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Location: AC.1.B.1.4.8

Dr. Kimberly Brown Pellum is a historian, author, and two-time Florida A&M University alumna, as well as a former “Miss FAMU” pageant queen. She serves as an assistant professor of history at Florida A&M University and is the founding director of MuseumofBlackBeauty.com, a digital public history initiative. Her scholarship focuses on twentieth-century African American women, beauty culture, southern history, and freedom movements. Dr. Pellum has contributed to major public history institutions, including the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the National Park Service, and the Rosa Parks Museum. She is the author of Black Beauties: African American Pageant Queens in the Segregated South and Queen Like Me: The True Story of Girls Who Changed the World.

The Kimberly Brown Collection consists of one box of materials centered on Queen Like Me: The True Story of Girls Who Changed the World. The collection includes multiple copies of the publication as well as related materials such as children’s worksheets and miscellaneous documents associated with the book.

These materials reflect Dr. Pellum’s work in public history and youth education, emphasizing themes of empowerment, representation, and African American girlhood. The collection provides insight into the development and educational use of the publication, highlighting its role in promoting positive identity and historical awareness among young readers.

Location:AC.1.B.1.4.1 - AC.1.B.1.4.2

The Julian “Cannonball” Adderley Memorial Jazz Collection documents the life, career, and legacy of renowned jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. The collection includes both archival records and museum objects relating to Adderley’s professional achievements, public recognition, and cultural influence.

Materials in the collection consist of awards, photographs, publications, magazines, newspaper articles, sheet music, recordings, correspondence, and exhibit artifacts. Several items relate directly to Adderley’s connection with Florida A&M University, including his academic degree and alumni publications. Additional materials document his musical career, honors, memorial recognitions, and media coverage following his illness and death.

The collection also contains museum exhibit items, including plaques, medals, framed artwork, photographs, and audio recordings associated with Adderley and his brother Nat Adderley. Printed sources such as magazines and newspapers highlight his role in jazz history and the broader cultural recognition of his contributions to American music. The collection is arranged by subject and material type. Printed materials and memorabilia were first sorted by format, then organized alphabetically and placed in acid-free folders and boxes for long-term preservation.

Location: AC.8.B.1.1.1-AC.8.B.1.1.3

Joseph “Joe” Lang Kershaw, Sr. (June 27, 1911–November 7, 1999) was the first African American elected to the Florida Legislature since Reconstruction. Born in Live Oak, Florida, he attended Florida A&M University in the 1930s, where he was involved in early campus life, including the beginnings of the football program, and pledged Kappa Alpha Psi. He later worked as a teacher in Miami-Dade County and as a janitor in the Florida Legislature before entering politics. Elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1968, Kershaw served for fourteen years and chaired the Elections Committee, contributing to the establishment of the Florida Human Rights Commission.

The Joseph Lang Kershaw, Sr. Collection documents Kershaw’s life, career, and contributions to Florida’s political and educational history. The collection contains materials related to his personal and academic background, as well as records reflecting his tenure in the Florida House of Representatives.

Included are documents that highlight his legislative work, professional activities, and community involvement. The collection also contains materials pertaining to his family, including references to his father, A. J. Kershaw, as well as correspondence and documents related to colleagues and contemporaries such as Gwendolyn Cherry and Althea Gibson. Collectively, these records provide insight into Kershaw’s role as a pioneering African American legislator and his broader impact on civil rights and public service in Florida.

Location: AC.2.A.1.6.3 - AC.2.A.2.3.1; AC.3.B.3.3.1 - AC.3.B.3.3.2; AC.8.B.1.2.3 - AC.8.B.1.3.2

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.

Location: AC.3.A.2.6.1 - AC.3.A.3.1.3

Dr. Gilbert Lawrence Porter was an educational pioneer in the state of Florida who devoted more than five decades of his life to advancing educational equality during the era of segregation and desegregation. Born on January 6, 1909, in Kansas, Porter pursued higher education at Talladega College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry. He later obtained a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in philosophy from The Ohio State University, becoming the first African American to receive this distinguished degree from the institution. Throughout his career, Porter remained committed to improving the quality of education for all students while advocating for equal salaries, professional recognition, and civil rights for African American teachers within a segregated and unequal educational system.

The Gilbert Porter Desegregation Files document Porter’s extensive work in educational reform, particularly in relation to school integration and policy development in Florida. The collection consists of Dade County school reports, national reports on desegregation plans and procedures, and materials related to organizations such as the Florida Conference of Social Welfare and the Florida Conference of Social Work. A significant portion of the collection includes newspaper clippings that highlight race relations and integration efforts in Dade County and throughout the state of Florida.

The records reflect the administrative, social, and political challenges surrounding desegregation and provide insight into the strategies and policies implemented during this transformative period.