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This collection consists of the personal papers and sermons of Rev. Elvis W. Spearman, who served as Florida A&M University's postmaster from 19 until his retirement in 1964, and as the FAMU hospital chaplain 1955 to 1964. Rev. Spearman earned an A.B. degree from lega College, and did additional study at FAMU, the University of Chicago, and Deering Community Center.

The materials in this collection were mainly speeches delivered by Rev. Spearman. Most of the speeches are undated. A small amount of materials were from Rev. Spearman's administrative duties at Florida A&M University.

Dr. James L. Hudson was born in 1904 in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from the institution in 1926. After graduating, he was ordained as a minister and then enrolled in Colgate-Rochester School of religion, where he camed a divinity degree in 1931. Afterwards, he worked as a chaplain at Leland College in Louisiana until 1946. Later he was carned a doctoral degree from Boston College. Following this, he accepted a position as a chaplain and professor at Florida A&M University (FAMU). At FAMU he created the institution's Department of Religion and Philosophy and served as its first departmental chairperson. In Tallahassee, Hudson was a close friend with another Morehouse graduate, Rev. Charles K. Steele, pastor of the city's Bethel Baptist Church. The two religious leaders worked on numerous civil rights campaigns including the 1956 Tallahassee Bus Boycott.
Hudson was also president of the Tallahassee Ministerial Alliance, a co-founder and active member of the Inter-Civic Council. Even after retiring from FAMU in 1973, Rev. Hudson remained active in civil rights and social justice initiatives. He died in 1980.

Attorney Joseph Gibbs was a law professor and professor of political science at Florida A&M College. In the early 1950s, when the Florida A&M College of Law was first established, he served as the Librarian for the Law School. He would later serve as an associate professor of law. When the FAMU College of Law closed in 1986, Gibbs served as an associate professor of political science and public management. During the period of racial desegregation and school integration, Gibbs served on numerous legal committees and research teams such as the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), in efforts of devising and monitoring desegregation programs that were fair and equitable to all citizens, especially African Americans.

Gibbs was born in Caroline County, Maryland, and attended school in Chester, Pennsylvania. He attended Morgan State College in Baltimore, Maryland, where he studied education and economics. He served in the United States military during World War II and afterward enrolled at St. Johns University Law School, where he earned a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in 1949. Gibbs also earned a master's degree from Temple University, where he majored in public administration and economics. He and his wife Cordelia lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina, before he began his teaching career at FAMCEE. Gibbs retired from FAMU in 1982 and lived in Clearwater, Florida, until his death in the mid-1990s.

The records in this collection consist of the professional papers of Attorney Joseph Gibbs. The records include correspondence, court cases, publications, reports and research logs. The documents reflect Gibbs' legal activities and work regarding school integration at the college level during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The main threat and growing trend at this time was to close historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and merge them with large white institutions. Numerous public and private HBCUs joined alliances in efforts to retain their sovereignty.

Biographical data and inclusive subjects were acquired from Murell Dawson circa 2002.

This collection consists of personal papers from Florida A&M University’s Arthur L. Kidd. Kidd, a native of Pennsylvania, earned a B.A. degree in 1924 from the University of Michigan, and in 1929, a Masters of Arts degree from Columbia University. Kidd also did additional studying at the University of Iowa, Columbia University, and New York University. He began his teaching career at Tuskegee Institute in 1924 before accepting a position at Florida A&M College (FAMCEE) in 1925 as Principal of the High School. Kidd worked at FAMCEE until 1944. During his nineteen years of service to the college, Kidd worked in numerous positions, including: Head of the Department of History, Acting Director of the Extension Division, Acting Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences and College Registrar. In October 1944, Kidd left his position at FAMCEE to work with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, where he worked in various capacities in Washington, D.C., and abroad in locations including France, Germany, and Holland. He returned to the United States in 1950 and worked for a year at Maryland State College before accepting a second appointment at FAMCEE in 1951 as Director of the Division of Social Studies. Upon the college reaching university status in 1954, in the academic re-organization, Kidd consequently became the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Until 1969, he served FAMU in various capacities, including director of institutional studies and director of university administrative planning.

The material type in this collection were mainly magazines, news articles, and news clippings from 1949-19687 that followed local and national events affecting Negro people and occurrences impacting their lives. The records of this collection are especially important and informative in that they as resources that document firsthand the many historic events that occurred during the American Negro Civil Rights Years. Most of the records document the passing of school integration and public desegregation legislation, mass boycotts, sit-ins, and other forms of protest, as well as the brutal, nationwide social turbulence that accompanied this period. Additionally, a small amount of materials related to Kidd's instructional duties at FAMU are included.

Biographical data and inclusive subjects were acquired from Murell Dawson circa 2002.