Photography Exhibit on Rosenwald Schools that Educated Black Children in the Segregated South

 The photography exhibition A Better Life for Their Children: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, and the 4,978 Schools that Changed America  opens on August 1 and will be on view through November 1, 2026.

The public is invited to a talk and reception with photographer and author Andrew Feiler on September 17. The talk begins at 5 pm, followed by a reception. The event ends at 7:30 pm. Admission to the museum is free.

A remarkable collaboration
The Rosenwald Schools program was a partnership between Jewish philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and Booker T. Washington, prominent African American educator, leader, and founder of the Tuskegee Institute. Between 1912 and 1937, this historic partnership helped fund the construction of nearly 5,000 schools for Black children in the segregated South and border states.

A Better Life for Their Children features photographs and narratives by Feiler, whose work documents surviving Rosenwald school buildings and tells the stories of people connected to them.

“This is an opportunity for visitors to learn about a significant but largely unknown chapter that connects American, Black, and Jewish history,” said Elizabeth Greenberg, Director of Exhibitions at the Coastal Discovery Museum. “A Better Life for Their Children reflects our mission to inspire people to have a deeper understanding of our region’s history and culture.”

Of the original 4,978 schools, only about 500 survive. To tell this story visually, Feiler drove more than 25,000 miles, photographed 105 schools, and interviewed dozens of former students, teachers, preservationists, and community leaders. Among the alumni of Rosenwald Schools are author Maya Angelou, civil rights activist Medgar Evers, and Congressman John Lewis, whose portrait is included in the exhibit.

 “With a shared passion for education and social action, Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald reached across divides of race, religion, and region to make America a better place for all,” said Feiler. “Their remarkable accomplishments speak to us today. Individual actions matter.”

Nearly 500 Rosenwald Schools in SC
South Carolina had 481 Rosenwald schools, more than any other state except North Carolina and Mississippi. Every county in the state had at least one Rosenwald school, including the Robert Smalls School in Beaufort, whose legacy lives on through the Robert Smalls Leadership Academy.

A complementary exhibit in the Sea Island Room, Bringing Back the Light, by Charleston-based physician and photographer Alan Nussbaum, documents the restoration of the Rosenwald School in St. George, SC.

Feiler’s award-winning book A Better Life for Their Children will be available for sale in the museum store. It is the first comprehensive photodocumentary of the Rosenwald Schools program.