Remembering the Rosenwalds in Robeson County
An Oral History Case Study
Many Rosenwald School buildings are gone. Many others have not been used as schools in over 30 years. The impact of the Rosenwald school program on individual lives and communities, however, has often outlived the buildings themselves. Oral history is one way to learn of the history, function and impact Rosenwald schools had when little documentary evidence remains. Through an organized oral history program the rich social history of communities can be documented and shared.
Remembering the Rosenwalds is a county-wide oral history project in Robeson County, North Carolina. The project began in 2002 with funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council to the Afro-American Cultural Center of Robeson County and the North Carolina Rosenwald Schools Community Project in association with the Sankofa Center. Robeson County was home to 15 Rosenwald schools built between 1918 and 1930, although only one is still intact. The county is still sparsely populated and agriculturally based, with a significant population of Native Americans.
The project used volunteers, ranging from high school students to interested community members. Three hands-on training sessions were provided to prepare these volunteers to conduct the interviews. Twenty interviewees were selected to participate in the 1 ½ hour interviews, with follow-up visits as needed. The first priority was to interview people who had memories from the 1920s-1940s. This group of elders was quickly aging and many faced health challenges.
The experience of Remembering the Rosenwalds was important for all parties involved. One result was very clear. Far from viewing their experience in segregated education as "inferior", interviewees spoke with deep respect for what their teachers, parents and community were able to achieve in these Rosenwald schools. Although initially uncertain as to how much they could be of help since most of the buildings were no longer standing, they came to realize in the process of remembering that what they had to offer—the power of memory—was very rich indeed. The results of the project are being excerpted for use in an exhibition entitled Remembering the Rosenwalds in Robeson County.
Specific lessons learned:
- Interviews took place in the interviewee's home and included a photograph of the individual being interviewed.
- Interviewers worked best in pairs: one to work equipment and one to conduct interviews.
- Interviews were best when arranged and conducted by volunteers from the community.
- The oral history project did not turn up as much photographic or other documentary evidence as expected, therefore oral histories became all the more important in preserving the memories of this piece of our history.
For more information on Remembering the Rosenwalds oral history project contact: Nyoni Collins, Project Director, P.O. Box 1315, Wake Forest, NC 27588.
