Julius Rosenwald & Booker T. Washington – Quilt Celebrating Restoration of the Pine Grove School

One of the few photographs of Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington together dates from 1915 on the campus of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The image was printed on fabric and sewn by Evelyn Albert into a quilt that commemorates the restoration of the Pine Grove School (Richland County, South Carolina, 1923-1950). At the reopening ceremony, former students, former teachers, and their descendants were invited to sign the quilt. It hangs inside the renovated schoolhouse.

Julius Rosenwald was president or chairman of Sears, Roebuck and Company from 1908 until his death in 1932. He helped turn Sears into the world's largest retailer, and he became one of the earliest and greatest philanthropists in American history. Booker T. Washington was one of the most prominent African American voices in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born into slavery in Virginia, he became an educator and was invited to become founding principal of Tuskegee Institute. He led the college for more than thirty years.

Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington met in 1911. The next year the two men created the program that became known as Rosenwald schools. From 1912 to 1932, the Rosenwald schools program built 4,977 schools for African American children across fifteen southern and border states. One final school was added in 1937. Hundreds of thousands of students walked through these doorways.

About the photographer: Andrew Feiler

Andrew Feiler is a fifth generation Georgian. Having grown up Jewish in Savannah, he has been shaped by the rich complexities of the American South. Andrew has long been active in civic life. He has helped create over a dozen community initiatives, serves on multiple not-for-profit boards, and is an active advisor to numerous elected officials and political candidates. His art is an extension of his civic values.
Andrew's photographs have been featured in such publications as Smithsonian, Wall Street Journal, Architect, Preservation, Slate, Lenscratch, Oxford American, and The Bitter Southerner. His work has been displayed in galleries and museums including solo exhibitions at such venues as the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Octagon Museum in Washington, D.C., International Civil Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro, NC, and Burrison Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. His work is in a number of public and private collections including that of Atlanta University Center and Emory University. More of his work can be seen at andrewfeiler.com.