Letters between President Gore and the Embassy of Ghana outline plans to expand Ghanaian student opportunities at FAMU. A follow-up letter details meeting times and locations, and a message of delivery with photos to the Ambassador, showcasing the collaborative efforts to enhance access to higher education.
A fierce advocate for education, especially amongst the African American community, this address by Dr. Benjamin L. Perry, Jr. was given to the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities in 1971. He speaks on the development of Black schools and how crucial Black history is to the past, present, and future of Historically Black Colleges.
The bronze life-size bust of Dr. William Patrick Foster honors his legacy as a prominent music educator and advocate for African American students at FAMU. Renowned for his commitment to academic excellence, and an innovator of marching bands around the world. Foster is the creator of the FAMU Marching 100.
This collection contains letters between B. L. Perry, Jr., George W. Gore, J. R. E. Lee, Jr., and James R. Dungan. These letters discuss the securing of funds for new building construction on Florida A&M University’s campus under the Higher Education Facilities Program, including the Higher Education Facilities Acts of 1963 and 1965.
The pamphlet for Florida A&M University’s 75th Opening Convocation features President Gore’s compelling speech on his contributions to the university. Marking the Diamond Anniversary, Gore charts a bold vision for the 1961-62 school year with the inspiring theme, "Go Forward with FAMU."
This talking paper was created for Dr. Benjamin L. Perry, Jr for a presentation on the economic crisis of Black institutions. While this speech was meant to represent all historically Black institutions, Perry discussed the plight of all higher education establishments due to a lack of proper financial support and included FAMU as his main example.
In 1917, Black intellectual, Kelly Miller wrote to President Woodrow Wilson, condemning the unjust treatment of African Americans. Using biblical references, he criticized lynchings, highlighted systemic inequality, and pleaded for relief for the 10 million Black citizens enduring deep distress, emphasizing their innocence and dignity.
This 1969 essay by TIME offers a snapshot of the state of higher education and its relationship with its Black students. It discusses significant points the Black community clamored for – autonomous Black educational programs, revised Black studies curriculum, etc. — and the general reaction to these calls by critics and supporters alike.
This 2014 painting is of an older man sitting in front of a painting of a woman and a little boy (probably his mother). The portrait was created by Joseph “Joe” Roache, a Florida A&M alum and former professor who has exhibited his oil, acrylic, pencil, and computer artworks in LeMonye Arts, the Mississippi Museum of Art, and more.
An editorial release from Florida A&M University’s Public Relations Office that discusses a recent speech made by Dr. Benjamin L. Perry, Jr. at the University of Florida, “The Bozo Principle.” Perry essentially uses a metaphor of the origins of a racist carnival game to discuss his vision for the future of marginalized communities.
Entrusted to FAMU based on the university's studies in agriculture, this deity is an example of the later spirits showing a more human form. The boxer's left arm was lost prior to shipping from Ghana. The human form seems less passive, but is clearly ready to do harm to any trespassers.
In October 1968, the College Board asked the president of the National Scholarship Service and Fund for Negro Students, Hugh W. Lane, if he could assemble a panel of Black educators to describe their position on higher education. Their comments at the panel were recorded and published in the College Board Review’s Spring 1969 Issue, recorded here.
The Bicentennial Convocation program features autographs from notable figures and esteemed alumni, including Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall Jr., commemorating FAMU’s rich history and contributions to education and leadership across generations.
This undated, black-and-white photograph features Julian “Cannonball” and Nathaniel “Nat” Adderley, jazz and blues musicians, and Reubin O’Donovan Askew, the governor of Florida in the 1970s. The Adderley brothers were Florida A&M students and Tallahassee jazz legends, playing saxophone (Cannonball) and cornet (Nat) with Ray Charles and others.
In the late 1940s, the Tallahassee City Commission planned to acquire some land surrounding Florida A&M College, a plan highly opposed by the institution’s president, William H. Gray, Jr. Gray felt it would drive faculty away due to lack of housing. This collection holds correspondence and construction plans.
In this letter from Teddy Ik Umunna, a friend at the University of Nigeria, to Dr. B. L. Perry, Jr., Umunna pleads for help improving his quality of life. Reflecting on the dire state of the Nigerian economy, with allusions to bribery, Umunna asks for financial backing to leave Nigeria and enroll in a U.S. degree program in Wisconsin.
Sworn statements from Rosewood survivors and descendants detailing personal experiences of the massacre and its aftermath. These statements served as vital evidence for compensation claims and provided insight into the lasting consequences faced by families affected by the tragedy.
This 1994 newspaper article features a survivor of the Rosewood Massacre who received restitution from the government. Previously knowing nothing about the plan to compensate victims until reading about it in the Palm Beach Post, Robie Mortin, 79, plans to retire from her job as a home-care nurse and go into volunteer work with children.
A collection of survivor affidavits from the Rosewood massacre, detailing approved and denied claims, interviews, and chilling accounts of the tragedy, along with reports of the deep community bonds of the all-Black town before its destruction.
Under President Gore's administration, the Supreme Court of Florida held hearings on May 16, 1960, for six FAMU students charged with disturbing the peace through riots and assembly. The students pleaded not guilty, and the court examined the legality of their actions in the context of campus unrest during this period.
In the Western context, this item is a “mask” because it covers the face, but technically in Bwami culture, this piece is a sculpture. The Bwami society of the Lega people is located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; they use these masks for initiation rituals, with five types to signify different ranks, and for ancestral veneration.
At the 1948 State Teachers Association in Tampa, William H. Gray, Jr. conversed with Milton P. Rooks, a civics scholar in Clearwater, FL. With the help of the Florida A&M College Department of Social Sciences, Gray put together a memorandum on current civil rights problems, offering a succinct view of the state of civil rights in the U.S.
This report summarizes major changes that affected Florida A&M University in the years 1974-1975. FAMU implemented the Florida Plan for Equalizing Opportunities in Higher Education, the Reorganization of FAMU, the Bachelor’s Degree Program in Journalism, and the Master’s Degree Programs in Applied Social Science and Community/School Psychology.
At the 1948 Orlando State Conference of Social Work, which had an interracial meeting, members discussed ways to minimize juvenile delinquency in Florida. They mentioned a need to enforce existing child labor laws, increase school hours, provide financial aid, appoint a regional, interracial fact-finding committee for delinquents, and more.
In the summer of 1979, Director of the Meek-Eaton Black Archives Research Center and Museum, James Eaton, discovered Spike Lee’s grandfather was a graduate of Florida A&M and served as the second bandmaster in the early 1920s. After Eaton shared this with him, Lee returned to FAMU to give an address to students.
A final report from the Special Master Hearing on Rosewood, outlining the Civil Rights Office's pursuit of $7.2 million in compensation. The report addresses claims of loss of enjoyment of life, references past Congressional cases, and argues the incalculable value owed to descendants after the devastating events.
This 1913 Confederate Reunion medal, a souvenir from the United Confederate Veterans (UCV) gathering in Chattanooga, commemorates veterans of the Civil War. The medal features Confederate symbols and celebrates the reunion of former soldiers.
In 1946, nearly 100 Black and white leaders gathered at a Presbyterian church for the first Florida Division meeting of the Southern Regional Council. Under Dr. Gray’s leadership as divisional chairman, they adopted bylaws that would shape future efforts for regional cooperation, justice, and social change.
This 1948 abstract by Walter White is on the Southern Regional College Plan, a proposal meant to address the “total denial of professional and graduate training to Negroes in Southern tax-supported universities,” in the wake of new legislation proposed by Congress that appears to create segregated Negro schools.
The Southern Cross of Honor "Deo Vindice" medal was awarded to Confederate veterans for their service during the Civil War. Bearing the Latin phrase "God will vindicate," it symbolizes the Lost Cause ideology and Southern pride. This medal, bestowed by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
