[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3250 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3250
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource
study of the sites associated with the life and legacy of the noted
American philanthropist and business executive Julius Rosenwald, with a
special focus on the Rosenwald Schools, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 13, 2019
Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois (for himself, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Lewis, Mr.
Carson of Indiana, Ms. Norton, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Nadler, Ms.
Bass, and Ms. Stevens) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource
study of the sites associated with the life and legacy of the noted
American philanthropist and business executive Julius Rosenwald, with a
special focus on the Rosenwald Schools, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald
Schools Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) Julius Rosenwald was born in 1862 in Springfield,
Illinois, to Samuel Rosenwald and his wife, Augusta
Hammerslough, a Jewish immigrant couple from Germany;
(2) in 1868, Samuel Rosenwald purchased the Lyon House,
where Julius grew up and lived with his family until the 1880s,
which--
(A) was diagonally across the street from the home
where Abraham Lincoln lived prior to becoming
president; and
(B)(i) was restored recently before the date of
enactment of this Act; and
(ii) as of that date of enactment, was within the
boundary of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, a
unit of the National Park System;
(3) Julius Rosenwald--
(A) learned the clothing trade with relatives in
New York City; and
(B) used that knowledge on moving to Chicago, where
he became part-owner and president of Sears, Roebuck &
Company, which--
(i) he transformed into a retailing
powerhouse in the early 20th century; and
(ii) could be considered the Amazon of its
day;
(4) the embodiment of the Jewish concept of ``tzedakah'',
righteousness and charity, Rosenwald used his fortune for
numerous philanthropic activities, particularly to enhance the
lives of African Americans, including by--
(A) providing $25,000 for the construction of Young
Men's Christian Associations (commonly known as
``YMCAs'') for African Americans during the Jim Crow
era in cities that raised $75,000; and
(B) eventually, supporting the construction of
YMCAs in 24 cities across the United States;
(5)(A) after his introduction to Booker T. Washington in
1911, Julius Rosenwald--
(i) joined the Board of Trustees of the Tuskegee
Institute; and
(ii) financially contributed to a pilot program to
build 6 schools in rural Alabama for African-American
children who were receiving little to no education; and
(B) the donations by Rosenwald described in subparagraph
(A) were matched by the local African-American communities that
were committed to providing education for their children;
(6)(A) the success of the pilot program referred to in
paragraph (5)(A)(ii) led to the construction of more than 5,300
Rosenwald Schools and related buildings over a 20-year period
in 15 southern States under the direction of the Julius
Rosenwald Fund;
(B) the schools described in subparagraph (A)--
(i) were the result of a 3-way partnership among
the Julius Rosenwald Fund, local communities that,
although generally poor, contributed land, labor,
materials, and money to build and maintain the schools,
and local governments that were required by law to
provide public schools for all children but divided
funds unequally between Black and White systems; and
(ii) often became the focus of great pride and
affection among the applicable communities;
(C) during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, \1/3\ of all
African-American children in the South were educated in
Rosenwald Schools;
(D) a 2011 study by 2 Federal Reserve economists concluded
that the schools played a significant role in narrowing the gap
between the educational levels of Black and White students in
the South; and
(E) Members of Congress and poet Maya Angelou are among
prominent graduates of Rosenwald Schools;
(7) the Julius Rosenwald Fund--
(A) supported early National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People cases that eventually led
to the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of
Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), which
outlawed segregation in public education; and
(B) provided fellowships to talented African
Americans in the arts and sciences--
(i) including the acclaimed historian John
Hope Franklin, noted writer and civil rights
activist W.E.B. Du Bois, artist Jacob Lawrence,
singer Marian Anderson, diplomat Ralph Bunche,
and many others; and
(ii) some of whom worked under Thurgood
Marshall on the Supreme Court case referred to
in subparagraph (A);
(8) Rosenwald also--
(A) provided support for a number of Historically
Black Colleges and Universities, including Fisk,
Dillard, and Howard Universities; and
(B) used his wealth for other worthy causes,
including the creation of the Jewish United Fund of
Metropolitan Chicago and the Museum of Science and
Industry in Chicago; and
(9) the contributions of Julius Rosenwald to improving the
lives of African Americans, as well as the lives of those who
reside in Chicago and throughout the United States, are worthy
of recognition and further examination.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Rosenwald school.--The term ``Rosenwald School'' means
any of the 5,357 schools and related buildings constructed in
15 southern States during the period of 1912 through 1932 by
the philanthropy of Julius Rosenwald.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(3) SHPO.--The term ``SHPO'' means the State Historic
Preservation Officer of any of the 14 States in which Rosenwald
Schools exist as of the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall conduct a special resource
study of the sites associated with the life and legacy of Julius
Rosenwald, with special focus on the Rosenwald Schools.
(b) Contents.--In conducting the study under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall--
(1) determine the sites of national significance associated
with the life and legacy of businessman and noted
philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, with special focus on the
Rosenwald Schools;
(2) give priority to studying any Rosenwald School
recommended to the Secretary by an SHPO;
(3) determine the suitability and feasibility of
designating one or more new units of the National Park System
to include representative Rosenwald Schools and other sites
associated with the life and legacy of Julius Rosenwald,
including an interpretive center in or near Chicago, Illinois--
(A) to commemorate the career and overall
philanthropic activities of Rosenwald; and
(B) to address the scope and significance of the
Rosenwald Schools initiative;
(4) take into consideration other alternatives for
preservation, protection, and interpretation of the legacy of
Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Schools by--
(A) Federal, State, or local governmental entities;
or
(B) private and nonprofit organizations;
(5) consult with, as determined appropriate by the
Secretary, relevant--
(A) Federal, State, and local governmental
entities;
(B) private and nonprofit organizations; or
(C) any other interested individuals; and
(6) identify costs associated with any potential Federal
acquisition, development, interpretation, operation, and
maintenance associated with the alternatives described in
paragraph (4).
(c) Applicable Law.--The study under subsection (a) shall be
conducted in accordance with section 100507 of title 54, United States
Code.
(d) Results.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds
are first made available for the study under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate a report describing--
(1) the results of the study; and
(2) any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary
relating to the study.
<all>