I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9691 

To establish the Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National Historical 

Park, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois (for himself, Mr. CLYBURN, and Mr. COHEN) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools 

National Historical Park, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Julius Rosenwald and 

5 Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 

8 (1) to establish a unit of the National Park 

9 System— 


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1 (A) to commemorate the life and legacy of 

2 Julius Rosenwald, who— 

3 (i) was the son of German-Jewish im4 migrants; 

5 (ii) helped make Sears, Roebuck and 

6 Co. the leading retailer in the United 

7 States for many years; 

8 (iii) used his enormous fortune to be9 come a visionary philanthropist; and 

10 (iv) partnered with Booker T. Wash11 ington and approximately 5,000 African12 American communities in the segregated 

13 South to build schools for children who 

14 had few or no educational opportunities; 

15 (B) to recognize the impact of the Rosen16 wald Schools, which— 

17 (i) were constructed between 1912 

18 and 1932 in 15 States; and 

19 (ii) educated more than 600,000 Afri20 can-American children, including a number 

21 of graduates who became leaders in the 

22 civil rights movement, such as— 

23 (I) Representative John Lewis; 

24 (II) Maya Angelou; 

25 (III) Medgar Evers; 


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1 (IV) Nina Simone; and 

2 (V) Carlotta Walls LaNier; 

3 (C) to honor other important parts of the 

4 legacy of Julius Rosenwald, including— 

5 (i) the Julius Rosenwald Fund, 

6 which— 

7 (I) between 1928 and 1948, 

8 awarded fellowships to nearly 900 tal9 ented men and women— 

(aa) 2 10 ⁄3 of whom were Afri11 can Americans; and 

12 (bb) including— 

13 (AA) Marian Anderson; 

14 (BB) Langston 

15 Hughes; 

16 (CC) Ralph Bunche; 

17 (DD) James Baldwin; 

18 (EE) Dr. Charles 

19 Drew; 

20 (FF) Ralph Ellison; 

21 and 

22 (GG) Woody Guthrie; 

23 and 

24 (II) supported early legal cases of 

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1 vancement of Colored People that led 

2 to the Supreme Court opinion in 

3 Brown v. Board of Education of To4 peka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954); 

5 (ii) founding the Jewish Federation of 

6 Metropolitan Chicago; 

7 (iii) service as a member of the board 

8 of Jane Addams’ Hull House for 20 years; 

9 (iv) being a founding donor of the 

10 Chicago Museum of Science and Industry; 

11 and 

12 (v) otherwise embodying social justice; 

13 (2) to preserve a small number of representa14 tive sites of the Rosenwald Schools, including the 

15 San Domingo School in Sharptown, Maryland, the 

16 St. George Rosenwald School in St. George, South 

17 Carolina, and other sites across the south to reflect 

18 the scope and impact of the Rosenwald Schools, and 

19 to establish a headquarters and visitor center for the 

20 Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National 

21 Historical Park within or near the former Sears 

22 Merchandising Complex in North Lawndale in the 

23 city of Chicago, Illinois, to enlighten visitors on— 

24 (A) the overall life and legacy of Julius 

25 Rosenwald; and 


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1 (B) the ways in which the Rosenwald 

2 Schools— 

3 (i) affected African-American edu4 cation in the South; and 

5 (ii) helped to make the United States 

6 a more democratic society; and 

7 (3) to establish a network in the National Park 

8 Service to connect the remaining Rosenwald Schools 

9 to disseminate more fully the story of the Rosenwald 

10 Schools throughout the United States. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map 

14 prepared by the National Park Service entitled ‘‘Ju15 lius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National 

16 Historical Park’’, numbered llllll, and 

17 dated lllllllll. 

18 (2) NETWORK.—The term ‘‘Network’’ means 

19 the Rosenwald Schools National Network established 

20 under section 5(a)(1). 

21 (3) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the Julius 

22 Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National Histor23 ical Park established by section 4(a)(1). 

24 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 SEC. 4. JULIUS ROSENWALD AND ROSENWALD SCHOOLS 

2 NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

5 there is established as a unit of the National Park 

6 System the Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald 

7 Schools National Historical Park. 

8 (2) DETERMINATION BY THE SECRETARY.— 

9 (A) DATE OF ESTABLISHMENT.—The Park 

10 shall not be established until the date on which 

11 the Secretary determines that a sufficient quan12 tity of land or interests in land within the 

13 boundary of the Park has been acquired to con14 stitute a manageable unit. 

15 (B) FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE.—The 

16 Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register 

17 notice of a determination under subparagraph 

18 (A). 

19 (b) BOUNDARY.—The Park shall consist of the fol20 lowing: 

21 (1) The 40-acre site selected for the Sears mer22 chandising complex constructed in 1905–1906, 

23 which includes the original Sears Administration 

24 Building, the catalog building, the power plant, and 

25 the Nichols Tower, which now comprise the Sears 

26 Roebuck and Company Complex National Historic 


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1 Landmark, and the Sears Sunken Garden directly 

2 across the street from the Sears Administration 

3 Building. 

4 (2) The San Domingo Rosenwald School in 

5 Sharptown, Maryland, as generally depicted on the 

6 Map. 

7 (3) Any Rosenwald School or other area des8 ignated by Congress to be included in the Park after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act. 

10 (c) ADMINISTRATION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall admin12 ister land within the boundary of the Park in ac13 cordance with— 

14 (A) this section; and 

15 (B) the laws generally applicable to units 

16 of the National Park System, including— 

17 (i) sections 100101(a), 100751(a), 

18 100752, 100753, and 102101 of title 54, 

19 United States Code; and 

20 (ii) chapters 1003 and 3201 of title 

21 54, United States Code. 

22 (2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

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1 retary may enter into cooperative agreements 

2 with the State of Illinois, the city of Chicago, 

3 the State of Maryland, other appropriate State 

4 and local government officials, and public and 

5 nonpublic entities, subject to subparagraph 

6 (B)— 

7 (i) to support collaborative interpre8 tive and educational programs at non-Fed9 eral historic properties within the boundary 

10 of the Park; and 

11 (ii) to identify, interpret, and provide 

12 assistance for the preservation of non-Fed13 eral land within the boundary of the Park 

14 and at sites related to the Park but located 

15 outside the boundaries of the Park, includ16 ing providing for— 

17 (I) the placement of directional 

18 and interpretive signage; 

19 (II) exhibits; and 

20 (III) technology-based and other 

21 interpretive devices. 

22 (B) PUBLIC ACCESS.—A cooperative agree23 ment entered into under this paragraph shall 

24 provide for reasonable public access to any 

25 property subject to the cooperative agreement. 


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1 (3) USE OF FUNDS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may use 

3 appropriated funds to carry out a project to 

4 mark, interpret, improve, restore, or provide 

5 technical assistance with respect to the preser6 vation and interpretation of any property that 

7 is subject to a cooperative agreement under 

8 paragraph (2). 

9 (B) INCONSISTENT PURPOSES.—Any pay10 ment made by the Secretary under this section 

11 shall be subject to an agreement that the con12 version, use, or disposal of a project carried out 

13 under subparagraph (A) for purposes that are 

14 inconsistent with the purposes of this section, 

15 as determined by the Secretary, shall result in 

16 a right of the United States to reimbursement 

17 in an amount that is the greater of— 

18 (i) the amount provided by the Sec19 retary to the project; and 

20 (ii) an amount equal to the increase in 

21 the value of the project that is attributable 

22 to the funds, as determined by the Sec23 retary as of the date of the conversion, 

24 use, or disposal. 

25 (4) ACQUISITION OF LAND.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graph (B), the Secretary may, within the Na3 tional Historic Landmark District in Chicago, 

4 Illinois— 

5 (i) acquire a facade or other easement 

6 interest on the Nichols Tower; and 

7 (ii) enter into a lease or other agree8 ment for purposes of providing for admin9 istration of the Park and appropriate vis10 itor services. 

11 (B) OUTSIDE OF PARK BOUNDARY.—If the 

12 Secretary is unable to identify appropriate 

13 space for administration and visitor services in 

14 accordance with subparagraph (A)(ii), the Sec15 retary may acquire the appropriate land or in16 terests in land, or enter into other appropriate 

17 agreements, in the vicinity of, but outside the 

18 boundary of the Park, for administration and 

19 visitor services. 

20 (C) LIMITATION.—The San Domingo 

21 School in Sharptown, Maryland, may only be 

22 acquired by the Secretary under this section 

23 by— 

24 (i) donation; 

25 (ii) purchase with donated funds; or 


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1 (iii) exchange. 

2 (5) INTERPRETATION.—To further the dissemi3 nation of information about the life and legacy of 

4 Julius Rosenwald, with an emphasis on the partner5 ship of Julius Rosenwald with Booker T. Wash6 ington and the approximately 5,000 communities in 

7 the South that led to the establishment and success 

8 of the Rosenwald Schools, the Secretary shall in9 clude interpretation of the story of Julius Rosenwald 

10 at— 

11 (A) the Lincoln Home National Historic 

12 Site in the State of Illinois, within the boundary 

13 of which is located the home of Julius Rosen14 wald; and 

15 (B) the Tuskegee Institute National His16 toric Site in the State of Alabama, which was 

17 founded by Booker T. Washington for the edu18 cation of African Americans and at which archi19 tects designed the early Rosenwald Schools. 

20 (6) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 3 fis21 cal years after the date on which funds are first 

22 made available to carry out this section, the Sec23 retary shall complete a general management plan for 

24 the Park in accordance with— 


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1 (A) section 100502 of title 54, United 

2 States Code; and 

3 (B) any other applicable laws. 

4 SEC. 5. ROSENWALD SCHOOLS NATIONAL NETWORK. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

6 (1) establish, within the National Park Service, 

7 a program to be known as the ‘‘Rosenwald Schools 

8 National Network’’; 

9 (2) as soon as practicable after the date of en10 actment of this Act, solicit proposals from sites, fa11 cilities, and programs interested in being a part of 

12 the Network; and 

13 (3) administer the Network. 

14 (b) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—In carrying out 

15 the Network, the Secretary shall— 

16 (1) review studies and reports to complement 

17 and not duplicate studies of the historical impor18 tance of the Rosenwald Schools; 

19 (2) produce and disseminate appropriate edu20 cational and promotional materials relating to the 

21 life and work of Julius Rosenwald and the Rosen22 wald Schools that are part of the Network, such as 

23 handbooks, maps, interpretive guides, or electronic 

24 information; 


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1 (3) enter into appropriate cooperative agree2 ments and memoranda of understanding to provide 

3 assistance, as appropriate; 

4 (4)(A) create and adopt an official, uniform 

5 symbol or device for the Network; and 

6 (B) issue regulations for the use of the symbol 

7 or device adopted under this paragraph; 

8 (5) conduct research relating to the Rosenwald 

9 Schools; 

10 (6) make recommendations for any additional 

11 Rosenwald School sites that should be considered for 

12 inclusion within the Park due to the significance, in13 tegrity, and need for management by the National 

14 Park Service of the sites; and 

15 (7) have the authority to provide grants to Net16 work elements described in subsection (c). 

17 (c) ELEMENTS.—The Network shall encompass the 

18 following elements: 

19 (1) All units and programs of the National 

20 Park Service that are determined by the Secretary 

21 to relate to the story of Julius Rosenwald and the 

22 Rosenwald Schools. 

23 (2) Other Federal, State, local, and privately 

24 owned properties that the Secretary determines— 


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1 (A) relate to Julius Rosenwald and the 

2 Rosenwald Schools; and 

3 (B) are included in, or determined by the 

4 Secretary to be eligible for inclusion in, the Na5 tional Register of Historic Places. 

6 (3) Other governmental and nongovernmental 

7 sites, facilities, and programs of an educational, re8 search, or interpretive nature that are directly re9 lated to Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald 

10 Schools. 

11 (d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AND MEMORANDA

12 OF UNDERSTANDING.—To achieve the purposes of this 

13 section and to ensure effective coordination of the Federal 

14 and non-Federal elements of the Network and units and 

15 programs of the National Park Service, the Secretary may 

16 enter into cooperative agreements and memoranda of un17 derstanding with, and provide technical assistance to, the 

18 heads of other Federal agencies, States, units of local gov19 ernment, regional governmental bodies, and private enti20 ties. 

Æ 


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