by Charles Perez, WLOS –
Educators in Madison County came together Tuesday, February 14, 2023 to discover a unique location now available to them in the teaching of African American history.
The site, recently rehabilitated, is a former schoolhouse built in 1928 to educate Black students in the county.
According to Willa Wyatt, who manages and cares for the property, the builders of the school had a sincere desire to open up access to education.
“They were really dedicated to educating Black children,” Wyatt said. “But it was separate and not always equal.”
The Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School was built in Madison County’s Long Ridge community. The school was one of more than 5,300 schools built through a cooperative launched by Sears Roebuck president and CEO Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington, the most famous Black educator in the nation.
The two shared a common goal to educate young Black children in an effort to foster a Black middle class.
Today, nearly all of the schools are gone, leaving the Mars Hill Rosenwald school as one of the few left standing.
Watch the full segment and view more photos at wlos.com/news/local/historic-site-in-madison-county-supports-nc-african-american-studies.
