Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Collection

.5 Linear Feet

"The nation’s first Black junior college, Booker T. Washington Junior College, opened in Pensacola, Florida, in 1949 on the campus of all-black Booker T. Washington High School. The two institutions shared a name, a building, and an administrator: Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins.

Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins was, at the time, the only educator in all of northwest Florida with an earned doctorate, and he served as founding (and only) president and dean of the college and principal of the high school and was known as “the smartest man in the county.”

Before landing at Booker T. Washington, Wiggins served on the faculty at Florida A&M University. He’s remembered as “an educational catalyst, dedicated to the concept that black children must realize the importance of receiving an education.”

Booker T. Washington Junior College provided many Black students with a foundation to transfer into Bethune-Cookman College, Edward Waters College, and Florida A&M University with a solid foundation in teaching, medicine, law, and theology.

In 1965, Booker T. Washington “merged” with then Pensacola Junior College, and Wiggins went on to serve as Pensacola Junior College’s Director of Research until his retirement. However, many argue the school was effectively closed, as Pensacola Junior College did not make a great effort to include the Booker T. Washington’s students or faculty into the fabric of the institution.”

https://a2arnett.medium.com/february-10-remembering-dr-garrett-t-wiggins-and-booker-t-washington-junior-college-b1b3d85bf650

A preliminary survey was done on the collection and the records were in good condition. Rusting hardware was removed from the papers, and the records were placed in acid-free folders. A descriptive listing of the item level was created, and the materials were added to the Black Archives Junior College Collection under the G.T. Wiggins title. The records were put in alphabetical order, and the letters were placed chronologically.

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The record types in this collection included photographs, letters, certificates, awards, programs, books/dissertations.

Processing Archivist:
M. Dawson, Ph.D.
C. Brown
June 11, 1993

Online Publishing:
Cariane Geffrard, IMLS Intern
June 11, 2024