09/28/2026
The 1922 Mt. Olive Rosenwald School is more than an old building. It represents an important chapter in the history of education in the South.
Rosenwald schools grew from a partnership between Booker T. Washington, the influential educator and leader of Tuskegee Institute, and Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Company. Rosenwald provided financial support to help build schools for African American children at a time when their educational opportunities were often inadequate or nonexistent.
But Rosenwald and Washington did not do it alone. These were community projects. Local African American citizens raised money and contributed land, materials, and labor, while local school boards and white citizens also helped make the schools possible. The Rosenwald money was intended to encourage that local investment, not replace it. More than 5,000 school buildings and related structures were ultimately constructed across the South, educating hundreds of thousands of children. This is one of the very few remaining schools.
For many African American children, these schools provided an educational opportunity they otherwise might not have had. That is part of what makes the surviving Mt. Olive school so important. Saving it is not a massive project, but it is only possible with help. We must act now before the elements cause catastrophic damage to a historic building that has already survived for more than a century.
Please consider helping preserve this piece of history. To donate to this specific north Louisiana project:
In July 2026, strong winds blew the southern wall of Mt. Olive Rosenwald School out and onto the ground, leaving the interior vulnerable to further damage. LTHP is serving as fiscal agent, with 100% of tax-deductible donations going toward the stabil
