Julius Rosenwald, Education and Jewish American Philanthropy

April 28, 2026 | Jewish Traditions and Values, People in Our Neighborhood

By Michaela Wilson, Marketing Manager, The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore

During Jewish American Heritage Month, I’ve been reflecting on my family history, particularly my great-grandfather’s cousin, Julius Rosenwald. Rosenwald is best known for his partnership with Booker T. Washington to help fund what became known as Rosenwald Schools, an effort that shaped access to education for Black communities across the segregated South.

Rosenwald Schools

Rosenwald’s partnership with Washington led to the creation of nearly 5,000 schools and educational buildings across the South, at a time when public investment in Black education was both inadequate and deliberately limited. The Rosenwald Schools helped expand educational access for generations of students and became one of the largest school‑building efforts in American history. Notable Rosenwald alumni include Maya Angelou, Medgar Evers, members of the Little Rock Nine and Congressman John Lewis.

What makes the Rosenwald Schools particularly notable is how they were built. Funding required contributions from local Black communities and public‑school systems, alongside Rosenwald’s support. That structure emphasized partnership rather than charity, and shared investment rather than top‑down philanthropy. The goal wasn’t just to build schools, but to create sustainable access to education.

Rosenwald did not seek public attention for this work and often preferred to remain in the background, focusing on outcomes rather than recognition. The schools themselves—and the communities that sustained them—were meant to stand at the center of the effort.

Read more on Rosenwald schools and view images here.

Business Success and Philanthropic Purpose

Julius Rosenwald’s ability to support this work came from his success as a businessman. After building a career in the clothing industry, he became a part‑owner and later president and chairman of Sears, Roebuck and Company, helping grow it into a national retail enterprise. He directed much of the wealth generated through Sears toward philanthropic efforts during his lifetime.

Rosenwald’s work was shaped in part by his background as the child of Jewish immigrants from Germany. Like many Jewish Americans of his era, he understood how structural barriers could limit opportunity, and his philanthropy reflected a practical response—focused on removing obstacles rather than offering symbolic gestures.

Rosenwald’s philanthropy also extended to individuals through fellowships from the Julius Rosenwald Fund. Writers, artists and scholars such as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, W.E.B. Du Bois, Marian Anderson and Augusta Savage received direct support that helped sustain their work in a period when institutional backing was often unavailable to Black professionals.

Documenting Family History

Members of our family fled Germany in the 1930s as antisemitism intensified, and assistance from relatives in the United States, including Julius Rosenwald, helped make their escape possible. In 2017, my family donated a collection of family materials documenting that period to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The collection includes correspondence, immigration documents, financial records and family photographs.

The materials offer a window into how access—to money, to paperwork, to people willing and able to help—can be decisive. The collection is publicly available and can be explored through the Holocaust Museum’s online archives here.

A Legacy Within Jewish American Heritage

For me, Jewish American Heritage Month is a time to reflect on this history. Julius Rosenwald’s philanthropy extended across many areas, reflecting a broad commitment to widening access and opportunity during a period of entrenched exclusion. Taken together, his work points to a strain of Jewish American philanthropy grounded less in recognition than in action, and shaped by the belief that material support, applied practically, could have a lasting impact.