LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center (MTCC) will open a new exhibit on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism announced.
A Better Life for Their Children is a powerful exhibition by acclaimed photographer and author Andrew Feiler chronicling the history, impact, and legacy of Rosenwald Schools, one of the most transformative education initiatives for African Americans in the early 20th century.
Between 1912 and 1937, nearly 5,000 Rosenwald Schools were constructed across the segregated South through a groundbreaking partnership between philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and educator Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee Institute. These schools educated more than one-third of all Black children in the South at their height and played a critical role in advancing literacy, opportunity, and community empowerment.
Through Feiler’s compelling contemporary photography, A Better Life for Their Children documents surviving Rosenwald School buildings and the communities shaped by them. The exhibit places Arkansas within the broader national story while honoring the parents, teachers, students, and local leaders who sacrificed time, land, labor, and resources to ensure better futures for their children.
“Rosenwald Schools represent one of the most successful grassroots educational movements in American history,” said Key Fletcher, MTCC Executive Director. “This exhibition aligns directly with MTCC’s mission to preserve, interpret, and celebrate African American history and culture, while connecting past struggles to present-day conversations about equity, access, and education.”
Andrew Feiler is a photographer, author, and former CNN political commentator whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. His Rosenwald Schools project is the result of years of research, travel, and collaboration with historians, preservationists, and descendants of Rosenwald communities.
In addition to the exhibit, MTCC will offer related programming designed to engage audiences of all ages.
For more information about the exhibit and related programming, visit mosaictemplarscenter.com or follow MTCC on social media.