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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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 National Historical Park Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to establish a unit of the National Park 
System— 
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(A) to commemorate the life and legacy of 
Julius Rosenwald, who— 
(i) was the son of German-Jewish im-
migrants; 
(ii) helped make Sears, Roebuck and 
Co. the leading retailer in the United 
States for many years; 
(iii) used his enormous fortune to be-
come a visionary philanthropist; and 
(iv) partnered with Booker T. Wash-
ington and approximately 5,000 African- 
American communities in the segregated 
South to build schools for children who 
had few or no educational opportunities; 
(B) to recognize the impact of the Rosen-
wald Schools, which— 
(i) were constructed between 1912 
and 1932 in 15 States; and 
(ii) educated more than 600,000 Afri-
can-American children, including a number 
of graduates who became leaders in the 
civil rights movement, such as— 
(I) Representative John Lewis; 
(II) Maya Angelou; 
(III) Medgar Evers; 
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(IV) Nina Simone; and 
(V) Carlotta Walls LaNier; 
(C) to honor other important parts of the 
legacy of Julius Rosenwald, including— 
(i) 
the 
Julius 
Rosenwald 
Fund, 
which— 
(I) between 1928 and 1948, 
awarded fellowships to nearly 900 tal-
ented men and women— 
(aa) 2⁄3 of whom were Afri-
can Americans; and 
(bb) including— 
(AA) Marian Anderson; 
(BB) 
Langston 
Hughes; 
(CC) Ralph Bunche; 
(DD) James Baldwin; 
(EE) 
Dr. 
Charles 
Drew; 
(FF) 
Ralph 
Ellison; 
and 
(GG) Woody Guthrie; 
and 
(II) supported early legal cases of 
the National Association for the Ad-
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vancement of Colored People that led 
to the Supreme Court opinion in 
Brown v. Board of Education of To-
peka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954); 
(ii) founding the Jewish Federation of 
Metropolitan Chicago; 
(iii) service as a member of the board 
of Jane Addams’ Hull House for 20 years; 
(iv) being a founding donor of the 
Chicago Museum of Science and Industry; 
and 
(v) otherwise embodying social justice; 
(2) to preserve a small number of representa-
tive sites of the Rosenwald Schools, including the 
San Domingo School in Sharptown, Maryland, the 
St. George Rosenwald School in St. George, South 
Carolina, and other sites across the south to reflect 
the scope and impact of the Rosenwald Schools, and 
to establish a headquarters and visitor center for the 
Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National 
Historical Park within or near the former Sears 
Merchandising Complex in North Lawndale in the 
city of Chicago, Illinois, to enlighten visitors on— 
(A) the overall life and legacy of Julius 
Rosenwald; and 
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retary may enter into cooperative agreements 
with the State of Illinois, the city of Chicago, 
the State of Maryland, other appropriate State 
and local government officials, and public and 
nonpublic entities, subject to subparagraph 
(B)— 
(i) to support collaborative interpre-
tive and educational programs at non-Fed-
eral historic properties within the boundary 
of the Park; and 
(ii) to identify, interpret, and provide 
assistance for the preservation of non-Fed-
eral land within the boundary of the Park 
and at sites related to the Park but located 
outside the boundaries of the Park, includ-
ing providing for— 
(I) the placement of directional 
and interpretive signage; 
(II) exhibits; and 
(III) technology-based and other 
interpretive devices. 
(B) PUBLIC ACCESS.—A cooperative agree-
ment entered into under this paragraph shall 
provide for reasonable public access to any 
property subject to the cooperative agreement. 
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(3) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may use 
appropriated funds to carry out a project to 
mark, interpret, improve, restore, or provide 
technical assistance with respect to the preser-
vation and interpretation of any property that 
is subject to a cooperative agreement under 
paragraph (2). 
(B) INCONSISTENT PURPOSES.—Any pay-
ment made by the Secretary under this section 
shall be subject to an agreement that the con-
version, use, or disposal of a project carried out 
under subparagraph (A) for purposes that are 
inconsistent with the purposes of this section, 
as determined by the Secretary, shall result in 
a right of the United States to reimbursement 
in an amount that is the greater of— 
(i) the amount provided by the Sec-
retary to the project; and 
(ii) an amount equal to the increase in 
the value of the project that is attributable 
to the funds, as determined by the Sec-
retary as of the date of the conversion, 
use, or disposal. 
(4) ACQUISITION OF LAND.— 
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(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the Secretary may, within the Na-
tional Historic Landmark District in Chicago, 
Illinois— 
(i) acquire a facade or other easement 
interest on the Nichols Tower; and 
(ii) enter into a lease or other agree-
ment for purposes of providing for admin-
istration of the Park and appropriate vis-
itor services. 
(B) OUTSIDE OF PARK BOUNDARY.—If the 
Secretary is unable to identify appropriate 
space for administration and visitor services in 
accordance with subparagraph (A)(ii), the Sec-
retary may acquire the appropriate land or in-
terests in land, or enter into other appropriate 
agreements, in the vicinity of, but outside the 
boundary of the Park, for administration and 
visitor services. 
(C) 
LIMITATION.—The 
San 
Domingo 
School in Sharptown, Maryland, may only be 
acquired by the Secretary under this section 
by— 
(i) donation; 
(ii) purchase with donated funds; or 
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(iii) exchange. 
(5) INTERPRETATION.—To further the dissemi-
nation of information about the life and legacy of 
Julius Rosenwald, with an emphasis on the partner-
ship of Julius Rosenwald with Booker T. Wash-
ington and the approximately 5,000 communities in 
the South that led to the establishment and success 
of the Rosenwald Schools, the Secretary shall in-
clude interpretation of the story of Julius Rosenwald 
at— 
(A) the Lincoln Home National Historic 
Site in the State of Illinois, within the boundary 
of which is located the home of Julius Rosen-
wald; and 
(B) the Tuskegee Institute National His-
toric Site in the State of Alabama, which was 
founded by Booker T. Washington for the edu-
cation of African Americans and at which archi-
tects designed the early Rosenwald Schools. 
(6) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 3 fis-
cal years after the date on which funds are first 
made available to carry out this section, the Sec-
retary shall complete a general management plan for 
the Park in accordance with— 
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(A) section 100502 of title 54, United 
States Code; and 
(B) any other applicable laws. 
SEC. 5. ROSENWALD SCHOOLS NATIONAL NETWORK. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 
(1) establish, within the National Park Service, 
a program to be known as the ‘‘Rosenwald Schools 
National Network’’; 
(2) as soon as practicable after the date of en-
actment of this Act, solicit proposals from sites, fa-
cilities, and programs interested in being a part of 
the Network; and 
(3) administer the Network. 
(b) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—In carrying out 
the Network, the Secretary shall— 
(1) review studies and reports to complement 
and not duplicate studies of the historical impor-
tance of the Rosenwald Schools; 
(2) produce and disseminate appropriate edu-
cational and promotional materials relating to the 
life and work of Julius Rosenwald and the Rosen-
wald Schools that are part of the Network, such as 
handbooks, maps, interpretive guides, or electronic 
information; 
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(3) enter into appropriate cooperative agree-
ments and memoranda of understanding to provide 
assistance, as appropriate; 
(4)(A) create and adopt an official, uniform 
symbol or device for the Network; and 
(B) issue regulations for the use of the symbol 
or device adopted under this paragraph; 
(5) conduct research relating to the Rosenwald 
Schools; 
(6) make recommendations for any additional 
Rosenwald School sites that should be considered for 
inclusion within the Park due to the significance, in-
tegrity, and need for management by the National 
Park Service of the sites; and 
(7) have the authority to provide grants to Net-
work elements described in subsection (c). 
(c) ELEMENTS.—The Network shall encompass the 
following elements: 
(1) All units and programs of the National 
Park Service that are determined by the Secretary 
to relate to the story of Julius Rosenwald and the 
Rosenwald Schools. 
(2) Other Federal, State, local, and privately 
owned properties that the Secretary determines— 
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(A) relate to Julius Rosenwald and the 
Rosenwald Schools; and 
(B) are included in, or determined by the 
Secretary to be eligible for inclusion in, the Na-
tional Register of Historic Places. 
(3) Other governmental and nongovernmental 
sites, facilities, and programs of an educational, re-
search, or interpretive nature that are directly re-
lated to Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald 
Schools. 
(d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AND MEMORANDA 
OF UNDERSTANDING.—To achieve the purposes of this 
section and to ensure effective coordination of the Federal 
and non-Federal elements of the Network and units and 
programs of the National Park Service, the Secretary may 
enter into cooperative agreements and memoranda of un-
derstanding with, and provide technical assistance to, the 
heads of other Federal agencies, States, units of local gov-
ernment, regional governmental bodies, and private enti-
ties. 
Æ 
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