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About The Cover: Columbia Rosenwald School 1921-1948

Beginning in 1912 and until 1932, the efforts and friendship of two men, Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald, educated thousands of Black students in large cities and rural areas through their dedication, money and support.Washington died in 1915, but his dream lived on, thanks to the Rosenwald Foundation. The Rosenwald Fund established one of every five rural schools in the South. National law required “separate but equal” education, but this was never true. The “colored schools” were often in railcars, abandoned buildings, and even hay barns. They had few amenities other than makeshift desks and benches. Many communities refused to provide education at all. Those adults who could read and write then taught in churches, on porches and in lodge buildings. This program was designed to address conditions such as lighting, climate control, colors of walls – both interior and exterior – and provide a safe purpose-built school. In 1999, Morris Richardson announced to the officers of Columbia Historical Museum,“There is a Rosenwald School being used as a hay barn in East Columbia. I know that is what it is; I taught in one in Luling.” After research to verify the significance of these schools, a professor from the University of Texas came and certified it was an actual Rosenwald school, one of 5,357 schools built in the South to allow “colored” children to learn to read and write, something often denied in the South. This school was one of 533 built in Texas and one of the five built in Brazoria County. It’s the only school left standing in Brazoria County and is one of only five remaining in Texas today. Verifying the school was not difficult. All schools were built with large two-tier windows that went up and down to allow air in and keep rain out on the side facing east. The west side had small windows to allow only light in and were placed near the ceiling and could not be opened. All schools were to be placed with front doors facing north. This allowed the sun to shine on the students’ shoulders, and not on their faces.

The Columbia Rosenwald School is the only one currently used as an interpretive center with period desks, the original teacher’s chair, a replica of what was used as a desk for the teacher, and one desk from its time of glory. Eighty-five percent of the material in the school is original. Washington was a former slave who taught himself to read and write before he was five, and became the president of Tuskegee Institute; he became friends with Julius Rosenwald, the CEO of Sears and Roebuck who introduced the Sears catalogue. They both faced prejudicial behaviors, as one was Black and the other was Jewish. Each community selected for a Rosenwald School had a year to raise money for the construction of the school. In the words of the founders,“The colored and the white, the rich and the poor and the bankers and the farmers had to contribute to the expense of the construction.” Records are at Fisk University of what each community contributed. The Black community collected $175 and the rest of the public collected $1,250 for the East Columbia School, and the Fund contributed $800 plus blueprints, materials and labor. The schools ranged from one-teacher schools to large two-story buildings in the larger cities. East Columbia was a one-teacher school. The land for all five schools in Brazoria Country was donated by an ex-slave, Charlie Brown, who never learned to read or write but amassed a fortune in land and money. When Charlie Brown died in 1921, he was the fifth wealthiest man in Texas. The Rosenwald schools were developed to teach academic and life skills. Girls learned to cook, sew, quilt, clean, iron and other things maids would do. The boys were trained in gardening and raising chickens, much like the duties of a farm hand. The girls cooked the chickens and the vegetables.

The original black chalkboards are in the Columbia Rosenwald school and one can see how the teacher could raise or lower the chalkboards as needed to see the girls in the Life Skills Room. The goal of the school, as reported by Robin Banks, granddaughter of Booker T.Washington, was to make the student whole.You do that when you: “Train the mind to think, the heart to feel and the hands to do, and you will have the perfect individual,” stated Booker T.Washington. The Columbia Rosenwald School is considered the poster child of the National Trust for Historical Preservation. It was being used as a hay barn and was restored to its prior splendor doing what the founders asked: “Bring the community together to work as one, the rich and the poor, the black and the white and the farmers and the bankers.” Columbia Museum did just that – and added “the old and the young.” The museum invited students to paint pictures and write/perform plays and songs to celebrate the reopening of the school on October 24, 2009, with over 800 present, which included numerous alumni and their families. This achievement was the result of forming a TEAM - Together Everyone Achieves More - and that team is still at work today. The Columbia Rosenwald School was opened in 1921 and closed its doors in 1948. Today the school is a very valuable addition to Columbia Historical Museum and is open for tours, meetings, and community events – such as hosting the Christmas CASA Trees for donations to needy families, and many programs during the year. Call Columbia Historical Museum to visit the school at 979-345-6125.

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