On May 14, 1890, Rosa Jinsey Young was born in Rosebud, Alabama. The daughter of a Methodist circuit rider, Young became one of Alabama’s most influential educators and religious leaders. In 1912, she opened a private school to educate Black children in the segregated South. When financial hardships threatened the school’s survival, she appealed for help—eventually connecting with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, which provided critical support. This partnership not only kept her school alive but also led to the establishment of numerous Lutheran churches and schools across the Black Belt region. Rosa Young later became a Lutheran missionary and teacher, playing a foundational role in expanding Black Lutheran education in the U.S. She is widely recognized today as the “Mother of Black Lutheranism in America.”