THE LEGACY OF ROSENWALD FUND IN IBERVILLE PARISH

The Legacy of the Rosenwald Fund in Iberville Parish

There were two schools in Iberville Parish who received assistance from the Rosenwald Fund in 1929-1930. Two schools ( Rosedale School and Grosse Tete School) of the five were feeder schools for Thomas A. Levy High School which was constructed in 1952. The other two schools became Iberville Parish Training School and, later, Iberville High School. They received funds in 1923-1924 (primary and intermediate school) and in 1929-1930 secondary school.

The Rosedale School costed $2,500.00 with $300.00 derived from African Americans, $700.00 from whites, $1,000.00 public funds.  The Rosenwald Fund contributed $500.00. The school was a two- teacher type wooden frame building on two acres in Rosedale, Louisiana. When Thomas A. Levy High School was opened in 1952 the building was re-purposed as the cafeteria. The tin-roofed structure was 100 feet long and 60 feet wide suspended upon concrete pillars 18 inches off the ground. The cafeteria was painted pastel green with white- trimmed windows. Four windows were on the front of the building with two windows overlooking the porch which extended over half of the front. The other two windows were over the front wall to the right of the porch. Six windows illuminated each side along the length of the building.

An eight feet wide, 60-feet concrete covered causeway was laid to connect the cafeteria to the main school. This walkway served as a covered area for student lines. The students’   line entered on the left through a door on the porch. On entering the building there were white wooden ceilings, gray tiled floors and fluorescent lights extending from a 20- foot ceiling. The walls were pastel green. There were six rows of 10 tables extending across the width of the building extending from the front to the rear of the cafeteria. The kitchen was in the rear third of the building. The student line processed on the left side of the cafeteria through a door to the serving line and out through a second door in the middle of the cafeteria.

In 1967 a new red- brick cafeteria was constructed upon the identical area where the old cafeteria stood. This time the building was repurposed as a band room. There were modifications, an elevated stage was constructed near the front of the building. This arrangement lasted until December 1969 when integration occurred.

The Plaquemine School was constructed in 1923- 1924. This school had a three- teacher plan. The total cost was $3,900.00. African Americans ($2,350.00), Public funds ($1,050.00) and Rosenwald Fund ($500.00).

In the 1929-1930 Iberville Parish Training School was established in Plaquemine, Louisiana. This is the forerunner for Iberville High School. This school building was a two-story, wood framed, eight teacher -type, situated upon six acres. The total cost was $24,000.00. African Americans ($9,000.00), Public ($12,000.00), and the Rosenwald Fund ($3,000.00). 

The Rosenwald Fund contributed directly to establishment of Iberville Parish Training School whereas Thomas A. Levy High School was an indirect recipient for primary and intermediate education at two of the five sites that merged to form the school. A remnant of the Rosenwald Fund activity, the cafeteria, later became the band room, remained an integral part of Thomas A. Levy High School and persisted until the school closed. Since Thomas A. Levy High School was a direct extension of the Rosedale School and since another feeder school, Grosse Tete School, received Rosenwald Funds a strong argument can be made for Thomas A. Levy High School to be included as a Rosenwald Fund school..

                Two years prior to building these schools in Rosedale and Gross Tete, the “1927 Flood” inundated twenty Louisiana parishes. African Americans persevered despite great socioeconomic odds against their survival. To place the situation of African Americans in the correct perspective, 1929 was the year of the “Great Stock Market Crash”.  Manual labor in 1929 paid $ 0.31 per hour.  This tenacity when faced with adversity was the norm. To convert the African American effort in supporting schools into current terms, the African American population in the towns of Rosedale, Louisiana and Grosse Tete, Louisiana would have to contribute $5,000.00, each, in today’s dollars. However, the effort was greater at that time since the money was raised from largely manual labor salaried population. This is commendable. The Plaquemine group’s effort was equal to $132,000.00 in 2018 dollars.