Jackson Junior College, in

Marianna, Florida Marianna is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Florida, United States, and it is home to Chipola College. The population was 6,102 at the 2010 census. In 2018 the estimated population was 7,091. The official nickname of Marianna is ...

, county seat of Jackson County, opened its doors in 1961. It was one of eleven black junior colleges founded in the late 1950s at the initiative of the Florida Legislature. Since racial integration in schools was prohibited in the Florida Constitution of 1885 then in effect, the Legislature wished to avoid the integration mandated in the unanimous ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

'' Supreme Court decision of 1954 by demonstrating that a "

separate but equal Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law, according to which racial segregation did not necessarily violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which nominally guaranteed "equal protec ...

" higher education system existed in Florida for African Americans. Support by local African Americans, who wanted integration, was unenthusiastic. The Jackson County Board of Public Instruction founded the school as the Negro Junior College. The name was changed before the college opened its doors to students in September, 1961. At the time, Black applicants were not accepted by nearby Chipola Junior College (today

Chipola College Chipola College is a public college in Marianna, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History The school was founded in 1947 as Chipola Junior College; its name was changed in 2003 after the college developed several bachelor's ...

); the closest opportunity for black students to get a college education was at

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

, 75 miles away. The college was jointly supported by Calhoun,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

, and

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Counties; bus transportation was provided. The College was particularly strong in science, sponsoring an annual science fair. It did not have athletic activities or teams. It was primarily oriented toward preparing students to transfer to a four-year college, especially Florida A&M University. It opened with 47 students and five part-time faculty. Its peak enrollment, in 1964-1965, was 195 students, plus additional "adult education students" (249, in 1965-66) working toward a

GED The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...

. For the most part, it shared facilities with the black high school, Jackson County Training School; all the initial teachers were also teachers at the high school, and its only president, William A. Hurley, was also principal of the school. Salaries were lower than they were for the white faculty at Chipola Junior College. A building with classrooms and administrative offices was opened in 1963, although the college continued to use the high school cafeteria and library. In response to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Board of Public Instruction abruptly closed the College in 1966. In contrast with other of Florida's black junior colleges, students were not given "a transition opportunity" to complete their studies at nearby Chipola Junior College (today

). Only two faculty members made the transfer, and President Hurley reverted to the principalship of Jackson County Training School.Smith, p. 225

References

{{authority control Historically black universities and colleges in the United States Education in Jackson County, Florida Educational institutions established in 1961 Educational institutions disestablished in 1966 Education in Calhoun County, Florida Two-year colleges in the United States Buildings and structures in Jackson County, Florida Florida's black junior colleges 1961 establishments in Florida 1966 disestablishments in Florida

See also

References