Julius Rosenwald

Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck, worked with Booker T. Washington to build schools for Black children in the segregated rural South. From 1912 to 1932 his fund helped build nearly 5,000 schools, but it required local communities to raise matching money and labour, which meant Black families often contributed as much as he did. He also insisted his foundation spend all its money within 25 years of his death, which it did.