By Cate Marquis
Julius Rosenwald is not likely to be a name you recognize but this head of Sears, Roebuck was once a man of enormous influence, not just in commerce but in philanthropy. But the most surprising part is the direction Rosenwald’s philanthropy took – funding schools and cultural endeavors for African Americans.
In the documentary ROSENWALD, director Aviva Kempner reveals how this wealthy Jewish American merchant partnered with African Americans to fund good works for African Americans, including help for the Tuskegee Institute, building a chain of rural schools for black children across the South, and providing support for artists such as Marian Anderson, W.E.B. DuBois and Maya Angelou.
As the son of German Jewish immigrants, Rosenwald knew well what it was like to come from a persecuted minority. In the early 20th century, Rosenwald saw the parallels between how Jews were treated in Europe and how African Americans were treated …