The Story

Heritage Park is a community space that reflects the efforts to provide education to African Americans in the South during the twentieth century. The park includes a Rosenwald School, equalization school, gymnasium and community garden. Built in 1929, the Rosenwald School was built using funds from the collaborative efforts of Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald of Sears, Roebuck and Company. The program strived to improve the quality of education and resources for African Americans in the South. The equalization school, built after state legislation enshrined the doctrine of “separate but equal,” carried on the legacy of African American education into the 1950s.

The Threat

For decades, Heritage Park has been used as a gathering place for the community to host events and bring awareness to the history of the sites. In recent years, the park and the properties have been subject to neglect, vandalism, and lack of maintenance. Allocated SPLOST funds have proven to be inadequate for a full restoration of the site, although community support for the project remains strong.

Photos by MotorSportMedia | Halston Pitman & Nick Woolever