Dear Mr. Rosenwald

In the rural South back in the early 1900's, schools for African American children were leaking, crumbling or non-existent. A man named Mr. Rosenwald, who just happened to be the President of Sears and Roebuck, read Booker T. Washington's UP FROM SLAVERY and was greatly moved by it. With his eyes opened to the plight of education for young African Americans, Mr. Rosenwald decided to donate money to African American communities to build schools for the children. He also determined to create dignity and self-respect in those communities by challenging them to start the process with their own fundraising. They needed to invest in themselves and the white community was challenged to donate as well. Between 1917 and 1932, 5,000 Rosenwald schools were built in 15 southern states. "Tomorrow is in our hands," says the voice of Ovella as they open her school and she looks to the possibilities of her future. 32 pages Ages 5-9