A Better Life for Their Children: "Between World War I and World War II, the persistent black-white education gap that had plagued the South narrowed significantly. Economists at the Federal Reserve later would conclude that RosenwaId Schools were the most significant factor in that achievement.".

HIGHLIGHTING one of the most transformative education projects for black students during the 20th century, "A Better Life for Their Children: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T Washington, and the 4,978 Schools that Changed America" is an exhibition about Rosenwald Schools built in the segregated South from 1912-1937.

The Rosenwald Schools project was a monumental partnership of educator and author Booker T. Washington and entrepreneur Julius Rosenwald. Rosenwald turned Sears, Roebuck & Company into the world's largest retailer, while Washington became the founding principal of Tuskegee (Ala.) Institute. In 1912, the two teamed up to launch an ambitious program that would partner with black communities to build public schools that would educate more than 700,000 black children across the South.

Each community and school district had to match the grant awarded. After Washington's death in 1915, the Rosenwald Fund was created and managed at Tuskegee. In 1920, the Fund moved to Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn.

The Rosenwald Schools program changed America. Between World War I and World War II, the persistent black-white education gap that had plagued the South narrowed significantly. Economists at the Federal Reserve later would conclude that Rosenwald Schools were the most significant factor in that achievement. Further, these schools would be a meaningful force in helping give rise to the civil rights movement. Many of the leaders and foot soldiers of the movement were educated in Rosenwald Schools

Captured through the lens...