He Built Schools to Fight Injustice, and I Want You to Know His Story

Rosenwald was the son of German Jewish immigrants who fled persecution in Europe in the mid-1800s. At 16 he left his home in Springfield, Illinois, for New York City to learn the clothing trade from his uncles, never completing high school. In 1885, he relocated to Chicago and opened a company with other family members to manufacture men’s suits. Among his clients was Sears, Roebuck & Co., a struggling new company that sold clothing and just about everything else by mail order. In 1895, Rosenwald accepted an offer to invest in Sears, and this decision changed his life.

Dorothy Canter, “He Built Schools to Fight Injustice, and I Want You to Know His Story,” National Park Conservation Association, May 16, 2019, https://www.npca.org/articles/2167-he-built-schools-to-fight-injustice-and-i-want-you-to-know-his-story.