<DIV><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">In early twentieth-century America, at a time of rampant segregation, one man made it possible for African American children in the South to receive a quality education. Julius Rosenwald was not only the wealthy president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, but one of America’s greatest philanthropists. Through his friendship with Booker T. Washington, Rosenwald discovered that southern black schools suffered from inadequately trained teachers, dilapidated buildings, and a lack of books and supplies. Adhering to Washington’s self-help philosophy, Rosenwald began funding the building of schools throughout the deep South with one major stipulation—each community had to raise enough money to match his gift. By 1932, over 5,300 Rosenwald schools served a quarter of all black children in the South. Rosenwald’s legacy lives on through Rosenwald school graduates, their children, and grandchildren.</p></div>