“This stirring documentary evokes a vision of American comity from a past that speaks to the present.” (Wall Street Journal)

From the award-winning director of The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg and Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg, Aviva Kempner’s captivating Rosenwald tells the incredible story of Julius Rosenwald, the son of an immigrant peddler who became the president of Sears and one of America’s most effective philanthropists and social activists. Deeply influenced by the writings of Booker T. Washington, Rosenwald partnered with Washington to construct 5,400 schools in African American communities throughout the south at the height of the Jim Crow era. He also built YMCAs and housing for African Americans to address the pressing needs of the Great Migration, giving away $62 million in his lifetime. Interviews with civil rights leaders Julian Bond, Ben Jealous, and Congressman John Lewis, as well as Rosenwald school alumni including Maya Angelou, help paint a picture of this modest, generous man. Special note: Two of Julius Rosenwald’s three children moved to Westchester and became principal benefactors of the remarkable Teatown Lake Reservation.