3) if after saving the building it could be rented. She sent a three-page outline of her vision for the building. She also visualized a building in Oviedo to house all of the information she had collected. She was naïve because she thought she could just fix it and open it with little to no money. She gathered some friends who shared her interest in establishing a museum, applied for and received IRS 501c3 tax-exempt status, and in 2021, the group started applying for grants. While waiting to hear the outcome of the grant application from the State of Florida, the group started trying to raise funds from other sources. A local roofing company, Certified Best Roofing, saw their efforts and provided a roof, free of charge. Had they not fixed the roof, the building would have imploded; the leaking was so bad. They received approval of a grant of $225,000 from the State of Florida, contingent upon an architect and an engineer being contracted. They found an architect, Richard Reap, who is just great. He got the engineer. Plans have been developed, and three bids have been received from contractors. Before the project can move forward, Seminole County is requiring that the building be rezoned. If a
ceremony was held on February 13, 2023. In addition to the funding from the State of Florida, HOCSM has been blessed with small grants that each arrived at a critical time to address an urgent need. Board members have conducted individual fundraising campaigns resulting in approximately $30,000. Lowe’s has pledged to provide new flooring for the building and possibly a $2,000 grant. In recognition of the one-year anniversary of the groundbreaking, as a fundraiser, there will be showings of a documentary on the Rosenwald Schools on February 13, 2024, at the Regal Theatre at the Oviedo Mall. At some point, HOCSM hopes to find a building large enough to highlight the history of all the schools in the Jamestown and Oviedo area. Donations can be accepted at their website (www.hocsmuseum.org) and checks can be sent to the Post Office Box 621589 Oviedo, Florida 32762-1589 . The public is invited to learn more about local history and assist with fundraising for the Historic Oviedo Colored School Museum, Inc. by attending one of the showings of Rosenwald.
Judith’s vision is to have a Colonial Williamsburg type of interactive museum. She hopes it will be a living museum “where we are actively engaging people in what went on at that time. We want to tell the story about those schools. Black people don’t realize what was accomplished with so few resources in those schools. The African American middle class emerged from the Rosenwald schools. We want the Jamestown school to be the starting point and that the museums will be connected with others. When people come here, they won’t be just coming to Disney World but can walk or drive to learn about our history.” The Rosenwald School project built more than 5,000 schools, shops, and teacher homes in the United States primarily for the education of African American children in the south during the early 20th century. The project was the product of the partnership of Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish-American clothier who became part-owner and president of Sears, Roebuck and Company and the African American leader Booker T. Washington, who was president of the Tuskegee Institute. The need arose from the chronic underfunding of public education for
African American children in the south, as Black people had been discriminated against at the turn of the century and excluded from the political system in that region. Children were required to attend segregated schools, and even those did not exist in many places. Rosenwald was the founder of the Rosenwald Fund. The Florida list of Rosenwald Schools shows 120 schools. At the writing of this article, research is still being done to determine the exact number of Rosenwald Schools in central Florida. There was one in Altamonte Springs. But by far the most advanced and successful efforts to retain, restore, and operate one of the schools as a community center is being conducted by the Okahumpka Community Club in Okahumpka, Florida (near Leesburg.) The history of that area and their efforts warrant a separate article to be included in our Spring 2024 Magazine.
building has not been used for its intended purpose within the last six months, rezoning is required at a cost of $6,000. All necessary documentation has been submitted to the Seminole County Planning Department. The HOCSM is in the pipeline for rezoning. The organization has a 25-year lease with the AME Church Dioceses. Hopefully, someone will want to continue operating the museum thereafter. The groundbreaking
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