Press Release - For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Georgia Ann Hudson
(334) 353-3312 or georgiaann.hudson@archives.alabama.gov
ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY
HOSTING OPENING EVENT FOR NEW EXHIBIT
HISTORY LIVES ON: PRESERVING ALABAMA’S ROSENWALD SCHOOLS
Montgomery, AL (10/12/2023) – The Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) has opened a new temporary exhibit,
History Lives On: Preserving Alabama’s Rosenwald Schools, at the Museum of Alabama. This exhibit was created by Auburn University’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction in partnership with the ADAH. It will be on view through May 2024.
The ADAH will host an opening event on Tuesday, October 17. A reception will begin at 5:00 pm followed by a panel discussion about Rosenwald Schools and the Realizing Rosenwald research project at 6:00 pm. The opening event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by Seay, Seay & Litchfield Architects and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.
The panel discussion is part of the ADAH’s ongoing History/Now: Conversations on the Past + Present series. Panelists will include:
- Thomas Boyd, president of the Montgomery County Farmers Service and Welfare Association, which owns the Tankersley Rosenwald School in Hope Hull. Boyd is active in the rehabilitation of the school, after receiving the 2021 African American Civil Rights Preservation Grant from the National Park Service.
- Gorham Bird, assistant professor of Architecture at Auburn University and a registered architect. Bird’s research and outreach includes partnering with local communities to document and preserve Alabama’s remaining Rosenwald Schools.
- Dorothy Walker, site director of the Freedom Rides Museum, a historic site of the Alabama Historical Commission (AHC). Walker has twenty-five years of experience working in historic preservation and cultural resource advocacy, planning, and project management. Alabama’s Rosenwald Schools are one area of her preservation interest and advocacy.
For more information about the exhibit and opening event, visit
www.archives.alabama.gov, call (334) 353-4689, or email alex.colvin@archives.alabama.gov.
The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the state’s government-records repository, a special-collections library and research facility, and home to the Museum of Alabama, the state history museum. It is located in downtown Montgomery, directly across Washington Avenue from the State Capitol. The Museum of Alabama is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 to 4:30. The EBSCO Research Room is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30 to 4:30. To learn more, visit www.archives.alabama.gov or call (334) 242-4364.
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