Upcoming Special Exhibition
A Better Life for Their Children
Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, and the 4,978 Schools that Changed America
Photographs and Stories by Andrew Feiler
A Better Life for Their Children
Discover one of the most transformative initiatives in American history forged by Booker T. Washington, a Black educator, author, and reformer, and Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish businessman and philanthropist. Between 1912 and 1937, their ambitious program partnered with local communities to build thousands of schools for Black children across the segregated South and Southwest. These schools countered the deep educational disparities of Jim Crow, had a profound impact on our nation, and fostered the generation who became civil rights leaders and activists.
Of the original 4,978 Rosenwald schools, only about 500 survive, relics of a time when school segregation was legal. Photographer Andrew Feiler was inspired to tell this remarkable history through photographs and stories, A Better Life for Their Children. The exhibition features images that capture these schools as they are today. Through portraits and stories from cities and towns in Texas and throughout the South, Feiler showcases the schoolhouses and the people for whom they meant so much.
On view from March 7 to August 17, 2025
Elroy and Sophia Williams – Sophia's grandparents, formerly enslaved, acquired and donated land for a Rosenwald School
Bay Springs School - Forrest County, Mississippi 1925-1958
Interior, Emory School - Hale County, Alabama c.1915-1962
John Lewis – Civil Rights Leader, U.S. Congressman, Rosenwald School Former Student
Lincoln Portrait, Warfield School – Montgomery County, Tennessee 1922-1968
Hannah School - Newberry County, South Carolina 1925-1960s
Special Exhibition Programs
Special Exhibition Opening: A Better Life for Their Children
Thursday, March 6, 6 p.m. Reception | 7 p.m. Program
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Jim Crow laws and practices prevented many Black Americans in the South from receiving an education, voting in elections, and enjoying the same freedoms granted to other citizens. In a collaborative effort to foster these communities and give Black children opportunities for better lives, eminent Black educator and author Booker T. Washington partnered with Jewish businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald to build thousands of schools and hire teachers. The Rosenwald schools became cornerstones of their rural Southern and Southwestern towns, with some also serving as community centers and assembly halls. Exhibition curator Andrew Feiler joins us to share more about the students who attended these schools, what remains of the schools today, and the lasting impact of this endeavor.
Education and Excellence: Preserving Rosenwald Schools in Texas
Wednesday, June 25, 7 p.m. Program
With the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, Black children were allowed to attend school with white children. "Separate but equal" was deemed unconstitutional, paving the way for the larger Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. As an aftereffect, many of the nearly 530 Rosenwald schools across rural Texas were shut down as African American students enrolled in campuses previously forbidden to them. Abandoned, the buildings lay dormant for decades as neighborhoods slowly integrated. Efforts are now underway to restore, preserve, and commemorate these schools, once heralded as the bedrock of their communities. Former Rosenwald students and historians join us to share personal stories and examine the innovative educational practices that defined Rosenwald schools, while confronting the challenges of preserving them in Texas today.
Made Possible By
The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum is grateful to the following generous sponsors and community partners for their support of A Better Life for Their Children. To learn about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Elizabeth Adams, Director of Corporate Partnerships, at eadams@dhhrm.org.
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