02/08/2025
Educator Rosa Young, known as the "mother of Black Lutheranism in central Alabama," was born in May 1890, in the rural community of Rosebud (Wilcox County). She was a strong advocate of education for rural children, and was instrumental in founding and promoting the development of Lutheran schools and congregations in Alabama's Black Belt. When Young completed her basic education (up to the sixth grade), her parents sent her to Payne University, an African Methodist Episcopal School in Selma. She won numerous scholastic awards during her six years at the school, became editor of the school newspaper, and was valedictorian of her graduating class in 1909. Young received her teaching certificate and passed her state exams within a few weeks after graduation. She then taught at various schools for African American children across Alabama. She returned to Rosebud in 1912 and by October of that year established the Rosebud Literary and Industrial School, a private school that received support from both blacks and whites in the immediate area. The school had 115 students in its first year and 215 in its second. Because of economic devastation created by the boll weevil infestation, by the fall of 1915, the school on the brink of closure. She was advised to contact the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. This predominantly German Church had a history of founding Black Lutheran missions in rural Louisiana and North Carolina. In January 1916. Young turned the management and property of the school over to the Lutherans and stayed on as a teacher and advisor. The Lutheran Church provided money, materials, and other forms of help to maintain the quality of the school. The success of this school prompted other leaders and interested persons to inquire about establishing churches and schools in their communities. Young travelled to tell other Lutherans about the African American mission in Alabama. Through her influence, the Alabama Lutheran Academy and College (later named Concordia College) was established in Selma, in 1922, to educate and train future black Lutheran pastors and teachers for the Alabama mission and elsewhere. From 1946 to 1961, she served as a faculty member at the college. Young was honored by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod for her dedicated service with an honorary doctorate (LL.D.) from Concordia Theological Seminary in 1961. She died on June 30, 1971, and was buried near Christ Lutheran Church in Rosebud. Click here to read the EOA article: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/rosa-young/
