Warm and pleasant greetings to all. We hope things are going well with you and family.
It’s been another challenging week for us. Things are steadily moving on, regardless.
I will share a message I think is interesting. It took me back as far as my first school day!
Have you heard of Rosenwald Schools? I was quite impressed to hear about the Tennessee State Museum embarking on a project taking an in-depth look at the history and legacy of what was known as Rosenwald Schools. My father taught at one of the two Rosenwald Schools that still remains in the Cairo community about two-and-a-half miles from my hometown Gallatin, Tennessee. Proudly, all six children (my siblings and I) were taught by our father, principal/preacher J. Hutch Brinkley, and received our elementary education at Cairo Elementary School.
Cairo Elementary School, which still survives as the community center, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and will officially be listed as a tour site in Tennessee.
The Rosenwald Schools project built more than 5,000 schools, shops and teachers’ homes in the U.S. primarily for the education of African American children in the South during the 20th century. (Wikipedia)
The Rosenwald Schools constructed between 1912 and 1932 were an idea of Booker T. Washington and funded partially by grants from Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Co. Matching funds were required by the local community. The effect has been called the most important initiative to advance Black education in the early 20th century. When a 1954 Supreme Court ruling declared segregation in education was unconstitutional, Rosenwald Schools became obsolete. Many schools were abandoned or demolished.
What was one accomplishment of the Rosenwald Schools? Because of their efforts, the Rosenwald Schools educated a generation of Black youth who went on to advocate for the complete dismantling of the Jim Crow during the Civil Rights Movement and who continue to inspire similar movements today. (Ref. National Trust of Historic Preservation)
My brothers, Frank and Charles Sr. Brinkley, were earlier this spring selected to speak and be photographed as part of the traveling Tennessee State Museum exhibition. The exhibition was opened Feb. 24 and runs through May 2. The first exhibition theme is “A Better Life for Their Children: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington and the 4,978 Schools That Changed America.”
The second theme is “Building a Bright Future : Black Communities and Rosenwald Schools in Tennessee.” It is noted that the public response to the exhibition has been amazing.
If you ever have a chance to visit the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville and North Carolina Museum, I hope you will recognize my brothers who are featured on the museum exhibition walls there. Both brothers will travel to Kentucky next week to meet and be in conversation with another group traveling in the South representing The Rosenwald Project. The Brinkley brothers are featured in the Tennessee State Museum Winter 2023 News-letter and Calendar of Events and since May have been featured in downtown Nashville on the neon billboard. I only have pictures!
I am proud to know that my brothers are part of this project focusing on the impact, legacy and preservation of Rosenwald Schools, specifically in Tennessee.
It is quite interesting reading about the Rosenwald Schools. I researched Mississippi for a few notes. Only a few Rosenwald Schools survive in Mississippi. Some listed are Bay Springs in Forrest County, Brushy Creek School in Copiah County, Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale, Drew School in Sunflower County and Hollandale School in Washington County. There are a few other Rosenwald Schools in Mississippi with only a section surviving or extensively altered. (Ref. MS. Encyclopedia excerpts)
Enjoy life today. Be blessed.
