San Domingo Rosenwald School Building
Written by Jamal Childs, Kaelyn Kobosko and Ben Alexandro
In the tranquil landscape of Wicomico County, MD, lies the community of San Domingo, a historical hidden gem founded in 1820 by freed Blacks. Located along the Nanticoke River, this community was an active agricultural hub and home to more than 1,000 free Black individuals before the Civil War. The San Domingo community also has an amazing historical landmark representing a remarkable history of resilience and solidarity: A Rosenwald School. This historical landmark could be the Chesapeake Bay watershed’s next national monument.
The San Domingo Rosenwald School was built in 1919 with donated lumber by the residents of the community during the Tuskegee phase of the Rosenwald School Building program. The program was partially funded by Julius Rosenwald, the son of two German Jewish immigrants, a highly successful businessman who helped make Sears, Roebuck and Company, the retailing powerhouse of the twentieth century. Using his wealth, Rosenwald partnered with Booker T. Washington and nearly 5,000 African American communities to build Rosenwald Schools in 15 states across the segregated South, ultimately providing access to educational opportunities for over 600,000 African American students in rural areas where few if any of these opportunities previously existed. A total of 5,357 schools, teacher homes and shop buildings were constructed between 1912 and 1932 when the program ended. Famous graduates included Congressman John Lewis, Maya Angelou and Medgar Evers.
As a home to a Rosenwald School, the San Domingo community holds significant amounts of pride for its rich history in the advancement of the civil rights movement. As time passes, the history of the community remains obscured, yet the echoes of its past are still being resurrected by the determined efforts of descendants and community members.
On September 19, 2024, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois introduced S.5122 – Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park Act. This act would establish a unit of the National Park System to commemorate the life and legacy of Rosenwald, to preserve a small number of representative Rosenwald Schools, including the San Domingo School, and a site within the 40-acre boundary of the original Sears, Roebuck merchandising facility in Chicago. It would also establish a network of Rosenwald Schools not in the Park but associated with it, thereby empowering the National Park Service (NPS) to tell the amazing story of Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald schools throughout our great nation.
For Newell Quinton, a graduate of and descendant of San Domingo Rosenwald School students, San Domingo is more than just a place; it’s a deeply integrated part of his identity. His grandparents and grandparents’ neighbors helped build the school. He grew up amidst a rural, tight-knit community, participating in family and community traditions. He remembers spending his time attending camp meetings at Zion Methodist Church, working collaboratively with neighbors to prepare their fields for spring crop planting, and taking part in traditions around Thanksgiving time to preserve hams, sausage, and scrapple for the upcoming winter. Quinton’s connection to the community runs deep.
However, after retirement, he returned to San Domingo in 2002 and was met with a sobering reality. The once-thriving Rosenwald School was in disrepair, resulting from a disconnect between younger generations and their ancestral heritage. Though there were challenges to piecing together San Domingo’s history, Quinton and his fellow community members remained undeterred. They started the restoration of the school in 2014. Through a patchwork of census records and oral histories, they strive to weave together the intricate tapestry of their past and preserve the history of the schoolhouse. They have been steadfast in working to repair and revitalize the schoolhouse, and it now serves as a community center. Through the tireless efforts of Quinton and many others in San Domingo, the for
The story of the San Domingo Rosenwald School is one that many communities can relate to throughout the United States. In 2002, Rosenwald Schools were added to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s (NTHP) list of the most endangered historic sites in America. The documentary “Rosenwald” by Washington, DC, filmmaker Aviva Kempner was released in 2015. It inspired four people representing the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) and the NTHP to meet in 2016 to initiate the Campaign to Create the Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park. The Campaign plans to preserve the legacy of Julius Rosenwald and the impact of the Rosenwald Schools through a visitor center in Chicago, a small number of Rosenwald Schools and a network of other Rosenwald Schools associated with the Park.
Through the Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools Study Act of 2020, the NPS was able to conduct a Special Resource Study (SRS) on a list of 12 recommended Rosenwald Schools, San Domingo being one of them. Their final report of the SRS was submitted to Congress in June 2024 and states that the San Domingo School would be an appropriate place to establish a Rosenwald Schools National Historic Site since it was the only school studied that met all four criteria (national significance, suitability, feasibility, and need for direct NPS management). This is a significant step forward in the effort to honor and preserve Rosenwald’s legacy and tell the story of the African American communities whose education had been denied for so long, as well as potentially being a part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
Map of the Rosenwald Schools in the 15 states as of July 1932
S.5122 and H.R. 9691, bills introduced on September 19 in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are unlikely to be passed by Congress this session but act as “marker bills” that presidential administrations often like to see before designating national monuments. The Biden administration is considering proclaiming the Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald School as a national monument administratively through the authority under the Antiquities Act.
The Rosenwald Park Campaign is currently circulating a petition to support the designation of the Julius Rosenwald National Monument at the San Domingo Rosenwald School. Those interested in getting more involved in this effort can reach out to Dr. Dorothy Canter <[email protected]> and Alan Spears <[email protected]> of NPCA.
While the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership (CCP) often focuses on the biggest landscapes conserved around the watershed, it is important to remember that sites may be small in size but have colossal heritage and cultural impacts. Whether it is the conservation of large landscapes in the watershed or smaller culturally important treasures, partners in the CCP work to advance preservation and benefit people, economies, and nature throughout the six-state watershed.
For more information about Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools, see this previous Lightning Update.
Image credit:
- Wikipedia
- National Park Service
- Lynne Richmond, a supporter of the Campaign
Lightning Update is a regular communication of the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions of the Partnership or member organizations.
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