Dorothy Canter
Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington (photo courtesy of the Julius Rosewald and Rosenwald Schools National Historic Park Campaign
Chattanooga area Rosenwald Schools (source: Fisk University Rosenwald Fund Card File Database)
The 16th annual Moccasin Bend Lecture Series continues with a compelling presentation on Monday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. featuring “The Legacy of Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park Campaign.” Guest speaker, Dr. Dorothy Canter, president of the Campaign’s board, will introduce audiences at the IMAX and via the virtual broadcast, to the Rosenwald Schools, a Progressive-era program that was at the intersection of multiculturalism, civil rights, and philanthropy and provided the impetus for establishing a new National Historical Park.
In a story that winds its way through Chattanooga, hear how a former slave and the son of Jewish immigrants began a friendship that would foster the education of over 663,000 African American students in 15 states throughout the rural South.
Julius Rosenwald was the son of immigrants who became a visionary philanthropist and led Sears, Roebuck and Company to national success. In 1912 Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington began funding schools that taught legends and built community legacies.
Students from Rosenwald Schools became thought leaders, change-makers and social justice icons with names like Zora Neale Hurston, Maya Angelou, Congressman John Lewis and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Canter’s presentation will update guests on the current campaign to create a National Historic Park including six Rosenwald School sites in Tennessee. Moccasin Bend Lecture Series events are free and open to the public, through the generous sponsorship of Tennessee State Representative Greg A. Vital.
The 2021 series will take place live at the IMAX Theater with an accompanying live broadcast via Zoom, offering all guests the opportunity to participate in the Q&A with Dr. Canter following her presentation. Register to attend the Oct. 4 lecture in person at the IMAX HERE. Register for the accompanying virtual broadcast HERE. We will follow all appropriate CDC policy and local health guidelines at the time of the events to provide a safe experience for all guests.
National Park Partners is partnering with The Chattanooga News-Chronicle and other community leaders in an effort to find alumni of the eight known locations of local Rosenwald schools in the Chattanooga area. Built during a time when communities were split by segregation and divided by color, these schools began a tide of change. Though none of the original school buildings remain standing today, many of the individuals whose lives were impacted by them have important stories to share. If you have stories or connections from Bakewell School, Booker T. Washington, Chickamauga School, Georgetown School, Hixson School, Roland W. Hayes, Summit School or Washington School, please email jennifer@nppcha.org.
The Moccasin Bend Lecture Series was founded by Greg A. Vital in 2006. All installments of the Lecture Series are on Monday evenings: Sept. 13, Oct. 4, and Nov. 15, and are free and open to the public. The final lecture, “Rivers, Rails & Roads: Transportation During the Cherokee Removal,” will be held Monday, November 15. Register to attend November's lecture in person at the IMAX HERE. Register for the virtual broadcast HERE. Registration is required for each event separately, for either in-person or virtual participation. For more information and to register, please visit nppcha.org.
About National Park Partners:
The Friends of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (established in 1986) and the Friends of Moccasin Bend (established in 1995) combined forces as National Park Partners in 2018. We champion the conservation of the natural, historic, and cultural resources of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, including Moccasin Bend National Archeological District. National Park Partners engages current and future generations in preserving and promoting the stories of these national treasures. For more information visit our website at nppcha.org
About the Guest Speaker:
Dorothy A. Canter, PhD: Dr. Canter has been a volunteer for the National Parks Conservation Association for 34 years, serving on the Board of Trustees from 1988 to 1997. She currently is the President of the Campaign to Create the Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park. She was one of the founders of the Friends of Fort Hunt Park in Alexandria, VA. She has visited 322 National Park units. Canter is an expert in the decontamination of bioterrorism agents and in responding to and recovering from attacks with weapons of mass destruction, played an important role in the fumigations of contaminated buildings following the 2001 anthrax attacks. Before her retirement she was the principal of Dorothy Canter Consulting LLC. She also served as a senior professional biophysicist at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Prior to that she worked for the federal government for 29 years, the last 15 of which at the Environmental Protection Agency, where she served as the Chief Scientist for Bioterrorism Issues from November 2001 until June 2005. Canter received both a B.S. in mathematics and a Ph.D. in biophysics from The George Washington University.