Uploaded December 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish business titan, partnered with Booker T. Washington to spark a quiet revolution. Together, they built schools for Black children in the segregated South, educating future leaders like Maya Angelou and Medgar Evers and creating opportunities where none existed.
Guided by values of justice and equity, Rosenwald’s story is a testament to the power of using wealth to transform lives.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:34 Rosenwald's childhood
01:45 Success with Sears, Roebuck & Co
02:22 Segregated school system in the South
04:15 Teaming up with Booker T Washington to fund schools
05:15 Success of the Rosenwald schools
06:08 The impact of his Judaism on his giving
06:47 "Give while you live" approach to charity
Subscribe and turn on your notifications so you don’t miss future uploads!
youtube.com/UNPACKED?sub_confirmation=1
Recommended video—The Unknown Connection Between Black and Jewish Communities in America
youtube.com/watch?v=f6PZ4uXzXGI&list=PL-DNOnmKkUaZhkjXgREfH6nNiPDcO-XAg&index=2
We have merch! – http://shop.Unpacked.media/?utm_medium=youtube&utm_source=video-description&utm_campaign=merch
Let’s connect:
Website — https://www.Unpacked.media
Instagram — /unpackedmedia
Twitter — /unpackedmedia
TikTok — /unpackedmedia
Facebook — /unpackedmedia
-----------
Sources:
-Altschuler, Glenn. Julius Rosenwald Didn’t Repair The World — But He Tried Harder Than Most. The Forward, March 25, 2018.
-Deutsch, Stephanie. Julius Rosenwald. Immigrant Entrepreneurship, June 18, 2012.
-Enlow, Robert. Ep. 402: The Rosenwald Schools. EdChoice, February 29, 2024.
-Roose, Holly. Rosenwald Fund Schools (1912-1932). BlackPast, June 17, 2011.
-Tweel, Tamara Mann. Julius Rosenwald: One Man’s Philanthropic Legacy. My Jewish Learning.
-Guide to the Julius Rosenwald Papers 1905-1963. University of Chicago Library, 2009.
-Historian Hasia Diner on Rosenwald Giving to African-American Causes as a Jew. Center for Jewish History, July 20, 2015.
-Human Rights Day: The Story of Julius Rosenwald. ANU Museum of the Jewish People, December 10, 2017.
-Julius Rosenwald. Britannica.com
-Julius Rosenwald. National Park Service, October 8, 2023.
-Julius Rosenwald: A Chapter in Jewish History; A Chapter in African-American History. YouTube. Uploaded by UIC Institute for the Humanities, November 10, 2015.
-Julius Rosenwald: The Most Important Philanthropist You Never Heard Of. YouTube. Uploaded by The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College, November 3, 2022.
-Julius Rosenwald Was Not a Hero. HistPhil, June 30, 2017.
-Rosenwald Schools Educated African-Americans in the South. McGraw Hill Education, May 8, 2024.
-Rosenwald Schools. National Trust for Historic Preservation.
-Springfield 1908 Race Riot: Resurfacing a History of Extreme Racial Violence Faced by Black Communities. National Park Service.
-The Educational Legacy of Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington. YouTube. Uploaded by MomentMag, January 17, 2023.
-Who Was Julius Rosenwald?. The Campaign to Create the Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, June 17, 2024.
-WUNC Public Radio - The Man Who Built Sears & Roebuck. WUNC Public Radio, September 16, 2006.
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Image and footage credits:
-David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries
-University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf2-07074r and apf2-04527r, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
-----------
Executive Producers:
Michael Steinhardt
Co-Executive Producers:
Marc Shmuel Levine
Iris & Shalom Maidenbaum
Gold Level:
The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life
-----------
Translation credits:
Portuguese: Saymon Pires, www.livrariasafra.com.br, @safralivraria
About Explainers: From ancient Jewish traditions to the modern State of Israel, we explain it all. Diving into anything and everything related to Jewish culture, history, and even religion.
Understand Jewish holidays, Israeli politics, Jewish diasporic communities, and more. Learn about Judaism in pop culture, debunking myths about Jews, and explore obscure Israeli landmarks. We’re asking questions as basic as “What is the Talmud?”, and as obscure as “How did hip-hop boost Kosher wine sales?”, and everything in between.
About Unpacked: We provide nuanced insights by unpacking all things Jewish. People are complex and complicated — yet we’re constantly being pushed to oversimplify our world. At Unpacked we know that being complex makes us more interesting. Because of this, we break the world down with nuance and insight to drive your curiosity and challenge your thinking.
#history #equality #charity #trailblazer
Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish business titan, partnered with Booker T. Washington to spark a quiet revolution. Together, they built schools for Black children in the segregated South, educating future leaders like Maya Angelou and Medgar Evers and creating opportunities where none existed.
Guided by values of justice and equity, Rosenwald’s story is a testament to the power of using wealth to transform lives.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:34 Rosenwald's childhood
01:45 Success with Sears, Roebuck & Co
02:22 Segregated school system in the South
04:15 Teaming up with Booker T Washington to fund schools
05:15 Success of the Rosenwald schools
06:08 The impact of his Judaism on his giving
06:47 "Give while you live" approach to charity
Subscribe and turn on your notifications so you don’t miss future uploads!
youtube.com/UNPACKED?sub_confirmation=1
Recommended video—The Unknown Connection Between Black and Jewish Communities in America
youtube.com/watch?v=f6PZ4uXzXGI&list=PL-DNOnmKkUaZhkjXgREfH6nNiPDcO-XAg&index=2
We have merch! – http://shop.Unpacked.media/?utm_medium=youtube&utm_source=video-description&utm_campaign=merch
Let’s connect:
Website — https://www.Unpacked.media
Instagram — /unpackedmedia
Twitter — /unpackedmedia
TikTok — /unpackedmedia
Facebook — /unpackedmedia
-----------
Sources:
-Altschuler, Glenn. Julius Rosenwald Didn’t Repair The World — But He Tried Harder Than Most. The Forward, March 25, 2018.
-Deutsch, Stephanie. Julius Rosenwald. Immigrant Entrepreneurship, June 18, 2012.
-Enlow, Robert. Ep. 402: The Rosenwald Schools. EdChoice, February 29, 2024.
-Roose, Holly. Rosenwald Fund Schools (1912-1932). BlackPast, June 17, 2011.
-Tweel, Tamara Mann. Julius Rosenwald: One Man’s Philanthropic Legacy. My Jewish Learning.
-Guide to the Julius Rosenwald Papers 1905-1963. University of Chicago Library, 2009.
-Historian Hasia Diner on Rosenwald Giving to African-American Causes as a Jew. Center for Jewish History, July 20, 2015.
-Human Rights Day: The Story of Julius Rosenwald. ANU Museum of the Jewish People, December 10, 2017.
-Julius Rosenwald. Britannica.com
-Julius Rosenwald. National Park Service, October 8, 2023.
-Julius Rosenwald: A Chapter in Jewish History; A Chapter in African-American History. YouTube. Uploaded by UIC Institute for the Humanities, November 10, 2015.
-Julius Rosenwald: The Most Important Philanthropist You Never Heard Of. YouTube. Uploaded by The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College, November 3, 2022.
-Julius Rosenwald Was Not a Hero. HistPhil, June 30, 2017.
-Rosenwald Schools Educated African-Americans in the South. McGraw Hill Education, May 8, 2024.
-Rosenwald Schools. National Trust for Historic Preservation.
-Springfield 1908 Race Riot: Resurfacing a History of Extreme Racial Violence Faced by Black Communities. National Park Service.
-The Educational Legacy of Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington. YouTube. Uploaded by MomentMag, January 17, 2023.
-Who Was Julius Rosenwald?. The Campaign to Create the Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, June 17, 2024.
-WUNC Public Radio - The Man Who Built Sears & Roebuck. WUNC Public Radio, September 16, 2006.
-----------
Image and footage credits:
-David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries
-University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf2-07074r and apf2-04527r, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
-----------
Executive Producers:
Michael Steinhardt
Co-Executive Producers:
Marc Shmuel Levine
Iris & Shalom Maidenbaum
Gold Level:
The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life
-----------
Translation credits:
Portuguese: Saymon Pires, www.livrariasafra.com.br, @safralivraria
About Explainers: From ancient Jewish traditions to the modern State of Israel, we explain it all. Diving into anything and everything related to Jewish culture, history, and even religion.
Understand Jewish holidays, Israeli politics, Jewish diasporic communities, and more. Learn about Judaism in pop culture, debunking myths about Jews, and explore obscure Israeli landmarks. We’re asking questions as basic as “What is the Talmud?”, and as obscure as “How did hip-hop boost Kosher wine sales?”, and everything in between.
About Unpacked: We provide nuanced insights by unpacking all things Jewish. People are complex and complicated — yet we’re constantly being pushed to oversimplify our world. At Unpacked we know that being complex makes us more interesting. Because of this, we break the world down with nuance and insight to drive your curiosity and challenge your thinking.
#history #equality #charity #trailblazer
