Building a Bright Future Exhibit

Green McAdoo Cultural Center presents Building a Bright Future: Black Communities and Rosenwald Schools in Tennessee, a new traveling exhibition, on display August 1^st through September 13^th. Created by the Tennessee State Museum in partnership with The John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library at Fisk University, the exhibition traces the history of education for Black Tennesseans from the Reconstruction period, through the development of the Rosenwald program, and into the present day.

What are commonly referred to as Rosenwald Schools were the result of an initial partnership between Sears, Roebuck, and Co. president Julius Rosenwald, Tuskegee Institute president Booker T. Washington, and Black Communities throughout the South. Between 1912-1937, that partnership resulted in the construction of almost 5,000 schools for Black children across 15 southern states, including 354 in Tennessee. Rosenwald schools drove improvement in Black educational attainment and helped educate the generation who became leaders of the Civil Rights movement. The traveling exhibition on display at the Green McAdoo Cultural Center consists of five two-sided panels and includes the engaging stories of alumni and community members from 16 different Rosenwald Schools in Tennessee.

Admission is free to see the exhibit.