By MISHA PAZ KEYVANFAR | Junior Reporter | Pali High Senior
It’s a strange thing to find yourself going to high school in an abandoned Sears building that once sold washing machines and shoes.
I would not have known the connection between Sears, segregation and social activism had it not been for Palisades Charter High School relocating to the Santa Monica Sears building after the Palisades fire. The history is awe inspiring.
I had seen the Sears building many times before. We had often gone there to get Covid tested during Covid days. My parents say they got our vacuum cleaner there. My mom’s coworker told us that some “Brady Bunch” episodes were filmed at the Santa Monica Sears Building.
Most importantly, my sister told me that she saw an amazing documentary about a very inspiring man who built the Sears company and thousands of schools in the South. I was intrigued and decided to investigate this “inspiring man.” And indeed, I think my life changed when I learned about Julius Rosenwald.
Julius Rosenwald was the American born child of Jewish immigrants from Europe who had fled discrimination and antisemitism. In the 1800s, Jewish families in Europe were barred from universities, land ownership, restricted to certain jobs and forced to pay special taxes, and forced to live in ghettos.
Julius was born during the American Civil War and grew up in a modest, hard working immigrant family, strongly shaped by the concept of giving back and “Tikun Olam”—healing the world. Without a college degree, based on apprenticeships and excelling at his first jobs, Julius Rosenwald’s work ethic eventually led him to become the head of Sears Roebuck & Co. in 1908.
He transformed the company into an empire, and Sears became one of the most successful companies in America in the early 20th century. It was the Amazon of their time.
He was full of ideas that he put into action. For example, he revolutionized the Sears mail-order catalog and helped bring affordable goods to millions of rural Americans.
His warehouses were filled with innovation, such as having the workers wear roller skates so that they could fill orders faster. His business genius soon made him a millionaire.
I was inspired to learn that despite his wealth, Rosenwald was very humble and divided his earnings into thirds: 1/3 to spend, 1/3 for savings and 1/3 for charity. This sets the background for when the story rises from being a rags to riches story to a story that inspires and changes lives.
Around 1911, Booker T. Washington, the prominent African American educator, author and leader, approached Rosenwald. He told him that the government had failed to provide proper schools for Black children in the South. At this time, the law of the land was based on the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), where the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of “separate but equal” laws, allowing segregation as long as the separate facilities were equal. They were not equal, Booker T. Washington assured Rosenwald. He took Rosenwald to visit the Black communities in the South to see this for himself.
Booker T. Washington showed him that while on paper his community was given the right to education, in reality, they were denied this right. The children didn’t have teachers, school buildings or school materials. They did not have blackboards, paper or pens.
Rosenwald was moved into action: He partnered with Booker T. Washington and the Tuskegee Institute to launch an innovative program. They developed the matching grant model, which required shared investment from several sources. Rosenwald would fund approximately 1/3 of the cost of a school. However, the funds would only be released only when the other partners also contributed. The most vital was the community contribution, whereby local African American families raised money, donated, and provided labor and materials to contribute in building their own school. Lastly, the local white public school boards were required to provide some part of the funding. This model encouraged cooperation and empowered communities to lead their own progress.
Between 1912 and 1937, Rosenwald funds contributed to the building of over 5,000 schools and teacher homes in 15 Southern states. As a result, over hundreds of thousands of Black children were educated.
Rosenwald Schools helped launch the education of future civil rights leaders, teachers, writers, artists and other professionals, including poet Maya Angelou, U.S. Congressman John Lewis and opera singer Leontyne Price. Many people who rose to prominence in the civil rights movement, literature, music and politics either attended Rosenwald Schools, or were part of families and communities deeply influenced by them. The schools didn’t just educate, they empowered generations. In fact, Rosenwald Schools are considered one of the most important grassroots education movements in U.S. history.
I was very moved to learn this powerful story behind Sears. I am forever changed from learning about Julius Rosenwald, and how a modest, hardworking immigrant with strong values rooted in faith, education and community service was able to collaborate with another marginalized community.
When I’m sitting in that echoey classroom, with shower curtains as doors in the Sears building, I remember that having a place to learn, even one that used to sell washing machines, is a privilege. We Pali students are thankful to our administrators, faculty, community and Pali students who infused this abandoned building with life and learning. We get to learn.
We are showing up to learn, and who knows which one of our Pali peers will be the next Julius Rosenwald.
