With that, they formed a partnership to build schools that would educate a generation of Black children in the Jim Crow South. “He saw a connection or a parallel, if you will, between how African American kids were being treated here and how Jews were being treated in Germany,” said Fields. Washington, a man who was born enslaved and went on to become an educator, author and advisor to several presidents. “Julius Rosenwald was the president and CEO of Sears Roebuck Company out of Chicago,” said Chip D’Amico with the Okahumpka Community Club. 120 of those schools were constructed right here in Florida, and of those, 23 are still standing. There were more than 5,000 Rosenwald schools built during segregation. On one side, students from grades one to four received their education together and on the other side, classes were held for students from grades five through eight. “Without these Rosenwald Schools, there would not be as many African Americans educated as there are,” said Fields.īack when this school was originally constructed, the building only had two classrooms. Rosenwald schools were where Black children could get an education during segregation and now, the community is trying to restore the old school that opened in 1929. “You get a little older in life when you – I’d say seven, eight years old – you gradually begin to notice the difference in our society that existed at that time.”įields is a former FBI agent and has lived around the country for work, but he still remembers how life was in his hometown and the school that gave local Black children the opportunity to attain an education.įields had said his older siblings went to the Okahumpka Rosenwald School. “Well, when I was growing up here – until 1968 – it was a segregated society,” said Charles Fields, who grew up in Okahumpka. Okahumpka is a small, rural town in central Florida, just about an hour and a half north of Tampa and the community is trying to restore an old school that Black children attended.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |