J.W. Randolph School — Rosenwald School, Pass Christian

Around 1920, a Black civic organization in Pass Christian petitioned for a new school. Construction began in 1927 and finished a year later at a cost of $24,000, funded through public money and private donations, including the Rosenwald Fund. The building opened as the Harrison County Training School, serving African-American students. In 1939, it was renamed for J.W. Randolph, a former principal. When school segregation ended in 1966, the building became Pass Christian Middle School. It closed as a public school in 2000 and was repurposed as a senior center, Boys and Girls Club, and county human services office. Hurricane Katrina's winds and storm surge gutted the structure in August 2005. Officials considered tearing it down. A coalition of former students, community activists, and preservationists fought back. Restoration began in 2009, funded by public and private grants. The renovated building was dedicated in January 2013 as a senior center and event space. The state designated it a Mississippi Landmark in 2006; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2025. You're looking at one answer to what a community does when the public infrastructure meant to serve them doesn't exist — they petition, they fundraise, they build it themselves. And when it's nearly destroyed, they fight to save it.