Rosenwald Schools at the National Preservation Conference
Information Session | Education Sessions | Field Session | Closing Plenary | Other Sessions
Rosenwald Schools Initiative Information Session
Join National Trust Rosenwald Initiative staff members to learn about the Initiative and its goals for help preserve Rosenwald schools in the South and Southwest.
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Education Sessions
Chalk Dust Project: Rosenwald Schools Restoration
Celebrate the rescue of a historic Rosenwald School. This session will chronicle the many steps and challenges, including finding it, funding the restoration, engaging community members and former students, and determining a new use to benefit students and the community. Learn about grant options and partners that could help with your own restoration project.
Different Strategies, Same Success: Multiple Approaches to Rosenwald School Restoration
Rosenwald School restoration projects have used unique and often complex approaches for achieving success. Hear case studies of projects that employed different techniques and strategies to meet their restoration and rehabilitation goals. Consider which one, or combination, can work for you.
Rallying for Rosenwald Schools: Continuing the Conversation
Keep the Rosenwald spirit alive by joining an informal discussion following the “Different Strategies, Same Success: Multiple Approaches to Rosenwald School Restoration” education session. Talk with experts and community leaders on how projects get off the ground and sustain momentum.
Refreshments served.
Building Historical Contexts for African American Schools
Historic African American schools from the Reconstruction era through the mid-twentieth century are being forgotten and lost. The National Trust’s Rosenwald Schools Initiative is one effort to bring needed attention to some, but many more need to be documented, preserved, and interpreted. Learn about researching these schools and developing documentation for National Register nominations, as well as interpretive planning for heritage education and tourism programs.
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Field Session
New Life for Rosenwald Schools through Preservation Partnerships
The Rosenwald School building program was a model of philanthropy and partnership with African American communities across the south. In Sumner County, Durham's Chapel School and the Cairo School now serve as community centers. Through new partnerships with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Lowe's, Tennessee Preservation Trust, and MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, these community landmarks are receiving recognition and rehabilitation. Learn about the preservation efforts, research and documentation techniques, education programs, and funding opportunities.
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Closing Plenary Session
The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an enduring tradition at Fisk and represent the ardor and dreams of youth as well as the tranquility and understanding of maturity. The ensemble has received the National Medal of the Arts, the Academy Honors and the Tennessee Governor’s Folklife Heritage Award, and has been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and the Music City Walk of Fame. The Fisk Jubilee Singers minister through song to the hearts of all who listen to them.
The Closing Plenary, on the 60th Anniversary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, will address two major opportunities and challenges in the future of historic preservation. For decades there has been tension between many property owners and preservationists seeking to protect the integrity and heritage of neighborhoods, communities, and individual historic places. Hear a leading jurist and preservationist frame this issue in both legal and political terms, and look to the future of this ongoing relationship. The Hon. Randall T. Shepard, Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, is a long-time preservation leader and eloquent speaker. Historic preservation is a powerful vehicle to tell all of our country’s stories.
Representative John Lewis has dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing civil liberties, and building what he calls “The Beloved Community” in America. As a student at Fisk University, John Lewis
organized sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in Nashville and participated in the freedom Rides, which challenged segregation at interstate bus terminals across the South. Lewis was Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which was largely responsible for organizing student activism in the Movement, including sit-ins and other activities. Congr. Lewis will draw from his powerful experience to look into a future of historic preservation for all Americans.
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Other Sessions with an African American Focus
- Community, Equity and Justice
- African American Tour of Downtown Franklin
- The National Trust’s African American Historic Places Initiative
- What If the Past Wasn’t Harmonious?
- Green Makeover at Historic Fisk University
- Outreach to African American Communities
- Justice and the Beloved Community: The Modern Civil Rights Movement in Nashville
- Heritage Tourism Strategies for African American Sites
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