A special program will be held on Saturday at the Allen Grove Rosenwald School on the grounds of the 4-H Rural Life Center on Highway 903 outside of Halifax.
The program is part of the annual Harvest Days Celebration. The program entitled “The Role of Cary Pittman and the African American Community in the Rosenwald School Construction Program” will be held from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and there will be a “meet and greet” session from 12:30 p.m. to 1p.m.
The purpose of the program is to preserve the historical significance of the Rosenwald School as a landmark in the history of African American education. Julius Rosenwald, a philanthropist and the president of Sears Roebuck and Company, established the Rosenwald Fund in 1917, to improve the quality of public education for African American children, in the rural south.
To encourage collaboration at the local level, the Rosenwald School Program required that local communities raise matching funds for school construction projects. As a result of the leadership from Pittman and the active fundraising efforts by the African American community, at the local level, thousands of Rosenwald Schools were built on behalf of African American children throughout North Carolina.
Pittman, who was a prominent African American farmer and building contractor, is credited for building the Allen Grove-Rosenwald School, now a Historical Site, and more than 20 other Rosenwald Schools. Also, it is noteworthy that there were more Rosenwald Schools built in Halifax County than in any other county in the state.
The program will recognize Pittman and the African American community for their contribution to the Rosenwald School Construction Project and to the education of African American children during the early 1900s. Descendents of Mr. Pittman will be part of the program.
In addition, stories will be read from 11 a.m. to noon. The musical group Chambergrass will perform in the school from noon to 12:30 p.m.
The programs are free and open to the public, and the planning committee encourages members of the community and former Rosenwald students or their family members to attend. Please call 252-583-3631 for more information.
