Windows were located on west side of building to capture the most daylight

Despite torrential rain and flooded (and in some cases impassable) roads, approximately 100 people braved the weather and gathered in Capitol Heights yesterday for the Dedication Ceremony for the Ridgeley Rosenwald School.  The standing room only crowd heard remarks from local dignitaries from the Maryland State Legislature, Prince George’s County Executive’s Office and County Council, Prince George’s County Planning Board, Board of Education and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.  Located on Central Avenue, the 1927 school was one of the last constructed under the Rosenwald School Building Program.

Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Co., became involved in building schools for African American children in the South in response to a request from Booker T. Washington, then President of Tuskegee Institute.  Between 1912 and 1932 the school building program fund is credited with providing seed money for more than 5,000 schools, teachers’ homes and shops. The local community was required to provide the balance of funding, materials and labor required to complete the structures. 

The Ridgeley Rosenwald School, like others, was built according to construction specifications that included detailed requirements for site choice, paint colors and even desk placement to maximize teaching space.  The structures are most recognizably characterized by large banks of windows to take full advantage of natural light and are considered to have set a standard for school architecture in the 1920’s.

After desegregation, most Rosenwald Schools were closed. In the ensuing years many were lost to development and neglect. The Ridgeley Rosenwald School was most recently being used for bus storage by the Prince George’s County Board of Education.  In 2002, The National Trust for Historic Preservation placed the Rosenwald Schools on its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places and in 2007 Preservation Maryland included the Ridgeley Rosenwald School on it Endangered Maryland list. We also provided partial funding in the initial stages of the project to complete a structural analysis, schematic plans, and a preservation report. The restored Ridgeley Rosenwald School will be operated in part as a museum interpreting the history of pre-integration African American education in the county.  It is also available for use by community organizations for meetings and events.

Mrs. Mildred Ridgley Gray (R) with Elizabeth Hewlett, Chair, Prince George's County Planning Board. In the background is Mrs. Ridgley Gray's daughter, La Verne Gray.

Although a multi-agency workgroup collaborated to make the restoration possible, according to all in attendance, the driving force behind the project was Mrs. Mildred Ridgley-Gray, a former student and direct descendant of the African American family that provided the land on which the school was built.  Everyone who took to the podium spoke of her tenacity and determination to see her family’s legacy honored. Over 90 years old, Mrs. Ridgley-Gray did not address the audience but graciously accepted individual congratulations and hugs and kisses from many well-wishers including myself.  We would have loved for her to speak at the assembly, but all of her hard work spoke volumes for her.

Marilyn Benaderet