Lowe’s offers grants to Rosenwald Schools
Lowe’s and the National Trust for Historic Preservation have teamed up to provide funding to restore an additional eight Rosenwald schools in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and South Carolina.
The latest round of grants brings the total number of Rosenwald Schools restored through funding by Lowe’s to 40. To date, the company has donated $4.5 million to restoring the Rosenwald Schools since 2006.
The Rosenwald School Building Program was the brainchild of Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald to provide quality public education to African Americans living in the rural South during the early 20th century. It is estimated that only about 12% of the original Rosenwald schools are still standing, with a large number of them are in disrepair.
“Lowe’s continued commitment to the Rosenwald Schools not only helps ensure a critical piece of our American past is preserved, but that these schools can gain second lives as gathering places for local communities,” said David Brown, acting president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The eight schools, which will receive a grant of $40,000 each, will be completed sometime in 2011, 100 years after the historic meeting of Washington and Rosenwald.
“Preserving the places that are important to our communities has always been important to Lowe’s,” said Larry Stone, chairman of Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation. “Thanks to the National Trust’s sounding an alarm and rallying support, dozens of Rosenwald Schools have been saved and, along with them, stories of sacrifice and success to inspire and educate future generations.”