H.R. 3250 — what changed

Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Schools Act of 2020

From Introduced in House to Reported in House. 2 sections amended and 2 removed between Introduced in House and Reported in House.

Section 1 Short title

changed This Act may be cited as the “Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Schools Act of 2019”.2020”.

Sec. 2 Resource study of Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald schools

(a)

added Definitions— In this section:

(1)

added Rosenwald school— The term “Rosenwald School” means any of the 5,357 schools and related buildings constructed in 15 southern States during the period of 1912 through 1932 by the philanthropy of Julius Rosenwald.

(2)

added Secretary— The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior.

(3)

added Study area— The term “study area” means the sites associated with the life and legacy of Julius Rosenwald.

(b)

added Special resource study—

(1)

added Study— The Secretary shall conduct a special resource study of the study area, with a special emphasis on the following Rosenwald Schools and other sites associated with the life and legacy of Julius Rosenwald:

(A)

added Sears Administration Building at Homan Square in Chicago, Illinois.

(B)

added Rosenwald Court Apartments in Chicago, Illinois.

(C)

added Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago, Illinois.

(D)

added Rosenwald House (formerly the Lyon Home) at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois.

(E)

added Cairo Rosenwald School, a one-teacher school in Sumner County, Tennessee.

(F)

added Shady Grove School, a one-teacher school in Louisa County, Virginia.

(G)

added Noble Hill School, a two-teacher school in Bartow County, Georgia.

(H)

added Ridgeley School, a two-teacher school in Prince Georges County, Maryland.

(I)

added Bay Springs School, a two-teacher school in Forest County, Mississippi.

(J)

added Russell School, a two-teacher school in Durham County, North Carolina.

(K)

added Shiloh Rosenwald School, a three-teacher school in Macon County, Alabama.

(L)

added San Domingo School, a four-teacher school in Wicomico County, Maryland.

(M)

added Elmore County Training School, a seven-teacher school in Elmore County, Alabama.

(N)

added Dunbar Junior High, Senior High and Junior College in Little Rock, Arkansas.

(2)

added Contents— In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

(A)

added evaluate the national significance of the study area;

(B)

added determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the study area as a unit of the National Park System, including an interpretive center in or near Chicago, Illinois;

(C)

added consider other alternatives for preservation, protection, and interpretation of the study area by the Federal Government, State or local government entities, or private and nonprofit organizations;

(D)

added consult with interested Federal agencies, State or local governmental entities, private and nonprofit organizations, or any other interested individuals; and

(E)

added identify cost estimates for any Federal acquisition, development, interpretation, operation, and maintenance associated with the alternatives.

removed Congress finds that—

(1)

removed Julius Rosenwald was born in 1862 in Springfield, Illinois, to Samuel Rosenwald and his wife, Augusta Hammerslough, a Jewish immigrant couple from Germany;

(c)

changed Applicable law— The study under paragraph (1) shall be conducted in 1868, Samuel Rosenwald purchased the Lyon House, where Julius grew up and lived accordance with his family until the 1880s, which—section 100507 of title 54, United States Code.

(A)

removed was diagonally across the street from the home where Abraham Lincoln lived prior to becoming president; and

(B)

removed

(i)

removed was restored recently before the date of enactment of this Act; and

(ii)

removed as of that date of enactment, was within the boundary of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park System;

(d)

changed Results— Julius Rosenwald—Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds are first made available for the study under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report describing—

(A)

removed learned the clothing trade with relatives in New York City; and

(1)

changed used that knowledge on moving to Chicago, where he became part-owner and president the results of Sears, Roebuck & Company, which—the study; and

(2)

added any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary relating to the study.

(i)

removed he transformed into a retailing powerhouse in the early 20th century; and

(ii)

removed could be considered the Amazon of its day;

(4)

removed the embodiment of the Jewish concept of “tzedakah”, righteousness and charity, Rosenwald used his fortune for numerous philanthropic activities, particularly to enhance the lives of African Americans, including by—

(A)

removed providing $25,000 for the construction of Young Men's Christian Associations (commonly known as “YMCAs”) for African Americans during the Jim Crow era in cities that raised $75,000; and

(B)

removed eventually, supporting the construction of YMCAs in 24 cities across the United States;

(5)

removed

(A)

removed after his introduction to Booker T. Washington in 1911, Julius Rosenwald—

(i)

removed joined the Board of Trustees of the Tuskegee Institute; and

(ii)

removed financially contributed to a pilot program to build 6 schools in rural Alabama for African-American children who were receiving little to no education; and

(B)

removed the donations by Rosenwald described in subparagraph (A) were matched by the local African-American communities that were committed to providing education for their children;

(6)

removed

(A)

removed the success of the pilot program referred to in paragraph (5)(A)(ii) led to the construction of more than 5,300 Rosenwald Schools and related buildings over a 20-year period in 15 southern States under the direction of the Julius Rosenwald Fund;

(B)

removed the schools described in subparagraph (A)—

(i)

removed were the result of a 3-way partnership among the Julius Rosenwald Fund, local communities that, although generally poor, contributed land, labor, materials, and money to build and maintain the schools, and local governments that were required by law to provide public schools for all children but divided funds unequally between Black and White systems; and

(ii)

removed often became the focus of great pride and affection among the applicable communities;

(C)

removed during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, 1/3 of all African-American children in the South were educated in Rosenwald Schools;

(D)

removed a 2011 study by 2 Federal Reserve economists concluded that the schools played a significant role in narrowing the gap between the educational levels of Black and White students in the South; and

(E)

removed Members of Congress and poet Maya Angelou are among prominent graduates of Rosenwald Schools;

(7)

removed the Julius Rosenwald Fund—

(A)

removed supported early National Association for the Advancement of Colored People cases that eventually led to the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), which outlawed segregation in public education; and

(B)

removed provided fellowships to talented African Americans in the arts and sciences—

(i)

removed including the acclaimed historian John Hope Franklin, noted writer and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois, artist Jacob Lawrence, singer Marian Anderson, diplomat Ralph Bunche, and many others; and

(ii)

removed some of whom worked under Thurgood Marshall on the Supreme Court case referred to in subparagraph (A);

(8)

removed Rosenwald also—

(A)

removed provided support for a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, including Fisk, Dillard, and Howard Universities; and

(B)

removed used his wealth for other worthy causes, including the creation of the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago; and

(9)

removed the contributions of Julius Rosenwald to improving the lives of African Americans, as well as the lives of those who reside in Chicago and throughout the United States, are worthy of recognition and further examination.

Sec. 3 Definitions

removed

removed In this Act:

(1)

removed Rosenwald School— The term Rosenwald School means any of the 5,357 schools and related buildings constructed in 15 southern States during the period of 1912 through 1932 by the philanthropy of Julius Rosenwald.

(2)

removed Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.

(3)

removed SHPO— The term SHPO means the State Historic Preservation Officer of any of the 14 States in which Rosenwald Schools exist as of the date of enactment of this Act.

Sec. 4 Special resource study

removed

(a)

removed In general— The Secretary shall conduct a special resource study of the sites associated with the life and legacy of Julius Rosenwald, with special focus on the Rosenwald Schools.

(b)

removed Contents— In conducting the study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—

(1)

removed determine the sites of national significance associated with the life and legacy of businessman and noted philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, with special focus on the Rosenwald Schools;

(2)

removed give priority to studying any Rosenwald School recommended to the Secretary by an SHPO;

(3)

removed determine the suitability and feasibility of designating one or more new units of the National Park System to include representative Rosenwald Schools and other sites associated with the life and legacy of Julius Rosenwald, including an interpretive center in or near Chicago, Illinois—

(A)

removed to commemorate the career and overall philanthropic activities of Rosenwald; and

(B)

removed to address the scope and significance of the Rosenwald Schools initiative;

(4)

removed take into consideration other alternatives for preservation, protection, and interpretation of the legacy of Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Schools by—

(A)

removed Federal, State, or local governmental entities; or

(B)

removed private and nonprofit organizations;

(5)

removed consult with, as determined appropriate by the Secretary, relevant—

(A)

removed Federal, State, and local governmental entities;

(B)

removed private and nonprofit organizations; or

(C)

removed any other interested individuals; and

(6)

removed identify costs associated with any potential Federal acquisition, development, interpretation, operation, and maintenance associated with the alternatives described in paragraph (4).

(c)

removed Applicable law— The study under subsection (a) shall be conducted in accordance with section 100507 of title 54, United States Code.

(d)

removed Results— Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds are first made available for the study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report describing—

(1)

removed the results of the study; and

(2)

removed any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary relating to the study.