centers on the lack of resources to maintain the Rosenwald schools that Blacks attended during this time period as segregated schools are being challenged by Black school children and in the courts.
- The Story of Ruby Bridges: Discusses Ruby Bridges attending elementary school as the lone child in her school building in New Orleans as she integrated New Orleans public schools at five years old.
- Freedom’s Daughters: Centers the courageous Black women who spearheaded the Civil Rights Movement.
- A Lesson Before Dying: Focuses on the impact of educational inequities for young Black men in the South.
The discussion of segregation often prompts different points of view with respect to how education and uplift of Blacks are achieved; either Blacks and whites wanted to be educated separately or they didn’t, depending on who is “remembering historical facts.” Discussing the past when race is at the center can be volatile.
- Each of these resources provides accessible alternatives to learning about Rosenwald Schools from individuals who attended them and are now engaged in preserving their historical relevance for generations to come.
- Their oral histories are an outstanding primary source of examples for understanding “living history.”
- This source discusses how wealthy businessmen quietly supported education and uplift of Black communities during this era, and through philanthropy supported their autonomy and independence.
- This article discusses how the Black community nationwide valued education and built their own schools, demonstrating community cohesiveness and cooperation for an important initiative: educating their own children.