After returning from Berlin for a screening of one of her previous films, Partisans of Vilna, Aviva immediately headed to Charlottesville, VA for the Virginia Film Festival’s screening of Rosenwald at the University of Virginia! Before the film, Diane and Tim Naughton hosted a luncheon for Rosenwald with many in attendance- including the head of the festival, Jody Kielbasa. The Naughton’s are big supporters of Rosenwald and the festival, with Diane serving on the festival board.
(left to right) Diane Naughton, Aviva Kempner, Tim Naughton
After the screening, a Q&A was held with filmmaker Aviva Kempner, Pam Horowitz (spouse of the late Julian Bond), and interviewee and UVA professor Rita Dove. The panel was moderated by Deborah McDowell (Director of the Carter G. Woodson Institute of African-American and African Studies). The packed theater was filled with an engaging audience- including someone who had attended a Rosenwald school, and even someone who currently lives in a restored Rosenwald school!
(left to right) Diane Naughton, Jody Kielbasa, Pam Horowitz, Deborah McDowell, Aviva Kempner, Rita Dove
The 2015 Conference for the National Trust for Historic Preservation begins tomorrow in Washington DC! The conference will go on until the 6th. On the last day, there will be a bus tour of five Maryland Rosenwald Schools. Maryland had a relatively small number of Rosenwald schools (156), but a larger percentage of surviving schools than other states. The tour will visit two schools in Prince George’s County, including Ridgeley School, a model restoration project, and three in Anne Arundel County, with lunch served at the Galesville School. Local school experts will lead tours of the sites, and two authors, who have written about Rosenwald Schools, will discuss their research. Lunch provided.
Rosenwald was shown to an excited full house at a special screening at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland on Sunday! The screening was prompted when a fan, Evelyn Korman, saw the film in Philadelphia and was so moved by it that she encouraged her synagogue to arrange the event.
Alma Hackett and Newell Quinton (who were interviewed in the film) also came out from Santa Domingo to attend the screening and give a talk.
Newell Quinton and Alma Hackett giving a talk after the screening
After the talk, Evelyn and Bernard Korman brought copies of Peter Ascoli’s book, Julius Rosenwald: The Man Who Built Sears, Roebuck and Advanced the Cause of Black Education in the American South to pass out with the help of Rabbi Peter Hyman.
(left to right) Aviva Kempner, Evelyn Korman, Rabbi Peter Hyman, Bernard Korman
The event was sponsored by Temple B’nai Israel, The Frederick Douglass Honor Society, the NAACP, Talbot Association of Clergy and Laity, and The Academy Art Museum.
Historians in Buffalo, NY have a new exhibit to add to their lists! Burchfield Penney Art Center now has a public display that is “the most comprehensive look at John Brent’s life and legacy to date”. John Brent, the first black architect from Buffalo, is responsible for many famous structures including two entrance gates to the Buffalo Zoo (both found on the National Register of Historic Places), designing the construction plans for the Michigan Avenue YMCA, and a YMCA camp in Wales.
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