In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Jim Crow laws and practices prevented many Black Americans in the South from receiving an education, voting in elections, and enjoying the same freedoms granted to other citizens. In a collaborative effort to foster these communities and give Black children opportunities for better lives, eminent Black educator and author Booker T. Washington partnered with Jewish businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald to build thousands of schools and hire teachers. The Rosenwald schools became cornerstones of their rural Southern and Southwestern towns, with some also serving as community centers and assembly halls. Exhibition curator Andrew Feiler joins us to share more about the students who attended these schools, what remains of the schools today, and the lasting impact of this endeavor.
About the Speaker
Andrew Feiler is a photographer, author, and fifth generation Georgian. Having grown up Jewish in Savannah, he has been shaped by the rich complexities of the American South. Feiler’s newest book of photography, A Better Life for Their Children: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, and the 4,978 Schools that Changed America, was published in 2021 by the University of Georgia Press. Feiler was named “Book Photographer of the Year” by Prix de la Photographie Paris in 2022 for A Better Life for Their Children. The book also won the Prix de la Photographie Paris 2022 gold medal for documentary book as well as the International Photography Awards 2022 first place for documentary book.
Feiler’s photographs have been instrumental in the campaign to create a new US national historical park and inspired the composition of a symphony. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, The Atlantic, L’Œil de la Photographie, Architect, Preservation, The Forward as well as on CBS This Morning, PBS, and NPR. His prints have been displayed in galleries and museums including the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta and International Civil Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina. His photographs are in public and private collections including that of the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery.
Feiler earned his bachelor’s in economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a master’s in modern history from Oxford University and a master’s in business administration from Stanford University.
In-person registration includes a 6:00 p.m. reception & self-guided special exhibition tours, followed by the 7:00 p.m. program.
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