[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 99 (Thursday, June 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3482-S3483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN:
  S. 1863. A bill to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
special resource study of the sites associated with the life and legacy 
of the noted American philanthropist and business executive Julius 
Rosenwald, with a special focus on the Rosenwald Schools, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1863

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Julius Rosenwald and 
     Rosenwald Schools Study Act of 2019''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) Julius Rosenwald was born in 1862 in Springfield, 
     Illinois, to Samuel Rosenwald and his wife, Augusta 
     Hammerslough, a Jewish immigrant couple from Germany;
       (2) in 1868, Samuel Rosenwald purchased the Lyon House, 
     where Julius grew up and lived with his family until the 
     1880s, which--
       (A) was diagonally across the street from the home where 
     Abraham Lincoln lived prior to becoming president; and
       (B)(i) was restored recently before the date of enactment 
     of this Act; and
       (ii) as of that date of enactment, was within the boundary 
     of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, a unit of the 
     National Park System;
       (3) Julius Rosenwald--
       (A) learned the clothing trade with relatives in New York 
     City; and
       (B) used that knowledge on moving to Chicago, where he 
     became part-owner and president of Sears, Roebuck & Company, 
     which--
       (i) he transformed into a retailing powerhouse in the early 
     20th century; and
       (ii) could be considered the Amazon of its day;
       (4) the embodiment of the Jewish concept of ``tzedakah'', 
     righteousness and charity, Rosenwald used his fortune for 
     numerous philanthropic activities, particularly to enhance 
     the lives of African-Americans, including by--
       (A) providing $25,000 for the construction of Young Men's 
     Christian Associations (commonly known as ``YMCAs'') for 
     African-Americans during the Jim Crow era in cities that 
     raised $75,000; and
       (B) eventually, supporting the construction of YMCAs in 24 
     cities across the United States;
       (5)(A) after his introduction to Booker T. Washington in 
     1911, Julius Rosenwald--
       (i) joined the Board of Trustees of the Tuskegee Institute; 
     and
       (ii) financially contributed to a pilot program to build 6 
     schools in rural Alabama for African-American children who 
     were receiving little to no education; and
       (B) the donations by Rosenwald described in subparagraph 
     (A) were matched by the local African-American communities 
     that were committed to providing education for their 
     children;
       (6)(A) the success of the pilot program referred to in 
     paragraph (5)(A)(ii) led to the construction of more than 
     5,300 Rosenwald Schools and related buildings over a 20-year 
     period in 15 southern States under the direction of the 
     Julius Rosenwald Fund;
       (B) the schools described in subparagraph (A)--
       (i) were the result of a 3-way partnership among the Julius 
     Rosenwald Fund, local communities that, although generally 
     poor, contributed land, labor, materials, and money to build 
     and maintain the schools, and local governments that were 
     required by law to provide public schools for all children 
     but divided funds unequally between black and white systems; 
     and
       (ii) often became the focus of great pride and affection 
     among the applicable communities;
       (C) during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, \1/3\ of all 
     African-American children in the South were educated in 
     Rosenwald Schools;
       (D) a 2011 study by 2 Federal Reserve economists concluded 
     that the schools played a significant role in narrowing the 
     gap between the educational levels of black and white 
     students in the South; and
       (E) Members of Congress and poet Maya Angelou are among 
     prominent graduates of Rosenwald Schools;
       (7) the Julius Rosenwald Fund--
       (A) supported early National Association for the 
     Advancement of Colored People cases that eventually led to 
     the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of 
     Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), which outlawed segregation in 
     public education; and
       (B) provided fellowships to talented African-Americans in 
     the arts and sciences--
       (i) including the acclaimed historian John Hope Franklin, 
     noted writer and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois, artist 
     Jacob Lawrence, singer Marian Anderson, diplomat Ralph 
     Bunche, and many others; and
       (ii) some of whom worked under Thurgood Marshall on the 
     Supreme Court case referred to in subparagraph (A);
       (8) Rosenwald also--
       (A) provided support for a number of Historically Black 
     Colleges and Universities, including Fisk, Dillard, and 
     Howard Universities; and
       (B) used his wealth for other worthy causes, including the 
     creation of the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago 
     and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago; and
       (9) the contributions of Julius Rosenwald to improving the 
     lives of African-Americans, as well as the lives of those who 
     reside in Chicago and throughout the United States, are 
     worthy of recognition and further examination.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Rosenwald school.--The term ``Rosenwald School'' means 
     any of the 5,357 schools and related buildings constructed in 
     15 southern States during the period of 1912 through 1932 by 
     the philanthropy of Julius Rosenwald.
       (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (3) SHPO.--The term ``SHPO'' means the State Historic 
     Preservation Officer of any of the 14 States in which 
     Rosenwald Schools exist as of the date of enactment of this 
     Act.

     SEC. 4. SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall conduct a special 
     resource study of the sites associated with the life and 
     legacy of Julius Rosenwald, with special focus on the 
     Rosenwald Schools.
       (b) Contents.--In conducting the study under subsection 
     (a), the Secretary shall--
       (1) determine the sites of national significance associated 
     with the life and legacy of businessman and noted 
     philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, with special focus on the 
     Rosenwald Schools;
       (2) give priority to studying any Rosenwald School 
     recommended to the Secretary by an SHPO;
       (3) determine the suitability and feasibility of 
     designating 1 or more new units of the National Park System 
     to include representative Rosenwald Schools and other sites 
     associated with the life and legacy of Julius Rosenwald, 
     including an interpretive center in or near Chicago, 
     Illinois--
       (A) to commemorate the career and overall philanthropic 
     activities of Rosenwald; and
       (B) to address the scope and significance of the Rosenwald 
     Schools initiative;

[[Page S3483]]

       (4) take into consideration other alternatives for 
     preservation, protection, and interpretation of the legacy of 
     Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Schools by--
       (A) Federal, State, or local governmental entities; or
       (B) private and nonprofit organizations;
       (5) consult with, as determined appropriate by the 
     Secretary, relevant--
       (A) Federal, State, and local governmental entities;
       (B) private and nonprofit organizations; or
       (C) any other interested individuals; and
       (6) identify costs associated with any potential Federal 
     acquisition, development, interpretation, operation, and 
     maintenance associated with the alternatives described in 
     paragraph (4).
       (c) Applicable Law.--The study under subsection (a) shall 
     be conducted in accordance with section 100507 of title 54, 
     United States Code.
       (d) Results.--Not later than 3 years after the date on 
     which funds are first made available for the study under 
     subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 
     on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a 
     report describing--
       (1) the results of the study; and
       (2) any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary 
     relating to the study.
                                 ______