The Springfield Choral Society will host a festival that honors a Springfield native, Julius Rosenwald, under the guidance of music director Jacobsen Woollen. Events will take place Oct. 17-18 with music, film, speakers and a walk to the original Rosenwald home across from Lincoln’s home.
“Many in Springfield don’t seem to know about Rosenwald; yet, he was a significant person from here. His story needs to be told,” said Woollen. “We will do that in a portrait concert bringing together narration about his life with selected music by ensembles from the Choral Society.”
The Saturday, Oct. 17, event will be held at Temple B’rith Sholom, 1004 S. Fourth St.., at 7:30 p.m. Along with music and information about Rosenwald’s life, Carolyn Blackwell, a longtime citizen of Springfield and former District 186 teacher and administrator, will share her experiences in attending a Rosenwald School. Tickets are $25.
The Lincoln Home Visitor Center will hold an event on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 2 p.m. and again at 3:30 p.m. A special guest will be Dorothy Canter, a volunteer with the National Parks Conservation Association, who is leading a campaign to establish a national historical park honoring Rosenwald. A multimedia presentation about Rosenwald Schools and a short documentary about Rosenwald will be followed by a walk to Rosenwald’s home across from Lincoln’s Home. The programs are free but require reservations.
Rosenwald (1862-1932) grew up on Eighth Street across from Lincoln’s home. He left Springfield when he was 17 and, after a stint in New York, landed in Chicago around 1895. There he met his wife, Augusta, and a man who would change the direction of his life, Richard Sears.
The two men led the catalog merchandise business, and sales grew under their genius. By 1907 the company was making $50 million a year. After Sears retired, Rosenwald became president of Sears Roebuck and Co.; sales rose to $250 million by 1920. But after World War I, Sears was almost bankrupt, and in 1921 Rosenwald contributed $21 million of his own money to save it. Rosenwald retired as president in 1924 and became chair of the board until his death in 1932.
A true believer in social justice, Rosenwald used his accumulated wealth to fund many worthy projects. He constructed more than 5,300 African American schools throughout the South during the era of Jim Crow laws (Maya Angelou and Rep. John Lewis are among the graduates of Rosenwald Schools). He established a Rosenwald Fund to support African American efforts in the arts and sciences, which assisted James Baldwin, Langston Hughes and Marion Anderson, to name a few. Rosenwald also helped fund African American YMCAs throughout the U.S.
With his incredible wealth, he supported many projects. It is due to him that we have the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. The building, known as the Palace of Fine Arts, was built for the Chicago Columbian Exposition in 1893. It was later converted into the museum and Rosenwald contributed $5 million to the effort.
Woollen said, “Rosenwald’s story is timely. He believed that giving is not a gift but an obligation. Today, we can honor a man who gave so much to others.”
Cinda Ackerman Klickna has written about Rosenwald and the Springfield Choral Society in the past.
