Dr. Wesley Wilson was the presenter for the Guinea Heritage Association’s Fourth Friday Program, which was held this past Friday at the Buck’s Store Museum, Bena.
Wilson’s presentation focused on African American education in Gloucester County, the Bena-Hayes Rosenwald school and the work being done on the Woodville Rosenwald school on Route 17 (the only Rosenwald school left standing in Gloucester).
The Rosenwald Fund project was the product of a partnership between Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish-American clothier who became part-owner and president of Sears, Roebuck Co., and Booker T. Washington, African American leader, educator, philanthropist and president of the Tuskegee Institute.
Wilson elaborated on the partnership. Rosenwald contributed seed money for many Rosenwald schools in the Southern U.S. Rosenwald conditioned the fund’s support on the local communities’ raising of matching funds, encouraging local commitment to building these schools. To promote collaboration between black...