SR 952: Senate Rosenwald Schools Study Committee; create

Senate Resolution 952

By: Senators Davenport of the 17th, Sims of the 12th and Anderson of the 43rd ADOPTED SENATE

A RESOLUTION

Creating the Senate Rosenwald Schools Study Committee; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, in the early 1900s, Julius Rosenwald, one of the early presidents and part owner of Sears, Roebuck and Co., partnered with Booker T. Washington, a Black educator and leader, to fund construction of schools in poor, rural African American school districts across the South; and

WHEREAS, Rosenwald schools were cooperatively built with donations of land and labor from the local communities and matching financial contributions from the Rosenwald Foundation; and

WHEREAS, the foundation helped fund the construction of almost 5,000 schools for Black children around the South, which helped lift generations of African Americans out of poverty; and

WHEREAS, the program provided funding for more than 240 Rosenwald schools in 103 of Georgia's 159 counties, and at least 35,000 children attended those schools; and

WHEREAS, school integration brought an end to operation of the Rosenwald schools, though many continued to serve their communities long after; and

WHEREAS, Rosenwald and Washington's program dramatically transformed the country by profoundly reshaping the African American experience, yet its scope and impact are largely unknown and remain hidden history; and

WHEREAS, the history of Rosenwald schools in Georgia and their impact on the education and economic prosperity of African Americans in the state is deserving of study.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE:

(1) Creation of Senate study committee. There is created the Senate Rosenwald Schools Study Committee.

(2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of five members of the Senate to be appointed by the President of the Senate. The President shall designate a member of the committee as chairperson of the committee.

(3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs, issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.

(4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.

(5) Allowances and funding.

The legislative members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized. Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds appropriated to the Senate.

(6) Report.

(A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution, subject to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.

(B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report subject to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.

(C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee. A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with the Secretary of the Senate.

(D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Secretary of the Senate a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu thereof.

(7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2026.