Last updated: November 12, 2024
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Princeton Graded School (Johnston County, North Carolina)
African American Civil Rights Network
Princeton Graded School is a Rosenwald School in Johnston County, North Carolina. Constructed in 1925, the school served African American grade-school children until it closed in 1965. Although 10 Rosenwald Schools were constructed in Johnston County, Princeton Graded School is just one of two schools that still stands.
Rosenwald Schools emerged in 1912 from a collaboration between Booker T. Washington, founder and head of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, and Julius Rosenwald, an Institute trustee and President of Sears, Roebuck and Company. At the time, public schools for African Americans across the South were often either inadequate or nonexistent. In the beginning, architects at Tuskegee Institute designed the schools and Rosenwald funded their construction. Later, the Julius Rosenwald Fund, a program started by Rosenwald, designed the schools and the fund required matching grants from the local African American community and school district. Between 1927 and 1932, approximately 5,000 Rosenwald Schools were constructed across the rural South. The schools served several hundred thousand African American students until many counties closed or repurposed their Rosenwald Schools after the 1954 United States Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
Princeton Graded School became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2023.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.
Princeton Graded School is a Rosenwald School in Johnston County, North Carolina. Constructed in 1925, the school served African American grade-school children until it closed in 1965. Although 10 Rosenwald Schools were constructed in Johnston County, Princeton Graded School is just one of two schools that still stands.
Rosenwald Schools emerged in 1912 from a collaboration between Booker T. Washington, founder and head of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, and Julius Rosenwald, an Institute trustee and President of Sears, Roebuck and Company. At the time, public schools for African Americans across the South were often either inadequate or nonexistent. In the beginning, architects at Tuskegee Institute designed the schools and Rosenwald funded their construction. Later, the Julius Rosenwald Fund, a program started by Rosenwald, designed the schools and the fund required matching grants from the local African American community and school district. Between 1927 and 1932, approximately 5,000 Rosenwald Schools were constructed across the rural South. The schools served several hundred thousand African American students until many counties closed or repurposed their Rosenwald Schools after the 1954 United States Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
Princeton Graded School became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2023.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.