This bill establishes the Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park to commemorate the legacy of Julius Rosenwald, a prominent philanthropist and Sears executive who partnered with Booker T. Washington to build approximately 5,000 schools for African-American children in the segregated South between 1912 and 1932, educating over 600,000 students including future civil rights leaders like John Lewis and Maya Angelou. The park will include a headquarters and visitor center at the former Sears Merchandising Complex in Chicago, Illinois, along with representative Rosenwald School sites such as the San Domingo School in Maryland and the St. George School in South Carolina. The bill also directs the National Park Service to establish a Rosenwald Schools National Network that will connect remaining school sites across the country and disseminate educational materials about Rosenwald's life, his philanthropic work including the Rosenwald Fund that supported nearly 900 fellowships to artists and civil rights figures, and his broader contributions to American democracy. The park will not officially open until the Secretary of the Interior determines that sufficient land has been acquired to create a manageable unit, and the Secretary must complete a general management plan within three years of receiving initial funding. The bill does not specify funding amounts but authorizes the use of appropriated funds for land acquisition, preservation, interpretation, and cooperative agreements with state and local governments and private entities.
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