Mostrando 765 resultados

In 1975, James N. Eaton spearheaded the effort that ultimately gave rise to the creation of FAMU’s Black Archives. By 1976, the ‘Black Archives Research Center and Museum’ came into existence, and Eaton was recognized and appointed as its inaugural archivist, curator, and director.

For the next three decades, he helped amass a collection of memorabilia and printed records that now comprise one of the region’s most extensive collections of first-source material relating to the history, culture and contributions of people of African descent living in the United States.

James Eaton constructed in 1976 the first exhibits, using historical memorabilia from his own family. Afterward, he petitioned the university and community members to contribute historical material to the repository. Ilis call was answered by the first Black Archives donors and volunteers, who included: Donald Hill, Frank Pinder, John F. Matheus, and a host of other individuals and groups. Thus, the Research Center was chartered in 1976 and was officially opened in 1977.

Every university has a history, but few have a history as unique and impressive as ours. For more than 130 years, Florida A&M University has served the citizens of the State of Florida and the nation by providing preeminent educational programs...programs that were the building blocks of a legacy of academic excellence with caring. FAMU, “Florida’s Opportunity University,” is committed to meeting the challenges and needs of future generations.

In 1884, Thomas Van Renssaler Gibbs, a Duval County educator, was elected to the Florida legislature. Although his political career ended abruptly because of the resurgence of segregation, Representative Gibbs successfully orchestrated the passage of House Bill 133 in 1884. This bill established a white normal school in Gainesville and a school for African Americans in Jacksonville. The bill passed, creating both institutions; however, the state decided to relocate the school for African Americans to Tallahassee.

After the bill’s passage, FAMU was founded on October 3, 1887. It began classes with 15 students and two (2) instructors. Thomas DeSaille Tucker (1887-1901), an attorney from Pensacola, was chosen as the first president. Former State Representative Gibbs joined Mr. Tucker as the second faculty member.

In 1891, the College received $7,500 under the Second Morrill Act for agricultural and mechanical arts education. The State Normal College for Colored Students became Florida’s land grant institution for African Americans, and its name was changed to the State Normal and Industrial College for Colored Students.

In 1905, the management of the College was transferred from the Board of Education to the Board of Control. This significant event officially designated the College as an institution of higher education.
In 1909 the name was changed from The State Normal College for Colored Students to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes (FAMC). The following year, with an enrollment of 317 students, the college awarded its first degrees.

President Nathan B. Young (1901-1923) directed the growth of the College to a four-year degree-granting institution, despite limited resources, offering the Bachelor of Science degree in education, science, home economics, agriculture, and mechanical arts.

Under the administration of John Robert Edward Lee Sr. (1924-1944), the College acquired much of the physical and academic image it has today. More faculty were hired, courses were upgraded, and accreditation was received from several state agencies. By the end of Lee’s term, FAMC had 812 students and 122 staff members.

In 1949, under William H. Gray Jr. (1944-1949), expansion and reorganization continued. The College obtained an Army ROTC unit, and student enrollment grew to more than 2,000.

Joseph “Joe” Lang Kershaw, Sr. was the first African American legislator elected to the Florida Legislature since Reconstruction. Born on June 27, 1911, in Live Oak, Florida, Kershaw was a 1930s Florida A&M University alumni who saw the beginning of football at the college, pledged Kappa Alpha Psi, and worked as a janitor inside the Florida Legislature. After working as a teacher in what is now known as Miami-Dade County, Kershaw was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1968 and served for 14 years. He also served as chairman of the Elections Committee, where his work led to the formation of the Florida Human Rights Commission. Kershaw died in Miami, Florida, at age 88 on November 7, 1999. The documents in this collection mostly pertain to aspects of his personal and academic life and his role as a legislator in the Florida House of Representatives. It also has documents about his father, A. J. Kershaw, and friends/colleagues like Gwendolyn Cherry and Althea Gibson.

"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

This collection reflects the saved papers and artifacts of Dr. Benjamin Luther Perry, Jr., the sixth president of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). Most of the collection is contemporaneous with Dr. Perry’s tenure as university president from 1968 to 1977. This collection contains speeches, administrative papers, correspondence, reports, news articles, photographs, conference journals, and more, focusing on Dr. Perry’s speeches and organizational involvement. His work as a university president included advocating for the continued existence of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in general and FAMU in particular, as well as many administrative and policy decisions regarding the development of university assessments and personnel procedures. 

With Dr. Benjamin L. Perry, Jr., at the helm, the 1970s brought further growth to the University. FAMU experienced a decade of rapid transition when federal laws demanded a desegregated unitary system. Dr. Perry’s administration is credited with the preservation of FAMU’s autonomy. In 1971, FAMU was recognized as a full partner in Florida’s nine-university, public higher education system.

The program and academic areas within the institution were extended to include the Black Archives Research Center and Museum, established as a state repository for black history and culture; the Division of Sponsored Research; the program in medical sciences, in conjunction with FSU and the University of Florida; the development of the School of Architecture; a Naval ROTC unit; establishment of the cooperative programs in agriculture; and a degree-granting program in Afro-American Studies.

Enrollment at FAMU increased from 3,944 (1969) to 5,024 (1970). The university was reorganized into academic areas instead of departments. The physical plants were improved by the construction of the Women’s Complex (apartment type dormitory), Clifton Dyson Pharmacy Building, new poultry building and dairy cattle resting shed, and renovation of University Commons, Coleman Library, Tucker Hall, and the FAMU Hospital into the presently named, Foote-Hilyer Administration Center (FHAC).

This collection contains "Queen Like Me: The True Story of Girls Who Changed the World," a book by author, two-time FAMU alum, and former "Miss FAMU" pageant queen Dr. Kimberly Brown Pellum. It includes various copies of the publication and miscellaneous documents associated with it, such as children's worksheets.

According to https://www.childrensdefense.org/people/dr-kimberly-brown-pellum/, “Dr. Kimberly Brown Pellum is an assistant professor of history at Florida A&M University and founding director of MuseumofBlackBeauty.com, an interactive digital history initiative. She specializes in the history of 20th-century African American women, image-making, southern culture, and freedom. Her most recent book is Black Beauties: African American Pageant Queens in the Segregated South. Her contributions to publicly accessible history include work at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, The National Park Service, The Rosa Parks Museum, and Google’s Arts & Culture series.”